What is
Bluegrass Banjo?
Bluegrass banjo is also known as three-finger style or Scruggs-style banjo.
The picking consists of an up-picking motion by the fingers and a down-picking motion by the thumb.
Traditionally played with finger picks on the thumb, index and middle fingers.
Banjo Boy Chimes performed by our teacher John from the Advanced Bluegrass Songs course.
Background on Bluegrass Banjo
You might be surprised to learn that bluegrass banjo is at least three centuries younger than clawhammer banjo; it was developed in the American south in the early twentieth century. Unlike clawhammer, bluegrass banjo avoids strumming altogether. Instead, fingerpicks are used on the thumb, index and middle fingers; the strings are plucked in the same manner a classical guitarist plucks the strings of a guitar.
Earl Scruggs is generally considered to be the originator of this style of banjo playing. Despite the assumption that he single-handedly “invented” bluegrass banjo, Scruggs had contemporaries who used a similar three-finger style approach. Scruggs simply borrowed ideas from these pickers and synthesized them into a more refined, flashier style. Scruggs also had the advantage of being the first bluegrass banjo player to showcase this style of playing to a wide audience through his work with Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys at the Grand Ole Opry.
Below you can watch the fast and furious fingers of our teacher John playing “Roanoke.”
Rolls are the Engine to Bluegrass Banjo
Rolls are the engine of the bluegrass banjo. A roll is a picking pattern that repeats over and over. The combinations of patterns are infinite from a creative standpoint. But as a beginning bluegrass player, you only need to learn about seven rolls:
- Alternating Thumb Roll
- Forward-Backward Roll
- Index-Leading Roll
- Middle-Leading Roll
- Foggy Mountain Roll
- Forward Roll
- Backward Roll
You'll drill these and drill these rolls until they are second nature. You will then find that many songs use almost one roll, primarily, with the occasional addition of a second pattern for variation. Thus, many beginner songs are quite easy to learn.
These seven rolls will unlock many beginner bluegrass songs. Further, you can play these rolls over chords to play along with hundreds of country, pop, blues, and rock songs. Similar to fingerstyle guitar.
(Our teacher, John performing Roanoke in the Advanced Bluegrass Songs course)
Other Bluegrass Skills You'll Learn...
Left-hand flourishes like the Pull-Off, Hammer-On, and Slide can be combined to create licks.
Chords (like any stringed instrument) will also play a large part in your bluegrass playing. The good news is that many bluegrass songs use only three chords, and even the more complex songs only add 2 - 3 additional chords.
With rolls, left-hand flourishes, licks, and chords combined, you have the magic of bluegrass banjo.
Want to see a list of our bluegrass lessons?
Go from zero musical experience to advanced playing by just following the lessons in order.
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