looks more like a modern day banjo, which i play irl. Old banjos from that era would not use the common round metal body you see today, but would have been made from a gourd or wood. The modern day 5th string would also be missing. I see 4 strings on this instrument. Also the banjo has made significant advances in design and player technique in the last 150 years or so, so modern day picking would not exist then. I play clawhammer banjo which is the old style used in the US civil war days. In the old pirate days banjos would be limited to strumming or clawhammer, which is a strumming technique. Ill be looking forward to hearing it play, if its a banjo.
I'm very interested to hear how these instruments contribute to the sound of the shanties!
(Shameless Promotion) If you check out my shanties post you'll see I posted a picture of the fiddle. You'll also find I speculated about Drums, Banjos, Basses, tambourines and fiddles!
