The Lowly Monochord Zither
Diddley Bow (image swiped from scholastic.com) There is a primitive instrument indigenous to the Deep South that is frequently mentioned by blues scholars as one of the basic "learning tools" for various Delta blues players. According to Wikipedia , which is always correct, ethnomusicologists would call it a "monochord zither." It's commonly known as a Diddley Bow, a jitterbug, or a one-string. And in one modern electrified incarnation, it's called the "Unitar." In its simplest form, a Diddley Bow is simply a length of broom wire or cotton baling wire strung between two nails -- various authorities will say "on the side of a house" or "on a porch post" -- with a bottle or can positioned to serve as a resonator and bridge. It's "fretted" (a kind of lame term, since a proper Diddley Bow has no frets) with a piece of metal or a bottleneck, and plucked or picked or even tapped drum-like with a stick. Semantica