Banjos are one of the key instruments in American bluegrass, country, Dixieland jazz, and folk music, the banjo is plenty of fun to play, and mastering it can provide a lifetime of satisfaction. Its bright and articulate tone is relatively simple to create, and the banjo’s percussive rhythms include bounce and drive to a lot of different music styles. In its contemporary form, a case could be made that the banjo is one of the few musical instruments that is purely American-bred.