Diddley Bow (Cigar Box Guitar)

I have never heard of these before but apparently Bo Diddly got his name from them, hence the little square body guitars he played.  I've started teaching again at the school I used to teach at about 12 years ago and this Tuesday I have a student coming in to learn the diddley bow!  If you search "diddley bow" on youtube you'll get all the info you need.  I already play lap steel slide so it was easy for me figure out a few lessons for my new student(who, lucky for me has no music background).  I'm very impressed at the level of musicianship and full sound some of these youtube players get with just one string.  There are variations that have any number of strings but my student has a one string model.  I'm stoked to play it(GAS alert, I'll probably want to build or buy one now).
http://i.imgur.com/sKYglEp.jpg

“Theory is something that is written down after the music has been made so we can explain it to others”– Levi Clay


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Comments

  • steamabacussteamabacus Frets: 1258
    Have you come across 'Chickenbone John'?

    A guitar tutor I know arranged a 'build you own cigar box guitar' workshop with him for some of his students, Apparently it was a great success.

    Images (and a link to Chickenbone John) on his website here ...

    http://www.honney-bayes.com/Guitar_Lessons/Cigar_Box_Guitar_Workshop_2015/cigar_box_guitar_workshop_2015.html

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  • Have you come across 'Chickenbone John'?

    A guitar tutor I know arranged a 'build you own cigar box guitar' workshop with him for some of his students, Apparently it was a great success.

    Images (and a link to Chickenbone John) on his website here ...

    http://www.honney-bayes.com/Guitar_Lessons/Cigar_Box_Guitar_Workshop_2015/cigar_box_guitar_workshop_2015.html

    Thanks!  I haven't come across "Chickenbone John", will check it out.

    “Theory is something that is written down after the music has been made so we can explain it to others”– Levi Clay


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  • paulnb57paulnb57 Frets: 3044
    edited August 2017
    Checkout Shane Speal , Samantha Fish and Justin Johnson too, oh and of course Seasick Steve, there is quite a big CGB scene out there....
    Stranger from another planet welcome to our hole - Just strap on your guitar and we'll play some rock 'n' roll

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  • paulnb57 said:
    Checkout Shane Speal , Samantha Fish and Justin Johnson too, oh and of course Seasick Steve, there is quite a big CGB scene out there....
    Most of those show up at the top of a youtube search, great info.  I've already built one that looks so much like the picture I posted above that I'm not going to bother posting a pic.  I've already gotten pretty comfortable playing it from a lot of the videos.  I live very close to a huge perpetual flea market/bargain barn and found 2 cigar boxes and a broom handle there yesterday.  A quick trip to a hardware store got me everything else required and I had one up and running in about a half hour.  So far I only have a screw holding the string down(which accidently  tuned it to G).  For the next one I'm going to get a tuning key and shave down the broom handle at that end to fit it in.  Warning:  they're addicting, I couldn't put it down last night.

    “Theory is something that is written down after the music has been made so we can explain it to others”– Levi Clay


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  • olafgartenolafgarten Frets: 1648
    Have you seen 'It Might Get Loud'? Jack White makes a guitar like this out of a plank, a bottle and some nails. 
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  • EricTheWearyEricTheWeary Frets: 16253
    Have you come across 'Chickenbone John'?

    A guitar tutor I know arranged a 'build you own cigar box guitar' workshop with him for some of his students, Apparently it was a great success.

    Images (and a link to Chickenbone John) on his website here ...

    http://www.honney-bayes.com/Guitar_Lessons/Cigar_Box_Guitar_Workshop_2015/cigar_box_guitar_workshop_2015.html

    John runs Boxstox intermittently which is a day of CBG building and playing. I've been aware of it as it's usually somewhere in the West Midlands although I've yet to go, was in Wolverhampton this year in February. 
    Tipton is a small fishing village in the borough of Sandwell. 
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  • Have you seen 'It Might Get Loud'? Jack White makes a guitar like this out of a plank, a bottle and some nails. 
    I did see that, it was a couple of years ago.  I remember being amazed and curious about it, but  having a potential student for the  cigar box guitar pushed me to act.  Within about a minute and a half of watching the first youtube vid I found I was hooked.  I've got my second one up and running, complete with tuning key and now I'm looking into experimenting with piezo pickups.    "Chickenbone John"  also  has some great stuff on youtube but he's more into 3 string models.  I love what he does with them but I want to get a good grasp on playing the one string for now.

    “Theory is something that is written down after the music has been made so we can explain it to others”– Levi Clay


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  • steamabacussteamabacus Frets: 1258
    Arthur Brown was on Psychedelia Brittania the other night playing 'Fire' on a one-string diddly bow.
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  • Arthur Brown was on Psychedelia Brittania the other night playing 'Fire' on a one-string diddly bow.
    And I'll bet he rocked it!  I would love to see that.....,  on another note,  the first lesson with my student went well, he's only going to be able to have one more lesson before he goes off to school but his main goal is to learn to play the bass line from "Another One Bites The Dust" (Queen)!

    “Theory is something that is written down after the music has been made so we can explain it to others”– Levi Clay


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  • steamabacussteamabacus Frets: 1258
    Arthur Brown was on Psychedelia Brittania the other night playing 'Fire' on a one-string diddly bow.
    And I'll bet he rocked it!  I would love to see that.....,  on another note,  the first lesson with my student went well, he's only going to be able to have one more lesson before he goes off to school but his main goal is to learn to play the bass line from "Another One Bites The Dust" (Queen)!
    I'm sure someone will put the documentary up on YouTube at some point. It wasn't a full performance, just Arthur sitting on his back porch being interviewed about the darker 'change of tone' in the psychedelia scene around the time he came out with Fire.

    Interesting documentary if you can track it down (made by the BBC)
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