Mike Bailey's International Banjo Songbook

All of the arrangements in this book are suitable for play in the very popular style of banjo playing broadly referred to as three finger picking. Within this style we have employed two sub-styles, the Scruggs style and the melodic (sometimes called chromatic) or Keith style. In some cases we have combined features of both the Scruggs style and the melodic style in a single arrangement. Should you have had previous playing experience in either one of these sub-styles but not in both, never fear. The crossover from one sub-style to the other is an easy one. The differences are more to be found in the way you go about learning a given tune than in how you actually play it. So if you have had experience in but one of these sub-styles, perhaps the following style descriptions and comparisons will help.