4 string gourd banjo

[Philip Lingard]

I've seen a couple of illustrations, including one on this site, dating from around the 1780's of a 4 string gourd banjo. Is anything known of the repertoire of this instrument?

I've just built my first 3 string Akonting, which is suggested as possibly the African ancestor of the Minstrel banjo, and it certainly seems like a good option. As the instrument is still played in Senegambia it is possible to get some idea of the style of play and repertoire which may have been transported to America in the 17th and 18th centuries. I was wondering if there is anyway to fill in the 4 string piece of the puzzle?

[Brian Welch]

On David Hyatt's gourd banjo site, there is a great collection of tunes recorded on gourd banjos:

http://www.dhyatt.com/music.html

Clarke Buehling (who is around here somewhere) has the tab for his version of Cotton Pod Walk Around on gourd banjo with the added note that it is "adapted for four string banjo."

Juba, Pompey Ran Away, and Morceau (also available on that page) are all possibly candidates for very early banjo tunes.

Hopefully Clarke will chime in, because if anybody knows the answer, he does. You'll definitely want to check out his album, Out of His Gourd.

--Brian