Homemade Music

Box Guitar

A homemade stringed instrument built by musically inclined children.

Photo Wanted Be the first to send a real photo of Box Guitar being played.
Category
Homemade Music
Materials
An empty tin/wooden box, a wooden plank, wire/fishing line, and a small bridge piece of wood.

How It's Played

A homemade stringed instrument built by musically inclined children. A large, empty rectangular tin (like a cooking oil or kerosene tin) or a sturdy wooden box serves as the resonator body. A flat piece of bamboo or scrap wood is attached as the neck, and discarded brake cables, thin wire, or fishing lines are stretched across to form strings.

Cultural Roots

Directly tied to the foundations of early Jamaican Mento and Reggae music, showcasing how early musicians and children constructed functional instruments out of scrap metal to express rhythm.

Did You Play Box Guitar?

Wherever you grew up — Kingston, Montego Bay, Brooklyn, Toronto, London, Miami — if you remember playing this, we want to hear from you. Send us your story, your photos, or an old video. Every submission helps preserve this game for the next generation.

Photos and stories may be featured on this page and across our social channels (with credit to you).

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