Diddley bow

It consists of a single string of baling wire tensioned between two nails on a board over a glass bottle, which is used both as a bridge and as a means to amplify the instrument's sound.

The diddley bow derives from instruments used in the Sahel region of West Africa, in places such as northern Nigeria and Mali.

[citation needed] The diddley bow is typically homemade, consisting usually of a wooden board and a single wire string stretched between two screws, and played by plucking while varying the pitch with a metal or glass slide held in the other hand.

Buddy Guy learned to play music on a two-string homemade diddley bow before getting his first guitar (a Harmony acoustic).

As a child, blues musician Elmore James describes using a diddley bow: he "plucked a wire strung on the wall of his house while sliding a bottle along it to vary the pitch.

"[7] Recent performers who use similar instruments include New York City-based jazz pianist Cooper-Moore, American bluesman Seasick Steve, Samm Bennett, Danny Kroha, One String Willie, Chicago-based musician Andy Slater a.k.a.