For this project, Richard Allred and Richard Long researched the history of the diddley bow and made two of the instruments. The diddley bow, also referred to as the “jitterbug” or the “one-string,” is a simple string instrument that was the predecessor to many instruments that are seen in old-time and bluegrass music, such as the banjo and the guitar. This project was one that was interesting to see the ease of making the instrument once one had the right equipment and to see its history.
To understand the diddley bow, one must understand its history. The diddley bow is believed to have come to America from African slaves, probably from Ghana, and was thought to come from another one string instrument called the “mouth bow,” similar to an archer’s bow, except used to play music. In America, due to its simplicity, the diddley bow was typically played by young boys, and used as a starter instrument by many slave children, who would often abandon it once a guitar was found. The diddley bow is mainly found in the American South, and has had influences in blues and bluegrass. The first photograph of a diddley bow was taken in the 1930’s, however, it took 20 more years to get the first recording of a diddley bow. The diddley bow was played by many blues musicians, but one of the most famous players of the diddley bow who never abandoned it was Lonnie Pitchford, who also taught other young players to play as well. “Father” of the blues WC Handy said regarding instruments such as the diddley bow, “Southern Negroes sang about everything, they accompanied themselves on anything which they could extract a musical sound or rhythmic effect.” Today the diddley bow is not played very often, though there are several modern performers who have used them, such as “One-String Willie,” Seasick Steve and Jack White.
The diddley bow is an influential instrument because of its origins, but another reason is the simplicity of the instrument, which, once we found the correct pieces, was cheap as well. To construct a diddley bow, one needs two nails, a wire or string, a bottle, a board and another block of wood used to tighten the string. Hammer a nail into the middle of the board about one inch from each end, place a bottle near one nail, wrap the string around each of the nails then place the block of wood on the side where the bottle is not and force the wood as close as it will go to the nail, tightening the string until taut. To play, simply pluck or hit the string, while sliding a broken bottleneck across the string to get the desired tune. Our recreation of these instruments took around 20 minutes to make, and cost less than 20 dollars to get everything to make three full diddley bows.
The dive into these instruments was a fun one, though not without several injuries to our master carpenter, including a cut from a broken bottle and a damaged fingernail from missing while hammering. While we cannot play this instrument, and it would take some considerable talent to be proficient with a single-string instrument that has to be tuned pretty much every song, if not in the middle of every song, we can understand and respect the dedication of those musicians that are not only skilled on the diddley bow, but also on the construction of their instruments, an art that is rarely practiced today.
North Carolina Music 