Editing Banjo (section)

==Noted banjoists==
{{Main|List of banjo players}}
{{See also|American Banjo Museum Hall of Fame members}}
* [[Joel Sweeney]] (1810–1860), also known as Joe Sweeney, was a musician and early [[blackface]] [[Minstrel show|minstrel]] performer. He is known for popularizing the playing of the banjo and has often been credited with advancing the physical development of the modern five-string banjo.
* [[Vess Ossman]] (1868–1923) was a leading five-string banjoist who started playing banjo at age 12. He was a popular recording artist, and in fact one of the first recording artists ''ever'', when audio recording first became commercially available. He formed various recording groups, his most popular being the Ossman-Dudley trio.<ref name="Gracyk">Gracyk, Tom (2000). ''Popular American Recording Pioneers: 1895–1925''; Routledge (Haworth Popular Culture series); p. 106ff. {{ISBN|0-789012-20-0}}.</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Tichenor|first1=Trebor Jay|title=Ossman, Vess L.|url=https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/41387|access-date=23 February 2015|website=Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]}}</ref>
* [[Clifford Essex]] (1869–1946), a British banjoist, who was also a musical instrument manufacturer
* [[Uncle Dave Macon]] (1870–1952) was a banjo player and comedian from Tennessee known for his "plug hat, gold teeth, chin whiskers, gates ajar collar and that million dollar Tennessee smile".
* [[Fred Van Eps]] (1878–1960) was a noted five-string player and banjo maker who learned to play from listening to cylinder recordings of Vess Ossman. He recorded for Edison's company, producing some of the earliest disk recordings, and also the earliest ragtime recordings in any medium other than player piano.<ref name="Gracyk=-2">{{cite web|last=Gracyk |first=Tim |url=http://www.gracyk.com/fredvaneps.shtml |title=Tim Gracyk's Phonographs, Singers, and Old Records – Fred Van Eps, Banjoist |website=Gracyk.com |access-date=26 January 2017}}</ref>
* [[Frank Lawes]] (1894–1970), of the United Kingdom, developed a unique fingerstyle technique on the four-string plectrum instrument, and was a prolific composer of four-string banjo music, much of which is still performed and recorded today.
* [[Pasquale Troise]] (1895-1957), Italian emigrant to the UK in the 1920s. Formed Troise and his Banjoliers in 1933, which recorded with [[Decca Records|Decca]] and performed regularly on the BBC's long-running series [[Music While You Work]].<ref>'[http://www.mastersofmelody.co.uk/troise.htm Troise and his Banjoliers]', at ''Masters of Melody</ref>  
* [[Harry Reser]] (1896–1965), plectrum and tenor banjo, was regarded by some as the best tenor banjoist of the 1920s. He wrote a large number of works for tenor banjo, as well as instructional material including numerous banjo method books,<ref>e.g., ''Harry Reser's Manual for Tenor Banjo Technique'' (Robbins Music Corporation, 1927); ''Harry Reser's Let's Play the Tenor Banjo'' (Remick Music Crop, 1959); ''Picture-Chords for Tenor Banjo'' (Remick Music Crop, 1960); ''et al''</ref> over a dozen other instrumental method books (for guitar, ukulele, mandolin etc.), and was well known in the banjo community. Reser's accomplished single string and "chord melody" technique set a "high mark" that many subsequent tenor players still endeavor to attain.
* [[Eddie Peabody]] (1902–1970) was a great proponent of the plectrum banjo who performed for nearly five decades (1920–1968) and left a considerable legacy of recordings.<ref>''The Banjo Wizardry of Eddie Peabody'', Dot Records DLP-3023 (mono) (date not known), liner notes</ref> An early reviewer dubbed him "King of the Banjo", and his was a household name for decades. He went on to develop new instruments, produce records, and appear in movies.
* [[Ola Belle Reed]] (1916–2002) was an American folk singer, songwriter and banjo player.
* [[Pete Seeger]] (1919–2014), a singer-songwriter who performed solo as well as with folk group [[the Weavers]], included five-string banjo among his instruments. His 1948 method book ''How to Play the Five-String Banjo'' has been credited by thousands of banjoists, including prominent professionals, with sparking their interest in the instrument. He is also credited with inventing the [[Pete Seeger#Banjo and 12-string guitar|long-neck banjo]] (also known as the "Seeger Banjo"), which adds three lower frets to the five-string banjo's neck, and tunes the four main strings down by a minor third, to facilitate playing in singing keys more comfortable for some folk guitarists.
