Bluegrass Breaks: Guitar by Dix Bruce is a collection of 23 guitar solos or “breaks” plus 16 “kickoffs” or introductions in a range of styles and levels of difficulty. The solos are aimed at the advanced beginner to intermediate guitarists who are looking to expand their repertoire of lead guitar solos.
All of the solos are recorded at both slow and regular speeds. The recordings can be downloaded directly to your computer from Mel Bay’s website.
Bluegrass Breaks: Guitar (Book or eBook with downloadable audio)
This book is sold by Mel Bay Publications.
Click the button below to view and purchase the book from Mel Bay.
Additional Details
You’ll learn:
- Easy Carter-style solos with the melody played on the bass strings punctuated with chord strums
- More advanced Carter-style solos with hammer ons, pull offs, slides and more
- Hot flatpicking solos with eighth notes played with up and down picking
- Fiddle tunes essential for every modern bluegrass lead guitarist to know
- Crosspicking solos played with two different crosspicking patterns
- Solos using the “real dropped D” and the “faux dropped D” tunings
- A variety of kickoffs or introductions, both generic and for specific songs
- Extensive notes on the breaks and the techniques used to play them
The breaks in this book are based on are some of the most performed bluegrass, old-time, and gospel songs — songs that you’re sure to hear played at jam sessions, picking parties, and on stage. Book includes standard music notation, chords, TAB, and extensive playing tips. (See page samples below.)
Table of Contents: Introduction
Jesse James (Carter-style)
Handsome Molly (Carter-style)
Amazing Grace (Carter-style waltz)
When You and I Were Young Maggie (Carter-style & transposing)
John Hardy (Carter-style)
Down in the Willow Garden (Carter-style waltz)
Crying Holy Hot (Flatpicking solo)
Don’t Let the Deal Go Down (Dropped D tuning)
New River Train (Straight Flatpicking solo)
Feast Here Tonight (Hot Flatpicking solo in D)
Roving Gambler (Flatpicking solo)
In the Pines Faux (Dropped D tuning)
Where the Soul Never Dies (Advanced Carter-style)
Bound to Ride (Advanced Carter-style)
Give Me Oil Crosspicking (Solo in D)
Mike’s Marathon (Flatpicking solo)
St. Anne’s Reel (Fiddle tune)
All the Good Times are Past and Gone (Crosspicking solo)
This Little Light of Mine (Solo #1: Carter-style)
This Little Light of Mine (Solo #2: Flatpicking solo)
The Train that Carried My Girl from Town (Flatpicking solo)
Grandfather’s Clock (Crosspicking solo)
Whiskey Before Breakfast (Fiddle tune)
Kickoffs: 16 different intros for songs
Click here to see a short video on the C major scale on Guitar. Scales are the basic element from which most melodies are derived. If you want to play melodies on the guitar it makes sense to know how scales are constructed and how to play them. This video will get you started with a simple C scale.