Lisa Anne Griffith, age 14, of Akron, Ohio, for her question:

WHERE DID THE BANJO ORIGINATE?

The banjo is a stringed instrument of the lute family. It has an open backed round body consisting of a circular wood hoop over which is stretched a vellum belly that was once nailed on but is now held tense by a screw mechanism. The banjo originated in Africa and was brought to America in the 17th century by black slaves.

The banjo also has a long, narrow, fretted neck and metal or metal wound gut strings. The strings run from a tailpiece, over a bridge held in place by the pressure of the strings, up the neck to rear tuning pegs. On modern banjos the tuning pegs are machine screws.

Five strings are typical: four full length strings and a shorter fifth "thumb" string running to a tuning screw halfway up the neck.

Early banjos had fretless necks, a varying number of strings and sometimes gourd bodies. The banjo was adopted by white musicians in 19th century minstrel show troupes.

The five string banjo, plucked with the fingers, is common in folk music and commercial bluegrass bands today. The plectrum plucked four string banjo was popular about 1900 in vaudeville bands.