In bluegrass and old-time guitar lead breaks, open strings are played as often as possible. This is what gives bluegrass and old-time guitar a distinctive sound. The open strings drone after they are picked and are still heard as the fretted notes are played. Because open strings are used so much, the fretted notes are usually played within the first five frets. I've often said that I could get by pretty easily with a guitar that only had the first five frets on the fingerboard.There is, however, a technique for playing open strings in combination with fretted strings played further up the neck. This technique is called "floating." You can really get some pleasant and interesting sounds by floating. However, in order for this to work, you have to learn the licks thoroughly and be accurate and nimble. If you hit a wrong note or wind up with a dead note, the effect is destroyed. When floating, you want to let those open strings ring out and sustain as long as possible.
Do you want to try a floating lick? If you're not familiar with my tablature, it is really simple, and it is explained at:
http://flatpickpost.blogspot.com/2007/10/mngt.html
Here is a classic floating lick that can be used with both the G and D chords. Pick with alternating down and up strokes as indicated in the tablature:
e/7/d--e/5/u--B/7/d--e/0/u--G/7/d--B/0/u--D/7/d--G/0/u
Here is a lick that works with the C and C7 chords:
e/8/d--e/0/u--B/8/d--G/0/u--G/8/d--G/9/u--D/8/d--G/0/u
Try creating your own floating licks. Just transpose notes that you would normally play within the first 5 frets up the fretboard into the 7 to 9 fret range and mix them with any open strings that will work. You might come up with some nice surprises. Floating is a great technique to use here and there to spice up your lead playing.
