Scruggs style is the most common style of playing the
banjo in
bluegrass music. It is a
fingerpicking method, also known as
three-finger 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. 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),
jazz styles played with a
plectrum, and more modern styles such as
Keith/melodic/chromatic/arpa style, and single-string/Reno style. The influence of Scruggs is so pervasive that even bluegrass players such as
Bill Keith and
Don Reno, who are credited with developing these latter styles, typically work out of the Scruggs style much of the time.