Adrian Center for the Arts

Lecture: From Math to Muddy Waters: The History of the Cigar Box Guitar with Mike Mouradian 

Saturday, June 20th * 11:00am - 12:00pm

Cost: Free

Join us for a fascinating journey into the soul of American music as we trace the unlikely evolution of the cigar box guitar. This lecture explores how ancient mathematics, wartime necessity, and the birth of the Blues converged to create one of the most resilient symbols of musical ingenuity.

What to Expect:

 The Ancient Foundation: We begin with Pythagoras, the Greek philosopher who first decoded the mathematical relationship between string length and pitch.

 Necessity is the Mother of Invention: While high-society luthiers spent centuries refining sophisticated violins and lutes, "folk" instruments remained the heartbeat of the common people. We’ll examine the hunting bow, likely the world's first stringed instrument, and how its design persisted through time.

 A Perfect Storm of History: Discover how 19th-century tax laws inadvertently revolutionized instrument making. When the U.S. government mandated that cigars be packed in standardized wooden boxes, they provided a free, resonant "body" for anyone with a stick and a piece of wire.

 The Sound of Resistance and Resilience: We will explore the vital role these instruments played for enslaved people in the South and Civil War soldiers on the front lines. These humble boxes became the primary vehicles for the early Blues, later influencing rock legends like The Rolling Stones.

Lecture Highlights:

 Live Demonstrations: See and hear the raw, acoustic power of various homemade instruments.

 Visual History: View rare photos of the 19th-century cigar boxes that started it all.

 The Science of Sound: A simple breakdown of the math that makes a three-string guitar sing.

"If you can't buy it, build it." This lecture is a tribute to the spirit of the makers who proved that you don't need a golden instrument to play the music of the soul.

Bio: Mike Mouradian is a folk instrument maker driven by the belief that music should be accessible to everyone. Instrument making is about reclaiming the spirit of DIY folk history. Moving away from store-bought commercialism, Mike builds stringed instruments the way people have for centuries: with simple materials and a lot of heart. Drawing inspiration from historical traditions where instruments were crafted from everyday materials, Mike specializes in building soulful, handmade guitars and “canjos." His work has been showcased at the Ann Arbor Artisan’s Market, WSG Gallery, Detroit Artists Market, and the Ann Arbor Art Center. A career educator, Mike served as a public school teacher and a Clinical Professor of Education at the University of Michigan, and he now brings that lifelong passion for teaching to the art of instrument making.