https://acousticguitar.com lessons, music to play, and how-tos for all guitarists Fri, 13 Dec 2024 17:53:14 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://i0.wp.com/acousticguitar.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/AG_Favicon.png?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 https://acousticguitar.com 32 32 103806923 https://acousticguitar.com/go-beyond-alternating-thumb-picking-with-melodic-bass-runs/ https://acousticguitar.com/go-beyond-alternating-thumb-picking-with-melodic-bass-runs/#respond Tue, 24 Dec 2024 14:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=146289 Melodic bass lines are a great skill to add after you’ve mastered the alternating thumb style. ]]> https://acousticguitar.com/go-beyond-alternating-thumb-picking-with-melodic-bass-runs/feed/ 0 146289 https://acousticguitar.com/learn-to-play-the-beatles-ballad-and-i-love-her-as-interpreted-by-pat-metheny/ https://acousticguitar.com/learn-to-play-the-beatles-ballad-and-i-love-her-as-interpreted-by-pat-metheny/#comments Sun, 24 Nov 2024 14:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=145773 Metheny manages to capture the wistful vibe of this Beatles classic while casting it in a bossa nova–inspired setting and updating it with his intricate sense of harmony and phrasing.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/learn-to-play-the-beatles-ballad-and-i-love-her-as-interpreted-by-pat-metheny/feed/ 1 145773 https://acousticguitar.com/learn-gwenifer-raymonds-haunting-solo-guitar-arrangement-of-the-sacred-harp-hymn-idumea/ https://acousticguitar.com/learn-gwenifer-raymonds-haunting-solo-guitar-arrangement-of-the-sacred-harp-hymn-idumea/#respond Tue, 05 Nov 2024 14:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=145750 My instrumental arrangement of “Idumea” was originally conceived for clawhammer banjo, but here I’ve translated it to guitar with an alternating bass pattern.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/learn-gwenifer-raymonds-haunting-solo-guitar-arrangement-of-the-sacred-harp-hymn-idumea/feed/ 0 145750 https://acousticguitar.com/10-great-moments-in-fingerstyle-guitar-history/ https://acousticguitar.com/10-great-moments-in-fingerstyle-guitar-history/#comments Sun, 12 May 2024 13:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=143955 In this feature-lesson, we’ll explore ten key recordings and artists who have significantly shaped the landscape of modern fingerstyle guitar.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/10-great-moments-in-fingerstyle-guitar-history/feed/ 2 143955 https://acousticguitar.com/develop-rhythmic-independence-in-the-thumb-to-help-free-your-groove/ https://acousticguitar.com/develop-rhythmic-independence-in-the-thumb-to-help-free-your-groove/#comments Fri, 08 Mar 2024 14:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=143831 Try these exercises to add cool and interesting variations to traditional picking patterns and open the door to funky new grooves.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/develop-rhythmic-independence-in-the-thumb-to-help-free-your-groove/feed/ 4 143831 https://acousticguitar.com/play-a-jazzy-fingerstyle-rendition-of-over-the-river-and-through-the-woods/ https://acousticguitar.com/play-a-jazzy-fingerstyle-rendition-of-over-the-river-and-through-the-woods/#respond Wed, 08 Nov 2023 14:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=141848 Originally published in 1844, the song remains a popular favorite among children and adults to celebrate Thanksgiving and the Christmas season. ]]> https://acousticguitar.com/play-a-jazzy-fingerstyle-rendition-of-over-the-river-and-through-the-woods/feed/ 0 141848 https://acousticguitar.com/learn-docs-guitar-doc-watsons-fingerstyle-tour-de-force/ Fri, 21 Jul 2023 13:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=139261 The brilliance of Watson’s right-hand technique can be clearly heard on this punishingly fast instrumental]]> 139261 https://acousticguitar.com/hard-chords-made-easy/ https://acousticguitar.com/hard-chords-made-easy/#comments Sat, 17 Jun 2023 13:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=140757 Learn to play these "unplayable" chords, not succumb to them!]]