Mandolin-banjo
The mandolin-banjo is a hybrid instrument, combining a banjo body with the neck and tuning of a mandolin. It is a soprano banjo.[1] It has been independently invented in more than one country, variously being called mandolin-banjo, banjo-mandolin, banjolin and banjourine in English-speaking countries,[2] banjoline and bandoline in France,[3] and the Cümbüş in Turkey.[4]
The instrument has the same scale length as a mandolin (about 14 inches); with 4 courses of strings tuned identically to the violin and mandolin (low to high: GDAE). The movable bridge stands on a resonant banjo-like head typically 10 inches in diameter and currently usually made of plastic. Originally heads were made of skin and varied in diameter to as small as five inches. Larger heads were favored, however, as they were louder, and thus more audible in band settings.
Origins
Inventors were experimenting to create amplified instruments in the days before electric amplification.[2] The first patent for a mandolin-banjo was taken out in 1882 by Benjamin Bradbury of Brooklyn.[2] The name banjolin was first patented by John Farris in 1885.[2] The instrument was popularized prior to the 1920s, when the tenor banjo became more popular. In the heyday of mandolin orchestras and banjo bands (late 19th–early 20th century), all sorts of instruments were produced. The mandolin-banjo is one of the hybrids that resulted. It enabled mandolinists to produce a banjo sound without having to learn that instrument's fingerings. The instrument adds the banjo's volume to the mandolin.
Distinctions
Banjolin versus banjo-mandolin
The banjolin is different from the banjo-mandolin in the number of strings that it has. Banjolins today are supposed to have four strings instead of 8 strings (in courses or pairs). However, that distinction is not universal; John Farris patented an instrument with 8 strings calling it a banjolin by name in 1885.[5] The Farris banjolin was offered in soprano, alto, tenor, and bass models. However, he "converted it to a four-string instrument," maintaining the mandolin and violin scale length and tuning (GDAE).[2]
Banjo hybrids normally take their names from the Banjo- prefix, and then the second half of the other instrument's name, such as
French banjoline versus mandolin-banjo
In his 1921 book Méthode for the Banjoline or Mandoline-Banjo,
The American instruments he said were open backed, "and they call Mandoline-Banjo or Bandoline what we call Banjoline."[3]
He said that amateurs and professionals alike preferred the single string instrument to the double stringed version, because of the "nice clear sound," which he said resembled the violin pizzicato.[3]
Zithers
During the Hawaiian music craze of the early 20th century, instrument makers tried to capitalize on the widespread desire to learn an instrument. Makers of zithers applied the names of known instruments to their zithers as a theme. The Banjolin name was applied in this way to a type of bowed fretless zither[6]
Companies
Historic
Compared to mandolins and banjos, manufacture of mandolin banjos grew scarce in the late 20th century. Historically, mass produced mandolin-banjos were made by companies including
Current manufacturers
Today mandolins-banjos are being manufactured by Vintage, GoldTone, Rogue,
Instruction books
Most instruction books concentrate on either the mandolin or the banjo. Mandolinists need more than just mandolin method because the physical differences between the two types of instruments creates problems to a novice learning to set up and tune the instrument. One of the first books to address the mandolin-banjo was Méthode pour Banjoline ou Mandoline-Banjo (Method for Banjolin and Mandolin-Banjo) by
References
- ^ "About Banjolins". Banjolin.co.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f "The Irish Tenor Banjo by Don Meade" (PDF). Blarneystar.com. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
- ^ a b c d Salvador Leonardi Method for the Banjoline or Mandoline-Banjo
- ^ "Cumbus Means Fun! The Story of a 20th Century Instrument". Rootsworld.com. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
- ^ Walker, Albert H. (April 7, 1885). "Stringed Musical Instrument". Google Patents. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
- ^ "Bowed Instruments". fretlesszithers.com. Archived from the original on 27 January 2013.
- ^ "Salvator Léonardi : Méthode pour Banjoline ou Mandoline-Banjo : Mandolin Method : Mandolinenschule". Mandoisland.de. Retrieved 19 April 2021.