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The banjo is a plucked string instrument
that has a long fretted neck piercing a circular frame over
which a membrane is tightened with thumb screws, often containing
a resonator over the open back. A descendant of the West African
long-necked lute, it came to the Americas with the slave trade.
In the 19th century, a more highly developed banjo, popular
especially in blackface minstrel shows, was exported to England.
In the early 20th century, it became an important rhythmic
instrument of the jazz band, and it is now cultivated as a
folk instrument. The standard form is the finger-style banjo,
originally gut-strung, its five strings plucked with bare
fingers. A plectrum banjo with four metal strings is among
the other types that have been manufactured.
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