Bill Keith (musician)

Bill Keith ( born December 20, 1939 in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American bluegrass musician who introduced several important innovations in play and structure of the banjo.

• 2.1 albums

Life

Raised in Boston, Bill Keith took some years piano lessons as a child. But Influenced by country radio broadcasts, he felt drawn to country music more and more. Special fascination exercised the five-string banjo. Since there was a lack of competent banjo teachers in the northeastern United States, he learned mainly from Pete Seeger's textbook "How to Play on the Five - String Banjo ". Through the replay of recordings of the leading musicians, most notably Earl Scruggs, he developed his style permanently on.

When attempting to implement fiddle tunes on his banjo, he improved the hitherto prevailing Scruggs style. Known as the Keith - style technique allowed for the first time playing chromatic melodies on the banjo. Thanks to its classic basic training and his autodidactic books studies, he was able to hold the tablature of his songs in a folder.

Career

In 1962, Keith after a concert opportunity to address his idol Earl Scruggs and to submit its tablatures. Scruggs, who could not read music, let him audition and was so impressed that he invited him to participate in his scheduled textbook. Keith moved to Nashville and stayed in a cottage Scruggs. After an appearance at the Grand Ole Opry Bill Monroe became aware of the talent and took him into his backing band, the Blue Grass Boys' on.

The leading banjo player during these years had in certain situations within a song, the mood of their instrument change, which naturally led to short interruptions. Therefore, Bill Keith developed a new tuning pins, which made it possible to change the pitch by simple thumb pressure. He founded a company, the Beacon Banjo Company, which produced this exclusive tuning pins.

Keith remained only a few months with Bill Monroe. In 1964 he joined the Jim Kweskins Jug Band and four years later, the blue velvet band. He also worked as a studio musician. He joined the folk scene, where he collaborated with musicians such as Ian & Sylvia and Judy Collins. In 1973, the Bill Monroe veteran Peter Rowan, Richard Greene and David Grisman the Muleskinner band and produced the groundbreaking for a progressive bluegrass album A Potpourri Of Bluegrass Jam.

From the mid- 1970s Keith began einzuspielen solo albums. In the late 1980s the blue velvet band got together again. Keith then worked as a studio musician, performed at folk or bluegrass festivals and led by Banjo Courses.

Discography

Albums

• Country musician
• Bluegrass
• American musician
• Born in 1939
• Man