nine strings, which are plucked with a pick or the fingers. The banjo was played in minstrel shows in the 19th century. It is used frequently in hillbilly and Southern folk music. Because of an incisive, percussive quality, it is often used as a rhythm or a solo instrument in Dixieland bands.Earlier versions of the guitar had pairs of strings like the lute. The guitar usually has a flat back, sides that curve inward to form a waist, and a fretted neck. The traditional classical guitar appeared as early as the 12th century in Spain, the country with shich it is particularly associated. It was very popular there in the 16th century, when much music was written for it. The composer Fernando Sor was a brilliant guitarist who wrote many important works for that instrument.The Viol FamilyAround the middle to the end of the 9th century, there are several discussions of an instrument called a rabab in the Arabic lands. Unfortunately, no physical examples of the instrument have survived to the present, and early Islam forbade depictions of the real world, so the only existing contemporary evidence is literary. This evidence does give us some very detailed descriptions of the form and method of playing the instrument. It was bowed by a string rubbed with resin attached to a bent shaft, which was drawn across the strings. The left had is described as being used to stop the strings to create different pitches while the right hand manipulates the box. The shape of the rabab is described having a long narrow neck with a pear shaped body. Strings were attached to an end pin and had tunable pegs at the other end. The rabab had no frets, it was played upright on the lap, with the instrument facing away from the player. The strings were tuned in fifths. Later evidence tells us that the instruments were made with a dried gourd body, a tightened skin soundboard and a wooden neck. The preferred string material was twisted silk, though drie...
