Bill Keith (musician)
Encyclopedia
Bill Keith is a five-string banjoist who made a significant contribution to the stylistic development of the instrument. In the 1960s he introduced a variation on the popular "Scruggs style
" of banjo playing (an integral element of bluegrass music
) which would soon become known as melodic style, or "Keith style
."
's Bluegrass Boys. Keith's recordings and performances during these nine months with Monroe permanently altered banjo playing, and his style has become an important part of the playing styles of many banjoists. After leaving the Bluegrass Boys, he joined "Jim Kweskin
Jug Band" playing plectrum banjo. He began playing the steel guitar and soon after 1968, found himself working together with Ian and Sylvia
and Jonathan Edwards. In the 1970s Keith recorded for Rounder Records
. Over the years he has performed with several other musicians, such as Clarence White
and David Grisman
in Muleskinner, Tony Trischka
, Jim Rooney and Jim Collier. Today, Keith style
is still regarded as modern or progressive in the context of bluegrass banjo playing.
had designed a set of cams which were added to the banjo to perform this task. Keith's invention made the extra hardware unnecessary, replacing two of the tuning machines already on the banjo — a more elegant solution. Scruggs himself became a partner in the venture for a while, and the product was known as "Scruggs-Keith Pegs". Known today simply as Keith Pegs, they remain the state of the art, and Bill Keith continues to manufacture and market them personally as the primary product of his own company, the Beacon Banjo Company.
Scruggs style
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 has influenced generations of bluegrass banjoists ever...
" of banjo playing (an integral element of bluegrass music
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
) which would soon become known as melodic style, or "Keith style
Keith style
The Keith style of playing the 5-string banjo emphasizes the melody of the song. Also known as the "Melodic" or "Chromatic style", it was first developed and popularized independently by Bobby Thompson and Bill Keith in the early 1960s. It is used primarily by bluegrass banjoists, though it can...
."
Professional career
William Bradford Keith was born in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1963 he became a member of Bill MonroeBill Monroe
William Smith Monroe was an American musician who created the style of music known as bluegrass, which takes its name from his band, the "Blue Grass Boys," named for Monroe's home state of Kentucky. Monroe's performing career spanned 60 years as a singer, instrumentalist, composer and bandleader...
's Bluegrass Boys. Keith's recordings and performances during these nine months with Monroe permanently altered banjo playing, and his style has become an important part of the playing styles of many banjoists. After leaving the Bluegrass Boys, he joined "Jim Kweskin
Jim Kweskin
Jim Kweskin is the founder of the Jim Kweskin Jug Band, with Fritz Richmond, Mel Lyman, and Geoff and Maria Muldaur...
Jug Band" playing plectrum banjo. He began playing the steel guitar and soon after 1968, found himself working together with Ian and Sylvia
Ian and Sylvia
Ian & Sylvia were a Canadian folk and country music duo which consisted of Ian and Sylvia Tyson, née Fricker. They began performing together in 1959, married in 1964, and divorced and stopped performing together in 1975.-Early lives:...
and Jonathan Edwards. In the 1970s Keith recorded for Rounder Records
Rounder Records
Rounder Records, originally of Cambridge, Massachusetts, but now based in Burlington, Massachusetts, is a record label founded in 1970 by Ken Irwin, Bill Nowlin and Marian Leighton-Levy, while all three were still university students...
. Over the years he has performed with several other musicians, such as Clarence White
Clarence White
Clarence White was a guitar player for Nashville West, The Byrds, Muleskinner, and the Kentucky Colonels. His parents were Acadians from New Brunswick, Canada...
and David Grisman
David Grisman
David Grisman is an American bluegrass/newgrass mandolinist and composer of acoustic music. In the early 1990s, he started the Acoustic Disc record label in an effort to preserve and spread acoustic or instrumental music.-Biography:Grisman grew up in Hackensack, New Jersey...
in Muleskinner, Tony Trischka
Tony Trischka
Tony Trischka is an American five-string banjo player.-Biography:Tony Trischka was born in Syracuse, New York, and graduated from Syracuse University with a B.A in Fine Arts, and was inspired to play the banjo in 1963, listening to the Kingston Trio's "Charlie and The MTA". Trischka was a...
, Jim Rooney and Jim Collier. Today, Keith style
Keith style
The Keith style of playing the 5-string banjo emphasizes the melody of the song. Also known as the "Melodic" or "Chromatic style", it was first developed and popularized independently by Bobby Thompson and Bill Keith in the early 1960s. It is used primarily by bluegrass banjoists, though it can...
is still regarded as modern or progressive in the context of bluegrass banjo playing.
Afterwards
Keith made a mechanical contribution to the banjo, as well. He designed a specialized type of banjo tuning peg that facilitates changing quickly from one open tuning to another, while playing. Earlier famed banjoist Earl ScruggsEarl Scruggs
Earl Eugene Scruggs is an American musician noted for perfecting and popularizing a 3-finger banjo-picking style that is a defining characteristic of bluegrass music...
had designed a set of cams which were added to the banjo to perform this task. Keith's invention made the extra hardware unnecessary, replacing two of the tuning machines already on the banjo — a more elegant solution. Scruggs himself became a partner in the venture for a while, and the product was known as "Scruggs-Keith Pegs". Known today simply as Keith Pegs, they remain the state of the art, and Bill Keith continues to manufacture and market them personally as the primary product of his own company, the Beacon Banjo Company.