Scruggs style

It is named after Earl Scruggs, whose innovative approach and technical mastery of the instrument have influenced generations of bluegrass banjoists ever since he was first recorded in 1946.

"Beginning with his first recordings with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys, and later with Lester 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.

[5] Either way, no one doubts that Scruggs did more to popularize the elements of his eponymous style than any of his contemporaries; it is hard to overstate his influence.

The style was also popularized by Scruggs' recording of the theme song of the television program The Beverly Hillbillies (1962–1971), "The Ballad of Jed Clampett", as well as the use of "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" in the film Bonnie and Clyde (1967).

Forward roll on G major chord in both standard notation and banjo tablature , accompaniment pattern characteristic of Scruggs style [ 1 ] Play ⓘ .
Variant of forward roll above, shown only in tab. Play ⓘ
Banjo, "standard roll patterns", on G major chord: Play forward ⓘ (above), Play backward ⓘ , Play mixed ⓘ , and Play forward-reverse ⓘ . [ 1 ] [ 3 ]