• Lindbergh Banjo

Banjos

Greg Adams on the Banjo

Greg Adams, Assistant Archivist at the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, is a banjo scholar and enthusiast. Smithsonian Music connected with him to ask him about the history of the banjo, how the instrument is played, and other related topics. 

Collections Sampler

  • Lindbergh Banjo, Dale Small, National Air and Space Museum, Gift of the Stanley King Family.
    Charles Lindbergh Banjo
  • Folk Scene—Man with Banjo, William H. Johnson, ca. 1940-1944, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation
    Folk Scene--Man with Banjo, William H. Johnson
  • Banjo Clock, c. 1830, made by Aaron Williard, National Museum of American History, Gift of James Arthur Collection, New York University
    A Banjo Clock
  • Thompson Artillery Shell Banjo, made by Elmer Thompson, 1917-1919, National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
    Thompson Artillery Shell Banjo
Explore More Collections Related to Banjos

Additional Banjo Videos

Educator Resources

Smithsonian Folkways offers lesson plans on many topics. This plan features an examination of the relationship between the banjo and the music it's used to play.

 

Josh Thomas’ Roustabout: Exploring Composition Using Limited Tones
Designed by Maggie Corfield-Adams, Ph.D. and Greg C. Adams, Archivist (MLS), Ethnomusicologist (M.A.)

This lesson plan asks students to use Mike Seeger’s performance of “Josh Thomas’s Roustabout” as a gateway to exploring vocal expression within a limited-tone sequence. Students will (1) critically discuss the relationship between the voice and accompanying instruments, (2) compose their own limited-tone songs, accompanying themselves on Orff Instruments, and (3) improvise within a limited-tone sequence on recorders (optional).

Visit the Smithsonian Folkways website for the full lesson plan.