Weekly Workout: Building Colorful Chords from the Harmonic and Melodic Minor Scales
In this advanced guitar lesson, meet the melodic and harmonic minor scales and then explore the harmonies that can be generated from them.
These articles originally appeared in the March-April 2021 issue of Acoustic Guitar magazine.
Video Lesson: How to Visualize and Play Chords Up the Neck
In this guitar lesson we will focus on how to play chords “up the neck” in order to learn to play a chord-melody.
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Learn a Beautiful Open-G Guitar Arrangement of ‘Sally Ann’
Dudley Hill was a beloved guitarist in the Pacific Northwest with great rhythm and time. Here's how to play his version of the tune "Sally Ann" on guitar.
Why Does My Plugged-In Acoustic-Electric Guitar Sound So Uneven?
Piezo systems have evolved into a broad family of acoustic sensors that can be quite musical and robust-sounding—if they are properly installed
Out of the Shadows: Undersung Women of Blues Guitar
Here we highlight female blues guitarists who helped shaped the blues; masterly musicians who don’t always receive the recognition they deserve.
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Video Lesson: Exploring Rock Legend Eddie Van Halen’s Acoustic Guitar Side
Eddie Van Halen also applied his virtuosity to the acoustic guitar. In this lesson we’ll look at acoustic selections spanning the Van Halen catalog.
Jesse Colin Young’s ‘Highway Troubadour’ Reimagines His Songs for Solo Acoustic Guitar
Stripped-down classics were recorded with no overdubs.
“The Gibson Guy”: How Folkway Music’s Mark Stutman Became a Leading Vintage Guitar Expert
Photos by Claire Bégin The sound of a customer fingerpicking a 1950 Gibson CF-100 in the front showroom of Folkway Music, in Waterloo, Ontario, an hour west of Toronto, drifts into owner Mark Stutman’s office. On the floor lie guitar cases with instruments ready for repair. On one wall is…
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Guitar Talk: Connecting with Leading UK Fingerstylist and Educator Tristan Seume
Tristan Seume has made his way into the top tier of acoustic guitar instrumentalists in the United Kingdom not only due to the extraordinary fingerstyle abilities demonstrated on his original and interpretative recordings, but also his penchant for sharing his skills. In addition to being in high demand to play…
Album Review: Pierre Bensusan Reimagines His Guitar as an Orchestra on Beautiful ‘Aswan’
Bensusan’s touch keeps growing increasingly subtle, and it’s steadily matched by the responsiveness of his 1978 Lowden, producing a variety of tones and textures along the spectrum.
Guitarists Richard Osborn and Glenn Jones Shed Light on the Great, Enigmatic Robbie Basho
Although he grew up in Maryland alongside such American Primitive guitar pioneers as John Fahey and Max Ochs, also releasing several albums on Fahey’s Takoma label, guitarist and singer Robbie Basho expanded on the style by bringing Hindi, Indian, Japanese, and Native American music into his playing. A very religious…
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Campfire Songs: Learn to Play ‘Ragtime Cowboy Joe’
Back in 1912, when ragtime was still a part of the musical zeitgeist, the second best-selling song of the year was “Ragtime Cowboy Joe,” a bouncy Western tune recorded by Bob Roberts. Telling a whimsical tale of a cowboy who sings ragtime music to his herd, the song’s lyrics were…
Classical Guitar Standard Bearer Manuel Barrueco Explores His Roots in the Music of Spain and Cuba
Speaking about recording his upcoming album, classical guitar giant Manuel Barrueco asked in a recent phone interview: “Do you know ‘A la Cubana’ by Enrique Granados? I have re-recorded it three times because the arrangement just wasn’t right. It’s hard and it’s supposed to sound easy. That’s a bad combination,”…
Guitar Review: Yamaha’s FGX3 Is a Modern Folk Workhorse Inspired by 1960s Classics
The guitar has a soft, warm tone that works great for fingerpicked chord patterns and breezy strumming. When strumming chords with a pick, I found it definitely sounds best to approach the FGX3 with a more delicate touch—a thinner pick and a soft strum can go a long way—while heavy-handed strumming and picking tend to get harsh. Approached with a light to medium touch, chords sound rich while maintaining a clarity that allows individual notes to shine.
Gear Review: Body Sensors Take Fishman PowerTap Rare Earth and Infinity Pickups to a New Level
Fishman’s new PowerTap series mates either a soundhole or undersaddle pickup to its new TAP (which stands for Touch, Ambience, and Percussion) body sensors. The sensors are designed to capture percussive elements, body resonances, and performance dynamics that pickups alone tend to miss.
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Song Builder: How to Put Together a Repertoire—and Use it Wisely
Whether you’re a solo singer-songwriter or instrumentalist, or you play with a group, as you develop plans to play shows, you’ll need to carefully consider your repertoire. If you’ve performed in bars and restaurants, then you understand the value of having a few choice standards at your fingertips. Or if…
World Premiere: Robbie Basho’s “Great Depression Blues”
This song is a showcase for Basho’s considerable fingerpicking technique
Acoustic Classic: Learn to Play Jerry Jeff Walker’s “Mr. Bojangles”
When outlaw country singer-songwriter Jerry Jeff Walker died last October at 78, he left behind a rich body of work, comprising more than 30 albums. But the only song of his to become a major hit was “Mr. Bojangles,” which he first recorded for the Atco label in 1968. Inspired…
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Learn Manuel Barrueco’s Serene Reading of “Estrellita”
Mexican composer Manuel Ponce's most successful piece by far is “Estrellita” (“Little Star”), a romantic song for which he wrote both music and lyrics in 1912. The tune is beloved throughout the Spanish-speaking world and has been hugely popular since the 1930s.
Amp Review: Boss Acoustic Singer Live LT Is a Compact and Versatile Creative Tool
The Boss Acoustic Singer Live LT lets you tap into a certain live electricity at apartment volumes, in kitchen-sized spaces, and at motel room locales. That's creative gold right there. It's true that the amp won’t supply the audience for you, but on second thought, the version of you that passes through its circuit board may well help you find one.