> https://acousticguitar.com/hard-chords-made-easy/feed/ 2 140757 https://acousticguitar.com/learn-happy-traums-dropped-d-fingerpicking-worried-blues/ https://acousticguitar.com/learn-happy-traums-dropped-d-fingerpicking-worried-blues/#respond Fri, 26 May 2023 17:05:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=125784 “It’s one of those lonesome blues things, but it’s not a standard 12-bar blues... It’s more like a folk song,” says Traum ]]> https://acousticguitar.com/learn-happy-traums-dropped-d-fingerpicking-worried-blues/feed/ 0 125784 https://acousticguitar.com/learn-these-percussive-fingerstyle-guitar-techniques-to-add-punch-and-groove-to-your-playing/ https://acousticguitar.com/learn-these-percussive-fingerstyle-guitar-techniques-to-add-punch-and-groove-to-your-playing/#respond Wed, 03 May 2023 13:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=135129 Highlighting the backbeat can be an effective percussive tool]]> https://acousticguitar.com/learn-these-percussive-fingerstyle-guitar-techniques-to-add-punch-and-groove-to-your-playing/feed/ 0 135129 https://acousticguitar.com/arranging-w-c-handy-the-father-of-the-blues-for-fingerstyle-guitar/ https://acousticguitar.com/arranging-w-c-handy-the-father-of-the-blues-for-fingerstyle-guitar/#respond Sun, 26 Feb 2023 14:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=134213 Guitarist and W.C. Handy scholar Jon Shain shares strategies for adapting ragtime pieces for fingerstyle guitar using the 1917 Handy song "Beale Street Blues" as an example.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/arranging-w-c-handy-the-father-of-the-blues-for-fingerstyle-guitar/feed/ 0 134213 https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-11-developing-satisfying-solos/ https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-11-developing-satisfying-solos/#respond Tue, 31 Jan 2023 16:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=128565 Learn to create a solo that has a certain kind of connectedness and unity, because it’s based around some related ideas instead of just whatever lick you happen to come up with at the moment.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-11-developing-satisfying-solos/feed/ 0 128565 https://acousticguitar.com/4-ways-to-improve-fingerstyle-guitar-improvisation/ https://acousticguitar.com/4-ways-to-improve-fingerstyle-guitar-improvisation/#respond Thu, 12 Jan 2023 14:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=125799 This Weekly Workout will help you develop your frame of mind and confidence in solo fingerstyle improvisation on guitar via Tárrega's “Etude in E minor.”]]> https://acousticguitar.com/4-ways-to-improve-fingerstyle-guitar-improvisation/feed/ 0 125799 https://acousticguitar.com/woodshed-john-faheys-uncloudy-day/ https://acousticguitar.com/woodshed-john-faheys-uncloudy-day/#respond Sat, 31 Dec 2022 04:48:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=117790 Fahey’s version of “Uncloudy Day” was originally released on his 1959 debut, Blind Joe Death. ]]> https://acousticguitar.com/woodshed-john-faheys-uncloudy-day/feed/ 0 117790 https://acousticguitar.com/add-some-swing-to-your-fingerstyle-blues-with-walking-bass-lines/ https://acousticguitar.com/add-some-swing-to-your-fingerstyle-blues-with-walking-bass-lines/#respond Sun, 25 Dec 2022 14:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=134225 In this guitar lesson you will learn to play a 12-bar walking-bass blues in the key of E major, adding some swing to your blues playing.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/add-some-swing-to-your-fingerstyle-blues-with-walking-bass-lines/feed/ 0 134225 https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-10-creating-contrast/ https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-10-creating-contrast/#respond Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=128575 Space can be good, but if you want to create a bigger sense of dimension, adding in chords as responses to single-note licks can give you a new depth and texture, while creating an additional level of call-and-response.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-10-creating-contrast/feed/ 0 128575 https://acousticguitar.com/video-lesson-fingerpicking-on-the-blues-in-c-major/ https://acousticguitar.com/video-lesson-fingerpicking-on-the-blues-in-c-major/#respond Fri, 25 Nov 2022 17:31:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=115839 Here are three ways to play a 12-bar blues in C major on guitar, seen through the lens of the old blues masters.