The diddley bow is a single-stringed American instrument which influenced the development of the

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

sound. It consists of a single string of baling wire tensioned between two nails on a board over a glass bottle, which is used both as a

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

and as a means to amplify the instrument's sound. It was traditionally considered a starter or children's instrument in the

Deep South The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion of the Southern United States. The term is used to describe the states which were most economically dependent on Plantation complexes in the Southern United States, plant ...

, especially in the

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

community, and is rarely heard outside the rural South. It may have been influenced to some degree by

West African West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Ma ...

instruments. Other nicknames for this instrument include "jitterbug" or "one-string", while an

ethnomusicologist Ethnomusicology is the multidisciplinary study of music in its cultural context. The discipline investigates social, cognitive, biological, comparative, and other dimensions. Ethnomusicologists study music as a reflection of culture and investiga ...

would formally call it a "

monochord A monochord, also known as sonometer (see below), is an ancient musical and scientific laboratory instrument, involving one (mono-) string ( chord). The term ''monochord'' is sometimes used as the class-name for any musical stringed instrument ...

zither Zither (; , from the Greek ''cithara'') is a class of stringed instruments. The modern instrument has many strings stretched across a thin, flat body. Zithers are typically played by strumming or plucking the strings with the fingers or a ...

Origins

The diddley bow derives from instruments used in the

Sahel The Sahel region (; ), or Sahelian acacia savanna, is a Biogeography, biogeographical region in Africa. It is the Ecotone, transition zone between the more humid Sudanian savannas to its south and the drier Sahara to the north. The Sahel has a ...

region of

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

, in places such as northern Nigeria and Mali. There, they were often played by children, one beating the string with sticks and the other changing the pitch by moving a slide up and down. The instrument was then developed as a children's toy by slaves in the United States. They were first documented in the rural South by researchers in the 1930s. The diddley bow was traditionally considered an "entry-level" instrument, normally played by adolescent boys, who then graduate to a "normal"

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

if they show promise on the diddley bow. However currently, the diddley bow is also played by professional players as a solo as well as an accompaniment instrument. The diddley bow is significant to

music in that many blues guitarists got their start playing it as children, as well as the fact that, like the

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos that ...

, it is played with a slide. However, because it was considered a children's instrument, few musicians continued to play the diddley bow once they reached adulthood. The diddley bow is therefore not well represented in recordings.

Construction

The diddley bow is typically homemade, consisting usually of a wooden board and a single wire string stretched between two screws, and played by plucking while varying the pitch with a metal or glass slide held in the other hand. A glass bottle is usually used as the bridge, which helps amplify the sound. Some diddley bows have an added resonator box under the bridge, and are essentially single-string cigar box guitars. Some recent diddley bows are electrified with pickups.

Notable users

One notable performer of the instrument was the

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

blues musician Lonnie Pitchford, who used to demonstrate the instrument by stretching a wire between two nails hammered into the wood of a vertical beam making up part of the front porch of his home. Pitchford's headstone, placed on his grave in 2000 by the Mt. Zion Memorial Fund, is actually designed with a playable diddley bow on the side as requested by Pitchford's family. DiddleyBow

Other notable traditional players include Lewis Dotson, Glen Faulkner, Jessie Mae Hemphill, Compton Jones, Eddie "One String" Jones, Napoleon Strickland, Moses Williams, James "Super Chikan" Johnson and One String Sam. Willie Joe Duncan was also notable for his work with a large electrified diddley bow he called a Unitar. Some members of the Motown band "The Funk Brothers" are said to have learned to play the guitar on the diddley bow.

Buddy Guy George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is an exponent of Chicago blues who has influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray Vaug ...

learned to play music on a two-string homemade diddley bow before getting his first guitar (a Harmony acoustic). As a child, blues musician

Elmore James Elmore James ( Brooks; January 27, 1918 – May 24, 1963) was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and bandleader. Noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice, James was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ...

describes using a diddley bow: he "plucked a wire strung on the wall of his house while sliding a bottle along it to vary the pitch." Recent performers who use similar instruments include

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

-based

jazz pianist Jazz piano is a collective term for the techniques pianists use when playing jazz. The piano has been an integral part of the jazz idiom since its inception, in both solo and ensemble settings. Its role is multifaceted due largely to the Musical ...

Cooper-Moore, American bluesman Seasick Steve, Samm Bennett, Danny Kroha, One String Willie, Chicago-based musician Andy Slater a.k.a. Velcro Lewis, and Chicago-based percussionist .

Jack White John Anthony White (; born July 9, 1975) is an American musician who achieved international fame as the guitarist and lead singer of the rock duo the White Stripes. As the White Stripes disbanded, he sought success with his solo career, subse ...

makes one at the beginning of the movie ''

It Might Get Loud ''It Might Get Loud'' is a 2008 American documentary film by filmmaker Davis Guggenheim. It explores the careers and musical styles of prominent Rock music, rock guitarists Jimmy Page, the Edge, and Jack White. The film premiered at the 2008 Toro ...

'', then after playing it quips "Who says you need to buy a guitar?". Seasick Steve recorded a tribute to his diddley bow, via his song "Diddley Bo" from his 2009 album, '' Man From Another Time.''

