The first mention we have of the banjo is in America in 1781, when Thomas Jefferson is quoted as saying ìThe instrument proper to the slaves is the banjar which they brought hither from Africa,î. This instrument also brings to mind the Cora which is an African string instrument. There was no standard tuning or design at this time, but usually it would be made simply of a gourd or other base with a neck from a simple piece of wood, animal skin and 3,4 or 5 gut strings.

As early as 1769, white banjo players were beginning to paint their faces black, known as ìblacking-upî, but this practice and the beginning of the Minstrel era began in earnest in 1843. It was in this year in New York City, that a group of actors and musicians led by Dan Emmett grouped together and put on a ìblack faceî show, calling themselves the ìVirginia Minstrelsî. Minstrelsy soon became a standard part of popular entertainment, basically consisting of the practice of imitating black people, using native instruments and song as a gimmick for comic effect. Described in the Oxford Companion to Music as ì Negro Minstrelsî, the article goes on to say, ìThe performers were white men with blacked faces, singing what purported to be Negro songs, imitating the Negro speech, cracking Negro jokes, playing the banjo and the bones (q.v.)ÖTowards the end of the nineteenth century Negro Minstrels were a feature of every considerable British coast resort, performing many times daily on the sands.î1 Around the 1830s the instrument becomes more standardised, and in around 1840 Banjos begin to be commercially produced, by a company called Boucher in America.

About ten years later, the Banjo was introduced to Britain. In 1860, the American Civil war brought slaves, Minstrel performers and amateur players together, when the war was over many of the soldiers took the instrument home with them, including to Appalachia where the remote location brought about the Frailing and Bluegrass styles. In 1866, there were over 10,000 banjos in use in Boston alone. It was being now being used as a parlour instrument in Britain and America as a cheaper and easier option to the piano. The period of the classical banjo begins around this time, so called because it was played in the style of popular guitarists.

In 1878, Henry C. Dobson added the first frets, although these were not originally well received, being dismissed as an aid for those who could not play in tune. SS Stewart who made models for women and children, also manufactured banjo hybrids such as the bass, piccolo and banjeaurine banjos. Because of these developments, banjo ensembles gained in popularity, and they included duos, trios and larger orchestras. These provided a social and educational pastime, particularly for women who were hoping to improve their social standing.
ìIn the last years of the nineteenth century, the banjo reflected the opulence and good times of the Gay Nineties, with elaborate pearl inlays, fancy carving and prices to match.î 2
In 1900, Steel strings were invented, and the removal of the 5th string began. At this time the Tenor banjo became popular in Ireland. 1915 sees the beginning of the demise of the 5 string classical banjo, as plectrum style was becoming popular for jazz, Ragtime and Irish music, as it was much louder. However, 5-string bluegrass banjo continued to be popular, mainly due to the remoteness of the area in the Appalachian Mountains in which it was played.

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