Video Lesson: How to Use a Capo to Play Music in All 12 Keys
The capo is a small but powerful tool for guitarists that raises the notes of the open strings but retains the individual relationships between strings. Here's how to use one.
These articles originally appeared in the May-June 2019 issue of Acoustic Guitar magazine.
Guitar Lesson: Western Swing Rhythm Essentials
Learn the rhythm guitar techniques used in Western Swing music in this video lesson.
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Ask the Expert: Is It Safe to Hang My Guitar on the Wall?
Will hanging my guitar on the wall alter the setup or damage it? Expert luthier Mamie Minch offers two great reasons to hang your guitar, plus some caveats to consider.
Video Lesson: Exploring Joan Baez’s Elegant Guitar Style
A skilled and precise fingerstyle player, Joan Baez modeled an approach to accompaniment that was not flashy, but effective, elegant, and complete-sounding with no other instruments.
Cowboy Chords: An Introduction to Western Swing and Its Illustrious Guitarists
Western swing developed quickly in the 1930s and ’40s from a number of influences: Western life and cowboy culture, various and diverse forms of blues and gospel music, Dixieland jazz and swing, and an all-but-forgotten form of entertainment in traveling tent shows and vaudeville theatre.
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Scott Tennant’s ‘The Segovia Sessions’ Highlights the Maestro as a Composer
This album,by Los Angeles Guitar Quartet co-founder Scott Tennant presents 36 of Segovia’s works
Playlist Album Review: Steve James, ‘Blues and Folk Songs, Vol. 1’
An engaging primer on solo acoustic blues, featuring a collection of blues, rags, and ballads.
George Gruhn on the State of the Vintage Guitar Market
As Gruhn Guitars approaches its 50th anniversary, Gruhn, has plenty to say about prewar instruments, speculators and collectors, old guitars vs. new ones, and more.
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The Honey Dewdrops’ ‘Anyone Can See’ Mixes Folk Activism with Downhome Charm
The Honey Dewdrops show that you can be downhome and in the thick of it at the same time, as long as you’re flexible and go with the flow.
Great Acoustics: Joan Baez’s Circa 1880 Martin Style 0-40
Aside from the association with Baez, the 0-40 is a remarkable instrument in its own right. Martin only made a dozen or so examples of this deluxe parlor-sized guitar, with its Brazilian rosewood back and sides, bound ebony fretboard, abalone purfling and rosette, and brass (or sometimes German silver) engraved tuners with bone buttons.
Gear Review: Santa Cruz Parabolic Tension Strings
When it comes to strings, guitarists seem to fall into one of two categories: some obsess about gauges and materials, while others tend to put on whatever is laying around or happens to be on sale at the local guitar store.
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‘Rhythm Future Quartet and Friends’ Is More Than Just Gypsy Jazz
This album brings finesse and frivolity in equal measure
Guitar Talk: Yasmin Williams Finds Her Own Way
Watching Yasmin Williams perform, it is immediately apparent that the 22-year-old guitarist has an uncommon approach to her solo playing.
‘The Social Power of Music’ Box Set Celebrates Songs of Justice, Reverence, Celebration, and More
This Smithsonian Folkways production is a benchmark for folk compilations to come
How To Choose and Use a Guitar Capo
Capos are valuable tools for changing the tuning of your guitar, and as such, you should learn how to use a capo and not view them as “cheaters.”
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‘Copeland’s Fancy’: Learn a Spirited Country-Blues Number in Open D
The sound of Leonard Copeland’s guitar has remained iconic, and this piece by Steve James reflects that.
‘New Beginnings’: A Contemplative Study by Yasmin Williams
Tuning her guitar to open D, and placing a capo at the fourth fret, she sat down, started playing, and immediately happened upon the main theme.
‘There But for Fortune’: Travis Picking, Joan Baez style
As with any folk accompaniment, you needn’t bother with playing exactly what’s on the printed page. It would sound overly studied to play things note for note.
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Tiger Rag: The Light Crust Doughboys’ Barn-Burning Western Swing Classic
Grab a flatpick and a metronome and set aside a generous amount of time in the woodshed, as in this lesson you’ll work on the blazing guitar leads and swinging rhythmic accompaniment.
Solo Guitar Arrangement: the Beatles’ ‘If I Needed Someone’
George Harrison's electric riffs work just as nicely on the acoustic and though this may be a challenging arrangement, it's worth practicing to achieve a properly rocking groove.
Campfire Songs: Learn ‘Streets of Laredo’ With Four Cowboy Chords
Learn to play 'The Streets of Laredo' (aka “Cowboy’s Lament”), in the key of C major, using four cowboy chords: C (I), G (V), F (IV), and D (II).
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Guitar Basics: How to Build Chords and Use Them in Progression
In this guitar lesson we study the fundamentals of diatonic harmony to understand the theory, then apply it to the fretboard to build chords and use them in progression.
Gear Review: Fender American Acoustasonic Telecaster
he player who ends up favoring the Fender Acoustasonic Telecaster is anybody’s guess, but it’s likely to be a musician who places a priority on functional, accessible tools. It’s certainly going to find an audience among those who need acoustic and electric tones at the ready and value the Acoustasonic’s looks and high level of comfort.
Gear Review: Farida Old Town Series OT-65 Wide VBS and OT-25 NA
Farida's latest offerings are contemporary takes on a couple of wartime Gibson models: The OT-65 Wide VBS, inspired by the popular Gibson J-45, and the more petite 00-size OT-25 NA modeled on the lesser-known Gibson LG-3.
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Gear Review: GrooveTech Acoustic Guitar Tech Kit
Guitars can use a little care from time to time, and the GrooveTech Acoustic Guitar Tech Kit covers all of the essentials.