Home 
Article
Making Music: Wayne Henderson has Two Talents for Making Music an Art
Western North Carolina's Appalachian Mountains have given us many popular and respected musicians throughout the years, but Wayne Henderson is one of few artists as renowned for the instruments as well as the music he makes.
Born in the Ashe County town of Jefferson, Wayne started playing guitar at the age of five. Wayne says he was mostly self-taught, but did have some help from old-time fiddler, Albert Hash, a legendary fiddler and fiddle-maker who Wayne has always looked to for inspiration and advice.
Most musicians would be happy to earn acclaim for their playing alone. But Wayne sought to carve out another distinction for himself, as a respected guitar craftsman. At age 16, Wayne made his first guitar, and there has been a waiting list ever for his guitars ever since. Wayne has sold guitars for the past 30 years, and is still the proud owner of the first guitar he ever built.
Wayne's guitars are considered exceptional because of their distinctive tone, resonance, and volume. His guitars range from $1,000 to $5,000 depending on the types of wood and the handwork used to create it. He feels that it’s important to keep the old style of guitar making alive as well as the styles of playing it. This is apparent through his use of the “drop-thumb” style of playing, an increasingly rare style where the artist hits the string on the way down with his thumb and on the way up with his fingers.
Wayne has played at Carnegie Hall, several times in Asia, and a few times on the “Masters of the Steel-String Guitar.” Later this year, Wayne will perform in Texas, New York, France and Washington. You can also see Wayne play closer to home at any of his local performances and purchase his CDs, including “Rugby Guitar,” “Contest Favorites and Guitar Picking” and “W.C. Henderson and Company,” which are available throughout the area.
Comments
I found your site from searching for Wayne. He is an amazing musican. I am so happy to see him covered by such a prestigious magazine.
- Posted by: Ashley at October 18, 2005 10:54 AM
