The banjo is prominently featured in bluegrass music, and this style of music is almost defined by the finger-picking legends that it spawned. The chord progressions consist mainly of the standard chords and scales used in most western music. The traditional bluegrass lineup is completed with a fiddle, mandolin, acoustic guitar and bass. In many traditional bluegrass compositions, the melody would feature plenty of minor key notes that contrast with the chord progression that is generally in a major key.
As good singing grew in importance around 1920, the Monroe Brothers duet from Kentucky boomed in popularity. Brothers Charlie and Bill Monroe played guitar and mandolin, respectively, and they sang in harmony. The duet split in 1938 and Bill went on to form "Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys." Bill Monroe became known as the "Grandfather of Bluegrass." Earl Scruggs joined Monroe's band in 1945 and developed a three-finger picking technique for the banjo. This technique reserved Scruggs' name in the unwritten list of musical legends.
Bill Monroe died on Sept. 9, 1996, four days short of his 85th birthday. Because of his profound influence on the popular music of his country, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame one year later. Bill Monroe has also been inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor and the Country Music Hall of Fame.
The development of bluegrass continued in 1939 during the American jazz era. This illustrates the connection between the high caliber technical jazz players and the bluegrass picking legends that had mastery of the technique. The first bluegrass festival was introduced in 1960 and crowds grew enough so that in 1965, the first weekend-long bluegrass festival was organized.
Almost 100 years after its conception, bluegrass is being reincarnated as "newgrass" by younger players blending the traditional bluegrass sound with other contemporary influences. This modern bluegrass movement also has included the introduction of contemporary instruments such as electric guitar and drum set into the style.