Dowling was born in Cornwall, England. He won first place at the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Awards in 2000 with his band The Black Cat Theory and became the first European ever to take first place at the US Bluegrass Banjo Championships held in Winfield, Kansas in 2002. In 2007, he was featured as a master class tutor on the BBC1 reality show. Play it again with Mark Knopfler, Jools Holland and Courtney Pine. In the beginning, John played the violin, as did his wife. However, over time, he developed an interest in the banjo, as an ancient instrument. The banjo is a relative of the well-known European mandolin, similar in shape to it. But between them there is a one notable difference in sound – the banjo has a more ringing and sharp sound. In some African countries, the banjo is considered a sacred instrument, which can only be touched by high priests or rulers. Today, the banjo is commonly associated with country and bluegrass music. However, historically, the banjo is central to African-American traditional music, as are 19th-century minstrel performances. In fact, African-Americans had a strong influence on the early development of country and bluegrass music, through the introduction of the banjo, as well as through the introduction of musical techniques on the banjo and violin. Recently, the banjo has been used in a wide variety of musical genres, including pop music and Celtic punk. Dowling prefers to play country music. The violin complements perfectly and he and his wife make beautiful music. Their baby from birth has the opportunity to come into contact with art. He always listens intently to the tune that mom and dad play. They even composed several children’s motives especially for their baby.

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