I don’t know why this question came to mind a few weeks ago. But the Disney thread reminded me of it.
I can remember watching the original **Mickey Mouse Club{/b] reruns in the 1960s. One of the adults, Jimmy I think was name (the one who wasn’t Roy), played a four string guitar. I always thought it was odd looking and it wasn’t until a few years later that I learned that it was called a tenor guitar.
Were these things more popular in the 50s and before than the period after the show? I can only think of a couple of occasions I have seen them played on TV and have never seen one in person. Are they used mainly to play rythym? I assume they are tuned like a regular guitar, just omitting the low “E” and “A” strings. Or are they tuned differently?
Finally, I have always thought that both tenor guitars and banjos looked easier to play. After all, they have one string per fretting finger. If you were just strumming the things, it seems it wouldn’t be much different than playing a ukelele.