The Banjo Guru

While the precise origins of jazz music are still contested to this day, we can at least pinpoint the earliest jazz recordings, which came out of the burgeoning scene in New Orleans during the 1910s. This unique style, known as Dixieland, combined a number of popular genres of the day including ragtime, blues, and brass band dirges. Unlike most forms of jazz music, Dixieland incorporated 4 string banjo in addition to string bass, piano, drums and other more familiar instruments.

The tenor banjo, which is meant to be played with a thumb pick as opposed to finger picks or with bare fingers, maintained its popularity through the 1920s and ’30s, long after Dixieland had run its course. However, because musical styles are cyclical in nature, the instrument has seen a recent resurgence. Tenor banjos were once considered curios that fetched exorbitant prices, but no longer; they’re back in the mainstream now, and the prices reflect that fact.