A first guitar break is the melody of the song, picked on the low strings, with a strum in each gap. Players call this Carter style. It works on any song with a clear tune, it sits inside the chord shapes you know, and it keeps the rhythm going while you play lead. Start there before you try fast runs of single notes.
A break is a solo. In a jam, breaks pass around the circle between verses. Read how to take a break in a bluegrass jam for how the turn comes to you.
Why Carter style comes first
Maybelle Carter of the Carter Family played melodies on the bass strings and brushed the chord between the notes. Flatpickers do the same thing with a pick. The melody note lands on the beat. A down strum fills the space after it.
The style suits a jam for three reasons. The melody is easy to hear. The strums keep time for the circle. Your left hand stays in the chord shape, so the next chord is under your fingers.
Wildwood Flower is the best known Carter style tune. Many guitar players learn it as their first break.
Step 1: sing the melody
Pick a song you can sing or hum from memory. Hum one line. If you cannot hum it, you cannot play it yet.
Start with a slow or medium song with three chords. Bury Me Beneath the Willow and Will the Circle Be Unbroken are good first choices.
Step 2: find the notes inside the chords
Hold the G chord. Most of the melody notes for a song in G sit on the lowest four strings, within the first three frets. Hum the first note and hunt for it there.
When the song moves to the C chord, change to the C shape and look for the melody near that shape. Do the same for D.
A melody note is often a note of the chord you are holding. The rest are one fret or one open string away.
Step 3: put the melody on the beat
Count “1 and 2 and.” Play a melody note on 1 and on 2. Strum down across the high strings on each “and.”
When the melody holds a long note, keep the pattern going. Play the note, strum, play a bass note of the chord, strum.
When the melody moves fast, drop a strum and play two melody notes in a row.
Step 4: add small moves
After the plain break is steady, add one thing at a time.
A hammer-on: pick an open string and bring a finger down hard on the second fret to sound a higher note.
A slide: pick a note one or two frets low and slide up to the melody note.
A run at the end: finish the break with the G run. Read how to play the G run on guitar.
Being heard
A guitar is the quietest lead instrument in the circle. A banjo roll or a hard mandolin chop will cover it.
Pick harder than you do for rhythm. Use a firm pick. Pick a little closer to the bridge for a sharper tone. Lean toward the middle of the circle.
A good circle drops its volume for a guitar break. If you are playing backup while someone else takes a guitar break, play soft or stop.
Use a capo to stay in friendly shapes
Carter style needs open strings. If the singer calls the song in A, put a capo on the second fret and play your break out of G shapes. For B, use the fourth fret. Read how to use a capo in a bluegrass jam.
Work out each break in G shapes and in C shapes. Those two cover most keys with a capo.
Fiddle tunes are a different job
A fiddle tune has a stream of fast notes and no singer. A guitar break on a fiddle tune is the tune itself, played one note at a time with alternating down and up strokes of the pick. Down strokes fall on the beats. Up strokes fall between them.
Learn the tune slow, and keep the pick moving down and up even when you skip a note. Doc Watson brought fiddle tunes to the flatpicked guitar. Tony Rice and Clarence White are two more players to hear.
In the circle, pass on a fiddle tune break until you can play the tune at jam speed. Play rhythm, and try the melody at low volume while others solo. Read fiddle tunes to learn first.
Get in and get out on time
Start your break on the first beat after the singer stops. Play one full verse and no more. In your last bar, go back to plain rhythm so the singer or the next player can come in. Look up at the leader as you finish.
Practice at home
Work out a Carter style break for one song. Play it ten times in a row with a metronome at a slow speed.
Then play along with a recording and take your break when the band takes one. Come in on time, even if you miss notes.
Record yourself. Check that the melody is clear enough for a listener to name the song.
For rhythm between breaks, read how to play guitar rhythm in a bluegrass jam. For the instrument, see the bluegrass guitar guide and the list of bluegrass guitar players.