Woodshed: How to Play a Dropped-D Gospel Theme as Recorded by Bahamian Guitar Legend Joseph Spence
Listen to any Joseph Spence song and you’ll find unexpected nuance and detail, no matter how many times you have heard it.
These articles originally appeared in the November-December 2020 issue of Acoustic Guitar magazine.
“Dans Kef” – Learn to Play a Mysterious Celtic Arrangement for Solo Guitar
“Dans Kef” is in a sort of modified Orkney tuning I call Celto-Hawaiian, because it can sound like it’s from the islands. The tune is in fact a good case study in how to build your own Celtic arrangement.
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Guitar Lesson: Exploring John Prine’s Simple but Distinctive Acoustic Approach
This lesson takes a tour of John Prine’s music by way of his guitar style, using examples drawn from some of his most-loved songs.
Ask the Expert: Sound Advice for Making a Living in Lutherie
Thinking about a career in guitar making or repair? Here are some resources to help get you started off on the right foot.
Classical Bluegrass? Learn How to Flatpick a Matteo Carcassi Etude
Matteo Carcassi’s 25 Etudes, Op. 60 are a rite of passage for the advancing classical guitarist. Learn how to flatpick this classic on acoustic guitar.
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Acoustic Jazz Guitar Lesson: An Easy Introduction to Swing Leads
Interested in playing swing guitar leads but don't know how to get started? Here I'll show how get the most mileage out of just a few notes—while getting a great workout on the fretboard.
‘Little Satchel’— Learn Sarah Jarosz and John Leventhal’s Take on a Traditional Tune
On “Little Satchel,” the most traditional number on Sarah Jarosz’s brilliant new album, World on the Ground (see link to review below), Jarosz sings and plays clawhammer banjo while her producer, John Leventhal, lends spare but effective guitar parts. Leventhal’s instrument—a late 1930s Gibson J-35 that he has owned for…
Class Action: Tips on Building a Successful Guitar Teaching Practice
Whether you want to recruit a few students or develop a full schedule, here are a few suggestions to get the ball rolling.
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David Broza’s ‘en Casa Limón’ Moves from Flamenco to Swing to Jazz and Pop
Broza has taken a huge leap, writing and recording an entire album of music for Spanish nylon-string guitar
Album Review: Cindy Cashdollar’s Star-Studded ‘Waltz for Abilene’
On only the second album under her own name, Cindy Cashdollar draws from her collection of steel, lap steel, tricone, resophonic, and Weissenborn guitars.
Album Review: Neil Young’s 1970s ‘Homegrown’ Spills from the Vault
The 13th release from the Neil Young Archives since 2006, Homegrown is one of Young’s famously “lost” albums, recorded in 1974–1975.
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Guitar Review: Breedlove Organic Signature Concert Copper CE Is an Entry-Level Acoustic-Electric Made from Sustainable, All-Solid Woods
What sets Breedlove's Organic Collection guitars apart apart from other entry-level models is their lightly built, solid-wood construction with thin UV finishes.
Album Review: Sarah Jarosz Digs Deeper with Multi-Instrumentalist/Producer John Leventhal
What’s most striking on this rich, satisfying album is Jarosz’s growth as a songwriter,
Acoustic Guitar Basics: How to Train Your Fretting Fingers for Maximum Efficiency and Musicality
Learn to use your fretting hand with maximum efficiency by understanding how that hand works mechanically and how it should interact with the fingerboard.
Al Di Meola Takes Classic Beatles Tunes to New Places
After nearly 50 years exploring the most remote destinations on the musical map, Al Di Meola’s homecoming to formative influences The Beatles was always going to involve new languages and fresh perspectives. The travelogue that preceded it, after all, carried the New Jersey native across a universe of sound and…
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Guitar Review: New Fender Acoustasonic Strat Hits All the Right Notes
The second offering in the new line, the American Acoustasonic Stratocaster is a double-cutaway variation that, like its predecessor, is equipped with Fender/Fishman-designed electronics and is capable of delivering a range of convincing acoustic and electric tones in a single package.
“Angel from Montgomery”— Here’s How to Play John Prine’s Best-Known Song
“I am an old woman.” So goes the opening of “Angel from Montgomery,” first released in 1971 by John Prine, who was neither a woman nor old. Along with songs like “Hello in There” and “Sam Stone” on his self-titled debut album, “Angel From Montgomery” introduced Prine as a songwriter…
Gear Review: JBL’s IRX112BT Powered PA Offers Brawn and Flexibility in a Portable Package
When amplifying an acoustic guitar, there’s often a tradeoff between the portability of a small acoustic amp and the power and full-range sound of a heavier and more expensive PA system. JBL’s new IRX line of Bluetooth-enabled powered PA speakers offers flexibility and power in a surprisingly lightweight and affordable…
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Sharon Isbin’s Multihued Musical Experience
During a phone call from her New York City home, multi-Grammy-winning guitarist Sharon Isbin’s voice reveals patience and acceptance regarding the situation imposed by the current pandemic that has kept her and every other touring artist out of concert halls. “I haven’t traveled since the middle of February,” Isbin says.…
Album Review: Acoustic Blues Titan Rory Block Broadens Her Focus on ‘Prove It on Me’
After announcing her new “Power Women of the Blues” series, snagging the 2019 Blues Music Award for Acoustic Artist of the Year, and releasing a tribute album to Bessie Smith, Rory Block is back with a follow-up that’s even better. Unlike her last seven albums, Prove It on Me isn’t…
Acoustic Guitarists Sound Off on Their Musical Lives in the Age of COVID-19
What we learned from a survey of nearly 900 readers was fascinating, informative, sobering, and ultimately, inspiring
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Great Acoustics: John Prine’s 1939 Gibson Super 400N
From the November/December 2020 issue of Acoustic Guitar | By Greg Olwell A few archtops were larger and some were glitzier, but all were trying to top the standard set by the stunning Gibson Super 400. Having an 18-inch lower bout and decorated with Gibson’s most premium appointments and hardware, the Super 400 surpassed the L-5…
Guitar Talk: Kenyan Singer-Songwriter Ondara Has Found his Voice in America
One of the more interesting cats to emerge in the acoustic guitar world is Kenya-born, Minneapolis-based singer-songwriter J.S. Ondara.
Makers & Shakers: Sherwood ‘Woody’ Phifer’s Forward-Thinking Archtop Designs
His fresh thinking and artistic touch combine to make his instruments both striking and familiar.
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Review: Taylor’s American Dream AD27 Delivers All the Tone Without the Frills
The American Dream is alive, well, and living near San Diego, at least if you’ve been dreaming of an affordable American-made, all-solid-wood Taylor guitar. Launched in the midst of the pandemic, Taylor says its new American Dream series was “born from adversity”—an effort to make an affordable guitar available in…