Scruggs style
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Scruggs styleis the most common style of playing thebanjoinbluegrass music.It is afingerpickingmethod, also known asthree-finger style.It is named afterEarl Scruggs,whose innovative approach and technical mastery of the instrument have influenced generations of bluegrass banjoists ever since he was first recorded in 1946. It contrasts with earlier styles such as minstrel,classic,or parlor style (a late 19th-century finger-style played without picks),clawhammer/frailing/two-finger style (played with thumb and nail of the first or middle finger),jazzstyles played with aplectrum,and more modern styles such asKeith/melodic/chromatic/arpa style and single-string/Reno style. The influence of Scruggs is so pervasive that even bluegrass players such asBill KeithandDon Reno,who are credited with developing these latter styles, typically work out of the Scruggs style much of the time.[citation needed]
Technique
[edit]
Scruggs-style banjo is played with picks on the thumb, index, and middle fingers; the pinky and ring fingers are typically braced against the head (top) of the instrument. Thestringsare picked rapidly in repetitive sequences orrolls;the same string is not typically picked twice in succession.Melodynotes are interspersed amongarpeggios,andmusical phrasestypically contain long series of staccato notes, often played at very rapidtempos.The music is generallysyncopated,and may have a subtleswing or shufflefeel, especially on mid-tempo numbers. The result is lively, rapid music, which lends itself both as anaccompanimentto other instruments and as a solo.[citation needed]
"Scruggs-style back-up is effective for any...break when it is played with the deeper tones of the banjo... However, it is particularly effective [with]...fiddle, mandolin, and vocal breaks. The deeper tones of the banjo counter-balance the higher pitched tones of the fiddle and mandolin, and the activity of the roll patterns creates acounter-melodywhich enhances the effectiveness of the melody. "
— Janet Davis[2]
Beginning with his first recordings withBill Monroeand His Blue Grass Boys, and later withLester Flatt, Earl Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys,Earl Scruggs introduced a vocabulary of "licks",short musical phrases that are reused in many different songs. Because these licks were widely copied (with variations) by later players, they have become one of the defining attributes of the style, and give it its characteristic sound.[4]These licks often contain fretting-hand embellishments such asslides,chokes(bends),hammer-ons,or plucking the strings with the fretting hand (left handpizzicato), which add to theharmonicandrhythmiccomplexity. Many licks also make use ofblue notes,giving the music abluesierfeel.[citation needed]
Influence
[edit]Some have debated how much of the "Scruggs style" was actually "invented" (instead of merely popularized) by Scruggs. For example, Scruggs namesSnuffy Jenkinsas a major influence.[5]Either way, no one doubts that Scruggs did more to popularize the elements of hiseponymousstyle than any of his contemporaries; it is hard to overstate his influence. In 1968, the instructional manualEarl Scruggs and the 5-String Banjo(revised in 2005 underISBN0-634-06042-2) was published. This made Scruggs' technique more widely accessible, and as one of the earliest books of its kind for bluegrass banjo, helped spread Scruggs' influence considerably. The style was also popularized by Scruggs' recording of the theme song of the television programThe Beverly Hillbillies(1962–1971), "The Ballad of Jed Clampett",as well as the use of"Foggy Mountain Breakdown"in the filmBonnie and Clyde(1967).
On January 11, 2019,aGoogle Doodlepaid homage to Scruggs by featuring a "close-up" animated demonstration of the "Scruggs style".[6]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^abDavis, Janet (2002).[Mel Bay's] Back-Up Banjo,p.54.ISBN0-7866-6525-4.
- ^Davis (2002), p.56.
- ^Hohwald, Geoff (1988).Banjo Primer,p.14.ISBN1-893907-32-5.Shown without rhythm.
- ^Adler, Thomas (1974). "Manual Formulaic Composition: Innovation in Bluegrass Banjo Styles,"Journal of Country Music5 no. 2: 55–64.
- ^Garner, Steve (2007).Mel Bay's American Banjo: Three-Finger and Scruggs Style,p.4.ISBN0-7866-5127-X.
- ^Musil, Steven (2019-01-10)."Google Doodle celebrates Earl Scruggs, banjo-picking pioneer".CNET.
Bibliography
[edit]- Scruggs, Earl; Brent, M.D., Burt (1968).Earl Scruggs and the 5-String Banjo.Peer International Corp.
- Castelnero, Gordon and Russell, David L.Earl Scruggs: Banjo Icon.Rowman & Littlefield, 2017.