This is the BANJO!

Banjo

The banjo is a stringed instrument developed by enslaved Africans in the United States, adapted from several African instruments. The name banjo is commonly thought to be derived from the Kimbundu term mbanza. Some etymologists derive it from a dialectal pronunciation of "bandore", though recent research suggests that it may come from a Senegambian term for a bamboo stick formerly used for the instrument's neck

Modern Forms

The modern banjo comes in a variety of forms, including four- and five-string versions. A six-string version, tuned and played similar to a guitar, has been gaining popularity. In almost all of its forms, the banjo's playing is characterized by a fast arpeggiated plucking, although there are many different playing styles.
The body, or "pot", of a modern banjo typically consists of a circular rim (generally made of wood), a metal tone ring, and a tensioned head, similar to a drum head. Traditionally the head was made from animal skin, but is often made of various synthetic materials today. Some banjos have a separate resonator plate on the back of the pot, while others have an open back. There are also electric banjos.

Usage

The banjo is commonly associated with country, folk and bluegrass music. Historically, however, the banjo occupied a central place in African American traditional music, as well as in the minstrel shows of the 19th century. In fact, African Americans exerted a strong, early influence on the development of both country and bluegrass through the introduction of the banjo, and as well through the innovation of musical techniques in the playing of both the banjo and fiddle. Recently, the banjo has enjoyed inclusion in a wide variety of musical genres, including pop crossover music and Celtic punk.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banjo

Sousaphone

The sousaphone is a type of tuba that is widely employed in marching bands. Designed so that it fits around the body of the tubist and is supported by the left shoulder, the sousaphone may be readily played while being carried. The instrument is named after American bandmaster and composer John Philip Sousa, who popularized its use in his band.

The principle

the sousaphone in principle but has a far narrower bore, and a much smaller bell which points between straight up and to the player's left.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sousaphone

Autoharp

The autoharp is a musical stringed instrument having a series of chord bars attached to dampers which, when depressed, mute all the strings other than those that form the desired chord. Despite its name, the autoharp is not a harp at all, but a chorded zither.
A design for a musical instrument that included mechanisms for muting certain strings during play.

The shape

The shape of the instrument was symmetrical, and the felt-bearing bars moved horizontally against the strings instead of vertically.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autoharp

Drum kits

Drum Kits

A drum set (also drum kit or trap set) is a collection of drums, cymbals and sometimes other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person (drummer.)The term "drum kit" seems to have come from Great Britain. It was first created in the 1700s. In the U.S., the terms "drum set", and "trap set" were more prevalent historically.The individual instruments of a drum set are struck by a variety of implements held in the hand, including sticks, brushes, and mallets.

Two notable exceptions include the bass drum, played by a foot-operated pedal, and the hi hat cymbals, which may be struck together using a foot pedal in addition to being played with sticks or brushes. Although other instruments can be played using a pedal, the feet are usually occupied by the bass drum and hi hat.
Percussion notation is often used by drummers to signify which drum set components are to be played. A full size drum set without all the extras has a bass drum, floor tom, snare drum, tom-toms, hi-hat cymbals, a ride cymbal and a crash cymbal.Various music genres dictate the stylistically appropriate use of the drum kit's set-up. For example, in most forms of rock music, the bass drum, hi-hat and snare drum are the primary instruments used to create a drum beat. In jazz, however, the ride cymbal and hi hats (or brushed snare drum and hi hats) usually fill this role.




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drum_kit

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Classical Guitar!!

Baroque Guitar !

10 strings Guitar !

Archtop Guitar!

THE GUITAR!

The guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six strings, but four, seven, eight, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen and eighteen string guitars also exist.

GUITAR AS AN INSTRUMENT

Guitars are recognized as one of the primary instruments in flamenco, jazz, blues, country, mariachi, rock music, and many forms of pop. They can also be a solo classical instrument. Guitars may be played acoustically, where the tone is produced by vibration of the strings and modulated by the hollow body, or they may rely on an amplifier that can electronically manipulate tone. Such electric guitars were introduced in the 1930s and continue to have a profound influence on popular culture.

WHAT ABOUT TRADITIONAL GUITARS ?

Traditionally guitars have usually been constructed of combinations of various woods and strung with animal gut, or more recently, with either nylon or steel strings. Guitars are made and repaired by luthiers. There are many brands of guitars, but some commonly known brands are PRS, Gibson, Dean, Gretsch, Ibanez, Martin, Jackson, Schecter, and Fender.


3 DIFFERENT TYPES OF GUITARS .

Renaissance and Baroque guitars
These are the gracile ancestors of the modern classical guitar. They are substantially smaller and more delicate than the classical guitar, and generate a much quieter sound. The strings are paired in courses as in a modern 12 string guitar, but they only have four or five courses of strings rather than six. They were more often used as rhythm instruments in ensembles than as solo instruments, and can often be seen in that role in early music performances.

The modern Ten-string guitar
The Modern/Yepes 10-string guitar (a classical guitar) adds four strings (resonators) tuned in such a way that they (along with the other three bass strings) can resonate in unison with any of the 12 chromatic notes that can occur on the higher strings; the idea behind this being an attempt at enhancing and balancing sonority.

Archtop guitars
These are steel string instruments in which the top (and often the back) of the instrument are carved in a curved rather than a flat shape. Lloyd Loar of the Gibson Guitar Corporation introduced the violin-inspired f-hole design now usually associated with archtop guitars, after designing a style of mandolin of the same type. The typical archtop guitar has a large, deep, hollow body whose form is much like that of a mandolin or violin family instrument.

SOURCE : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guitar