From the time of the 1400s to the 1800s, music was at its peak and had an impact on people's lives. More and more musical instruments were invented and musicians were well known at this time for the purpose of entertaining them. At this time, musical instruments began to spread widely throughout the world. A musical instrument is defined as any form of potential device that produces musical sound. I will compare two musical instruments, the banjo and the guitar, in terms of their history, characteristics and styles of playing them. Yet people will always know that they share common similarities in terms of categorization of string family instruments, portability, and how they are played. Firstly, according to Ruehl (2014), in the historical aspect, the banjo originated in Africa. and African slaves brought to America in the 19th century. Slaves were not allowed to play drums. So they invented the banjo. Americans considered it a bad thing until the end of the Civil War. Then, American blackface performer John Sweeney was credited for the fifth string he added to the banjo. He was known for introducing the banjo to England and the United States during his tour. Despite this, many people could not believe that it was he who added the fifth string, as a picture of a slave holding a five-string banjo had been painted before he was born. Americans participated in picking competitions in urban areas and at the same time the evolution of finger-picking banjo arose in the late 19th century. On special occasions, the banjo would perform in ballrooms along with singing and dancing (Tythacott, 2001). Ruehl (2014) also highlighted some well-known players like Eddie Peabody and Perry Bechtel. Today, it's still pop...... middle of paper .......net/object/difference-between-a-guitar-and-a-ukuleleH:(2010). The Road to the Stage: Road-Ready Cases. History of the guitar. Retrieved from http://www.roadreadycases.com/history-of-the-guitar.htmlP:Estrella, E. (2014). About.com: Music education. Banjo profile. Retrieved from http://musiced.about.com/od/strings/p/banjo.htm Estrella, E. (2014). About.com: Music education. Guitar profile. Retrieved from http://musiced.about.com/od/musicinstruments/p/guitar.htmT:Tythacott, L., Shelton, A, (2001). Traditions around the world: Musical instruments. United Kingdom: Hodder Wayland. Cross, D. (2014). About.com: Guitar. Types of guitar. Retrieved from http://guitar.about.com/od/typesofguitar/ss/types-of-guitar-banjo-nylon-12-string.htmW:(2014). Strings and Beyond.com: What are guitar strings? Retrieved from http://www.stringsandbeyond.com/what.html