A Brief History and Explanation of Banjoleles #fascinating

In this world of Twenty One Pilots and Grace VanderWaal you for sure know about the mighty ukulele. But there is another instrument that deserves just as much attention- the banjolele.

This image from Wikipedia shows that obviously the instrument is smaller than the banjo. Most of them have four strings, and are tuned the same way as traditional ukes. The sound is very loud, and it has a unique twangy ring to it.

The oldest records of banjoleles date back to the 1910s. But they first came directly into the light of popular culture when a British comedian named George Fromby used it in his acts. He could be seen playing his banjolele for the troops during WWII.

Since then, banjoleles have been a rather unknown instrument, but more and more am I seeing them in music stores around the world.

As a player of said banjolele, I can say from first hand experience that they are quite fun and easy to learn, as some chords only require one finger on one string.

Its a really great invention.