Category:American classic-fingerstyle banjoists

Classic-fingerstyle banjo refers to a style of playing for the five-string banjo which penetrated popular culture in America and Great Britain in the period roughly defined as following the minstrel-show period and merging into the jazz age.^[1] Some players of the genre can also be described for their activities in these other genres. For example, players John H. Lee, William A. Huntley performed in minstrel-show music before transitioning to classic banjo.

Thousands of works were published in the late 1880s — early 1900s, and banjo clubs permeated America in this period. The body of sheet music offers music in all keys and time signatures (or at least has this option). The style uses all the fingers of the right hand (not just the thumb and two fingers). It doesn't focus on learning patterns.

This has also been called guitar style, as some players had prior familiarity with the guitar.

Players such as George W. Gregory felt one needed to look at the way European musical instruments were taught and played to create a better methodology for playing/teaching the banjo, and he wasn't alone in this, in this style. William A. Huntley and George A. Farland both brought knowledge of other instruments to their playing.

Classic-style banjo is not necessarily Classical music, although some members did play this genre on their banjos (Gregory and Farland, for example). Being widespread in popular culture of the late 19th-early 20th centuries, it included what people wanted to hear, such as marches, dances, parlor music, vaudeville songs, etc.

The style is not dead, but is played by enthusiasts today, who choose to focus on this earlier style of playing.