* [[Earl Scruggs]] (1924–2012), whose career ranged from the end of World War II into the 21st century, is widely regarded as the father of the bluegrass style of banjo playing.<ref name="Willis">Willis, Barry R.; ''America's Music: Bluegrass : A History of Bluegrass Music in the Words of Its Pioneers''; Pine Valley Music, 1997. {{ISBN|0-965240-70-3}}</ref> The three-finger style of playing he developed while playing with [[Bill Monroe]]'s band is known by his name: ''[[Scruggs Style]]''.<ref name="trischka">Trischka, Tony, "Earl Scruggs", ''Banjo Song Book'', Oak Publications, 1977</ref>
* [[Ralph Stanley]] (1927–2016) had a long career, both with his brother as the Stanley Brothers and with his band the Clinch Mountain Boys. He was awarded an honorary doctorate of music by [[Lincoln Memorial University]], is a member of the [[Bluegrass Hall of Fame]] and the [[Grand Ole Opry]]. He won a [[Grammy Award]] for [[Best Male Country Vocal Performance]] in the movie [[O Brother, Where Art Thou?]].
* [[Roy Clark]] (1933–2018)
* [[John Hartford]] (1937–2001)
* [[Sonny Osborne]] (1937-2021)
* [[Ben Eldridge]] (1938-2024)
* [[Barney McKenna]] (1939–2012) was an Irish musician and a founding member of The Dubliners. He played the tenor banjo, violin, mandolin, and melodeon. He was most renowned as a banjo player. Barney used GDAE tuning on a 19-fret tenor banjo, an octave below fiddle/mandolin and, according to musician Mick Moloney, was single-handedly responsible for making the GDAE-tuned tenor banjo the standard banjo in Irish music. Due to his skill level on the banjo, fans all around the world and other members of [[The Dubliners]] nicknamed him "Banjo Barney".
* [[Bill Keith (musician)|Bill Keith]] (1939–2015)
* [[Pete Wernick]] (b. 1946)
* [[Tony Trischka]] (b. 1949)
* [[Béla Fleck]] (b. 1958) is widely acknowledged as one of the world's most innovative and technically proficient banjo players.<ref name="Rhapsody">{{cite web|url=http://www.rhapsody.com/bela-fleck |title=Bela Fleck |publisher=Rhapsody |access-date=8 August 2013}}</ref> His work spans many styles and genres, including jazz, bluegrass, classical, R&B, avant garde, and "world music", and he has produced a substantial discography and videography. He works extensively in both acoustic and electric media. Fleck has been nominated for Grammy Awards in more categories than any other artist, and has received 13 {{as of|2015|lc=y}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mywebpages.comcast.net/wendell.norman/awards.htm |title=Awards : Grammy Awards and Nominations |publisher=Mywebpages.comcast.net |access-date=8 August 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070818004347/http://mywebpages.comcast.net/wendell.norman/awards.htm |archive-date=18 August 2007 }}</ref>
* [[Noam Pikelny]] (b. 1981) is an American banjoist who plays eclectic styles including traditional bluegrass, classical, rock, and jazz music. He has won the Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass in 2010.<ref>{{cite web |title=Noam Pikelny Wins the Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass |url=https://www.stevemartin.com/stevemartin/2010/09/noam-pikelny-wins-the-steve-martin-prize-for-excellence-in-banjo-and-bluegrass.html |work=SteveMartin.com |date=8 September 2010 |access-date=30 December 2020}}</ref> He has been nominated for eight Grammy Nominations and has been awarded one with his band, the Punch Brothers, in 2018.<ref>{{cite web |title=Artist: Noam Pikelny |url=https://www.grammy.com/grammys/artists/noam-pikelny |work=[[Grammy Award]] |access-date=30 December 2020}}</ref>
* Other important four-string performers were [[Mike Pingitore]], who played tenor for the [[Paul Whiteman Orchestra]] through 1948, and [[Roy Smeck]], early radio and recording pioneer, author of many instructional books, and whose influential performances on many fretted instruments earned him the nickname "Wizard of the Strings", during his active years (1922–1950). Prominent tenor players of more recent vintage include [[Narvin Kimball]] (d. 2006) (left-handed banjoist of [[Preservation Hall Jazz Band]] fame).
* Noted four-string players currently active include [[ragtime]] and [[dixieland]] stylists [[Charlie Tagawa]] (1935–2017) and Bill Lowrey (b. 1963). Jazz guitarist [[Howard Alden]] (b. 1958) began his career on tenor banjo and still plays it at traditional jazz events. [[Cynthia Sayer]] (b. 1962) is regarded as one of the top jazz plectrum banjoists. Rock and country performer [[Winston Marshall]] (b. 1988) plays banjo (among other instruments) for the British [[folk rock]] group [[Mumford and Sons]], a band that won the 2013 [[Grammy Award]] for "Best Album of the Year".