Cigar Box Christmas Classics

There is a deep seated desire in people to make musical instruments out of practically anything. Sometimes it's just for fun, sometimes it's because there is no money for expensive music equipment. Cigar box based instruments started out in the late 19th century (before that cigars shipped in barrels and the like) often improvised by poor folks out of scraps. Add a broom handle, a bit of wire from a window screen, and after some experimentation these amateur luthiers could pluck out tunes.

Modern folks are still building instruments out of cigar boxes, using the box as a resonator for guitars, banjos, dulcimers and even fiddles. Some include modern refinements like pickups for amplifying the sound. Others prefer to build their instruments the same way that people did more than a hundred years ago. It's a tribute to the indomitable spirit of those people who can make music out of anything.