Tag: July 2018

Play Like Mississippi John Hurt: Steve James, Happy Traum, and John Sebastian Show You How

Although John Hurt’s style and repertoire are often imitated, his guitar sound is hard to duplicate. In this lesson, Steve James teaches you how to play like Mississippi John Hurt.

Steve James
June 5, 2023

busking guitarist in the street with a PA and a sign that says CD $20

5 Essential Tips for Busking Guitarists

It turns out there’s a lot more to street performing than just propping your guitar case open next to a tip sign.

Pauline France
December 29, 2022

Mississippi John Hurt’s Influence on the 1960s Folk Scene and Beyond

In the folk music boom in New York in the 1960s, the music of guitarist Mississippi John Hurt was a huge influence on players like Happy Traum, John Sebastian, and others.

Steve James
November 9, 2022

an image of detective sherlock holmes facing a cartoon question mark with note values floating within it

Video Lesson: Learning the Notes on the Acoustic Guitar Fretboard and the Staff

Guitarist Gretchen Menn offers beginner's tips on how to familiarize yourself with the guitar fretboard and learn the fundamentals of music theory.

Gretchen Menn
January 14, 2022

Trigger Fingers: A Look at Willie Nelson’s Jazz-Inspired Guitar Style

Though Willie Nelson is most easily described as a country musician, elements of jazz have always permeated his style. Here, Adam Levy digs into Nelson's acoustic guitar approach.

Adam Levy
October 4, 2021

Video Lesson: Harnessing the Power of Sus Chords

Look at some sus-chord symbols commonly seen in popular music and learn how to play them on guitar.

Jane Miller
August 11, 2019

Guitar Talk: The Exotic Instrumental Flights of Steve Tibbetts

Steve Tibbetts’ music is impossible to pigeonhole, leaning towards jazz, avant-garde, and modern classical, but he doesn’t fit neatly into any of those categories.

Blair Jackson
June 18, 2018

The Importance of a Strong Bridge Glue Joint

I play a Gibson LG-0 that my mother handed down to me—she got it as a teenager in the ’60s. It’s a great guitar and in pretty killer shape considering all it’s seen. A few months ago, I noticed that the bridge was pulling up. (I can get a piece…

Mamie Minch
June 9, 2018

Martin Celebrates Its Flagship D-28 With a New Exhibit

Standing in front of the display cases and taking it all in, it’s easy to witness the dynamic nature of the D-28’s history and that of its predecessors.

Nick Millevoi
June 8, 2018

CD Review: Tim Easton’s ‘Paco & the Melodic Polaroids’

The “Paco” in the title of Tim Easton’s latest folk-blues album is the nickname that was bestowed long ago on his trusty, travel-worn, black Gibson J-45, his constant companion over many years of traveling the globe—busking, playing clubs and any place that would have him, scraping by, while building a…

Blair Jackson
June 5, 2018

Great Acoustics: Leonardo Buendia Mod.D Cutaway

A couple of years ago, guitar maker Leonardo Buendia was at the Santa Barbara Acoustic Instrument Celebration when he met a retired Southern California luthier who had a stash of rare wood sets from a fallen mahogany tree known for its intense figuring. (Search “The Tree” at AcousticGuitar.com.) “The luthier had bought the…

Adam Perlmutter
June 4, 2018

Makers & Shakers: Matt Eich of Mule Resophonic Guitars

"I wanted to make a resonator guitar that was closer to an acoustic instrument, with traditional resonators that sounded and looked different, and were warmer."

E.E. Bradman
May 31, 2018

Guitar on Record: The Early History of Recorded Sound and Acoustic Instruments

Advances in recording technology would open up multiple new dimensions for the music business.

Mac Randall
May 29, 2018

Fishman Loudbox Mini Charge guitar amplifier

Gear Review: Fishman Loudbox Mini Charge

If you’re a busker, singer-songwriter, or other performing musician, you’ll probably run into a situation where you wish you had a battery-powered amp. That’s where a smart new amp from Fishman—the 60-watt, two-channel Loudbox Mini Charge—can help.

Pete Madsen
May 22, 2018

‘Coffee Blues’ – Learn How to Play a Mississippi John Hurt Classic

This is one of Mississippi John Hurt's signature songs, and contains the innuendo-rich lyric "lovin' spoonful."

Adam Perlmutter and Adam Perlmutter
May 22, 2018

‘Man of Constant Sorrow’ – Learn a Great Song from the American Folk Canon

All steel-string guitarists should have at least one fiddle tune in their repertoire, so if you happen to be lacking one, then this is a good place to start.

Scott Nygaard
May 21, 2018

‘Whiskey River’ – Watch Willie Nelson perform this country classic live at Farm Aid in 1986

The song has a fairly simple structure, with two main repeating sections, a chorus and a verse, and instrumental solos played over the chorus progression.

Adam Perlmutter
May 21, 2018

Learn Bill Frisell’s “Made to Shine”

On paper, this gorgeous composition looks approachable, but it's not easy to make the guitar sing like Bill Frisell does!

Adam Perlmutter
May 19, 2018

Yamaha CSF3M (left) and FG-TA acoustic guitars side by side

Gear Review: Yamaha CSF3M and FG-TA Acoustics

The all-solid-wood CSF3M boasts scalloped bracing for enhanced tone, projection, and loudness; the TransAcoustic-equipped FG-TA dreadnought responds well to fingerpicking and flatpicking in standard and open tunings

Adam Perlmutter
May 18, 2018

Gear Review: Pre-War Guitars Model-HD

Pre-War sent a model HD (herringbone dreadnought) to AG, and I knew something was up when I saw the Harptone hardshell case.

Pete Madsen
May 16, 2018