Filmography

*''American Patchwork: Songs and Stories of America'', part 3: "The Land Where the Blues Began" (1990). Written, directed, and produced by

Alan Lomax Alan Lomax (; January 31, 1915 – July 19, 2002) was an American ethnomusicologist, best known for his numerous field recordings of folk music during the 20th century. He was a musician, folklorist, archivist, writer, scholar, political activ ...

; developed by the Association for Cultural Equity at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

and

Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City, United States. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools ...

. North Carolina Public TV; A Dibb Direction production for Channel Four. *''

'', a 2008 documentary about the careers and influences of prominent

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

guitarists, features

building a diddley bow from scratch and playing a tune on it.

Discography

* Louis Dotson - "Sitting on Top of the World" on ''Bothered All the Time'', Southern Culture SC 1703 * Willie Joe (Duncan) and His Unitar – The track "Unitar Rock," is available on ''Teen Beat Vol 4.'', Ace CDCHD 655. "Twitchy" and "Cherokee Dance" are available on ''The Specialty Story'', Specialty 5SPCD-4412-2. * Glen Faulkner – "Cotton Pickin' Blues," "Louisiana Blues," "Glory, Glory, Hallelujah," "Get Right Church And Lets Go Home," on ''The Spirit Lives On: Deep South Country Blues and Spirituals in the 1990s'', Hot Fox HF-CD-005 (German CD, now out of print). * Jessie Mae Hemphill – two tracks (one accompanied by Compton Jones) on ''Heritage of the Blues: Shake It, Baby'', HighTone HCD 8156. Two tracks (accompanied by Compton Jones and Glen Faulkner) on ''Get Right Blues'', Inside Sounds ISC-0519. * Compton Jones – One track, "Shake 'Em On Down," on ''Afro-American Folk Music from Tate and Panola Counties, Mississippi'', Rounder 1515 (CD). With booklet notes by diddley bow scholar, Dr. David Evans. * Eddie "One String" Jones – ''One String Blues'', Takoma Records CDTAK 1023. Nine tracks, the first one an interview of Eddie Jones where he tells how he built his instrument. The booklet notes includes a drawing and some photographs of his instrument and of him playing. * ''The Almanac of Bad Luck'' 2009 by Tijuana Hercules. * Lonnie Pitchford – Pitchford was another diddley bow master. He can be heard on four tracks on ''National Downhome Blues Festival Volume One'', Southland SCD-21, "Train Coming Around the Bend," "My Babe," "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and "One-String Boogie." Two tracks on ''All Around Man'', Rooster R2629; "Real Rock Music: Crawlin' Kingsnake" and "My Babe." One track on ''Living Country Blues'', Evidence ECD 26105-2 ("Boogie Chillen"). Also, another "One-String Boogie," and "My Baby Walked Away" on ''American Folk Blues Festival '83''; "Johnny Stole An Apple," ''Living Country Blues USA - Volume 7: Afro-American Blues Roots''; "My Baby Walked Away" on ''Living Country Blues USA - Volume 9: Mississippi Moan'' and (yet another) "One String Boogie" on ''Living Country Blues USA - Volume 10: Country Boogie'' * Napoleon Strickland – One track, "Key to the Blues," on ''Bottleneck Blues'', Testament 5021 (CD). (This same cut also appears on the CD ''Africa and the Blues''). * One String Sam – Two cuts ("I Need $100" and "I Got to Go") from the 1973 Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival on ''Motor City Blues / Please Mr. Foreman'', Schoolkids' Records, SKR2101-2. Two tracks on ''Rural Blues Vol 1 (1934–1956)'', Document Records B000000J8B ("I Need $100" and "My Baby, Oooo" (studio versions). * One String Willie - Seven tracks on ''A Store-Bought Guitar Just Won't Do,'' 10 tracks on ''You Gotta Hit the String Right to Make the Music Swing''. * Moses Williams – four tracks on a double-LP anthology of Florida blues produced by the Florida Folklife Program; ''Drop on Down In Florida'', Florida Folklife LP 102-103. A double-CD-with-hardback book edition of this double-LP set has been released, adding ten further tracks. Two CDs from the Florida Folklife Collection present Williams playing and singing "Which Way Did My Baby Go?" and "Apple Farm Blues". * Velcro Lewis: ** ''The Oven's On'' 2007 by Velcro Lewis and His 100 Proof Band. ** ''The Bronze Age'' 2009 by the Velcro Lewis Group. ** ''White Magick Summer'' 2010 by the Velcro Lewis Group.

Similar instruments

* Cigar box guitar * Kontigi * Garaya * Musical bow * Ngoni *

Slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos that ...

Xalam Xalam (in Serer, khalam in Wolof, and Mɔɣlo in Dagbanli) is a traditional lute from West Africa with 1 to 5 strings. The xalam is commonly played in Mali, Gambia, Senegal, Niger, Northern Nigeria, Northern Ghana, Burkina Faso, Mauritania ...

Washtub bass The washtub bass, or gutbucket, is a stringed instrument used in American folk music that uses a metal washtub as a resonator. Although it is possible for a washtub bass to have four or more strings and tuning pegs, traditional washtub basses ha ...

(gut bucket)

References

External links

Heavyfogguitars.com
.
Onestringwillie.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diddley Bow American musical instruments Continuous pitch instruments Monochords Musical bows