 In the 1960s, scholars and writers began to seriously examine the traditional music of West Africa in their search for the roots of the blues, jazz, and the other music forms that had emerged in the African diaspora.However, in this quest there was very little study and documentation of West African stringed instruments done other than in the overall context of general musical and cultural traditions.For the most part, the only stringed instruments to receive specific attention were those of the griots, such as their plucked lutes (e.g.