Make a list of common bluegrass chord progressions. The bluegrass repertoire comprises fiddle tunes, gospel songs, ballads and blues. Fiddle tunes are often two-chord songs using the I chord and the V chord. Blues are typically three chord songs using the I, IV and the V chords. Another commonly used progression in bluegrass are the include a major II chord, rather than a minor II chord, in the bridge or chorus. For example, for example in the key of C major the major II chord is D major, rather than D minor. Bluegrass music also often drops the a whole step down from the I chord and then goes to the V7 chord as it works its way back to the I chord. In the key of G this would be G-F-D7-G.
Write out the chord changes and arrangement for each song that your band plays. Use the symbols "/ /" to represent one measure. For example, a 12-bar blues in G would be written as G/G/G/G/C/C/G/G/D7/C/G/G. A fiddle tune in D may be D/D/D/D/A/A/D/D. If one measure contains more than one chord, simply include both chords within the brackets such as C Am/ E7 G/.
Practice playing over the changes. Use the chord charts to sharpen your soloing skills. Bluegrass guitar players depend heavily upon the major scale but they often throw in notes from the pentatonic scale as well. For example, playing a tune in the key of G would use the G major scale G-A-B-C-D-E-F#-G. They tend to use the two "blue" notes from the G pentatonic scale, which are F and B flat. Practice playing over the chord changes. The solos in bluegrass music are a combination of the song's melody and embellishments from these two scales.
Write a set list with the keys for each song. Playing open strings is an essential part of bluegrass guitar style. Bluegrass guitar players use basic first position chords, that uses open strings, such as C, G, D, E,A, Am, Em and Dm. Open strings are also integral to the soloing style. Incorporating open strings into scales allows the bluegrass guitar player to keep up with the fiddle and banjo players.
Work out arrangements for each song. The arrangement determines what songs require a capo and which ones don't. Include this information on your set list or on a separate piece of paper. Eventually, it will become second nature, but the first few times your play new songs live it is easy to be caught off guard.