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/video-lesson-fingerpicking-on-the-blues-in-c-major/feed/ 0 115839 https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-9-playing-into-the-downbeat/ https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-9-playing-into-the-downbeat/#respond Thu, 10 Nov 2022 16:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=128582 Look at how to play into the downbeat to create momentum in your fingerstyle blues soloing and explore different kinds of resolutions—short, long, and delayed.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-9-playing-into-the-downbeat/feed/ 0 128582 https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-8-adding-motion-and-color-with-jazz-chords/ https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-8-adding-motion-and-color-with-jazz-chords/#respond Fri, 07 Oct 2022 14:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=128604 Explore how you can add motion and color to your blues playing by using compact chord voicings inspired by the great jazz guitarist Freddie Green.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-8-adding-motion-and-color-with-jazz-chords/feed/ 0 128604 https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-7-building-call-and-response-patterns-with-western-swing-chords/ https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-7-building-call-and-response-patterns-with-western-swing-chords/#respond Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=128598 Create call-and-response statements using Western swing chords. You’ll learn to play single-note licks on the I chord in the key of A major, answered by different combinations of sixth and ninth chords.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-7-building-call-and-response-patterns-with-western-swing-chords/feed/ 0 128598 https://acousticguitar.com/beginners-guide-to-fingerpicking-playing-a-melody-and-bass-line-at-the-same-time-on-guitar/ https://acousticguitar.com/beginners-guide-to-fingerpicking-playing-a-melody-and-bass-line-at-the-same-time-on-guitar/#respond Mon, 29 Aug 2022 15:47:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=127950 Guitarist Mary Flower demonstrates how to play melodies and bass notes at the same time on acoustic guitar via an exercise she calls "Nimble Fingers."]]> https://acousticguitar.com/beginners-guide-to-fingerpicking-playing-a-melody-and-bass-line-at-the-same-time-on-guitar/feed/ 0 127950 https://acousticguitar.com/video-lesson-how-to-get-great-tone/ https://acousticguitar.com/video-lesson-how-to-get-great-tone/#respond Thu, 25 Aug 2022 13:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=115833 Relearning your picking-hand approach can help you achieve the best sound that your guitar can make.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/video-lesson-how-to-get-great-tone/feed/ 0 115833 https://acousticguitar.com/playing-thumb-driven-monotonic-bass-lines-on-guitar/ https://acousticguitar.com/playing-thumb-driven-monotonic-bass-lines-on-guitar/#respond Wed, 06 Jul 2022 13:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=132005 In this guitar lesson, learn to play a monotonic bass line, then apply it separately to three chords in the basic 12-bar blues progression.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/playing-thumb-driven-monotonic-bass-lines-on-guitar/feed/ 0 132005 https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-4-accenting-the-backbeats/ https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-4-accenting-the-backbeats/#comments Thu, 16 Jun 2022 15:25:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=127339 Learn how to improve your blues playing by accenting the offbeats and keeping rock-steady bass notes, all on a one-chord groove. ]]> https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-4-accenting-the-backbeats/feed/ 2 127339 https://acousticguitar.com/music-of-madagascar-can-expand-your-fingerstyle-guitar-playing/ https://acousticguitar.com/music-of-madagascar-can-expand-your-fingerstyle-guitar-playing/#respond Wed, 18 May 2022 13:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=129168 In this lesson, Bruce Molsky demonstrates how the guitar tradition from Madagascar takes in not only local music elements but classical and pop influences from everywhere.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/music-of-madagascar-can-expand-your-fingerstyle-guitar-playing/feed/ 0 129168