The Year in Gear (and More)—Acoustic Highlights of 2024
We look back at some of the year’s most exciting guitars, accessories, and amplifiers, as well as albums that captured the diverse voices of acoustic guitar music.
Adam Perlmutter
Adam Perlmutter holds a bachelor of music degree from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro and a master's degree in Contemporary Improvisation from the New England Conservatory. He is the editor of Acoustic Guitar.
Learn to Play Steve Baughman’s Christmas Medley | Patreon Song of the Month
This fingerstyle Christmas medley includes “Angels from the Realms of Glory” and not one but two versions of “Away in a Manger.”
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Learn to Play the Beatles Ballad “And I Love Her” as Interpreted by Pat Metheny
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.
Learn Happy Traum’s Bluesy Take on the Traditional Song “He Was a Friend of Mine”
This tune from Traum's last album exemplifies the late guitarist's signature steady bass groove and complex picking.
Review: Nakupenda GM25 Guitar Master Stool Elevates the Seated Playing Experience
The GM25 Guitar Master Stool isn’t just a seating solution; it’s an ergonomic design that doubles as a guitar stand and adds a touch of style to any space.
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Learn to Play the Doobie Brothers’ Roots Rock Anthem “Black Water”
This mellow 1974 tune features an acoustic solo that requires a bit of dexterity and finesse to play convincingly.
Margaret Glaspy Connects with Her Younger Self—and an Old Gibson L-00—on ‘The Sun Doesn’t Think’
It wasn’t until a recent solo acoustic tour that Glaspy played for a public audience with just her steel-string guitar for the first time in her professional life, a format she found freeing both literally and metaphorically.
Learn to Play Bob Dylan’s “It Ain’t Me, Babe” | Patreon Song of the Month
Learn to play “It Ain’t Me, Babe,” first released on the 1964 album ‘Another Side of Bob Dylan,’ a defining piece of Dylan’s catalog.
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Learn to Play “Green, Green Rocky Road” | Patreon Song of the Month
“Green, Green Rocky Road” is a traditional song that originated in the American South. Learn a dropped-D arrangement inspired by Dave Van Ronk's seminal version.
Play Laurence Juber’s Solo Guitar Take on the Beatles’ “In My Life”
While he is known for using DADGAD tuning, this fingerstyle arrangement is in standard tuning
Learn to Play Mississippi John Hurt’s “I’m Satisfied” | Patreon Song of the Month
Mississippi John Hurt (1893–1966) was one of the great country blues singer-songwriters, and a superb, subtly eccentric guitarist whose work was teeming with colorful details. One of his most well-known recordings, “I’m Satisfied,” related to the Memphis Jug Band piece…
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Santa Cruz Guitar Company’s Richard Hoover Brings out His Choicest Tonewoods for the Stunning New Vault Series
Hoover enlisted the most skilled luthiers in his workshop to build a series of instruments that would represent the state of the art of the steel-string guitar.
Learn to Play “The Lakes of Pontchartrain” | AG Patreon Song of the Month
Learn a fingerstyle arrangement of this ballad; a tune interpreted by Paul Brady, Bob Dylan, Aoife O'Donavan, and countless pub session players.
“JL’s Hymn No. 2”—Play a Beautiful New Solo Work by John Leventhal
This lovely piece is played in a nonstandard tuning, with the sixth and fifth strings tuned down to C and G, and a capo at the second fret.
How to Play “Hey There Delilah” by the Plain White T’s
This arrangement is based on the original studio recording, which spotlights a fingerpicked acoustic guitar.
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John Leventhal Gets a Surprise Birthday Present: Johnny Cash’s 1940 Martin D-18
Cash used this guitar in the series of critically acclaimed studio albums he made with producer Rick Rubin.
Learn to Play John Prine’s “Hello in There” | AG Patreon Song of the Month
The transcription here captures Prine’s original studio recording note for note.
Learn to Play “Blue Yodel No. 1 (T for Texas)” | AG Patreon Song of the Month
Add this classic country tune, replete with Jimmie Rodgers’ trademark yodeling, to your repertoire.
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‘Acoustic America’ Exhibition Celebrates the Instruments and Players that Have Shaped Acoustic Music
The exhibition represents a good balance of musical instrument types and makers, time periods, and styles, grouped thematically and by era.
5 Minute Lesson: Julian Lage Teaches You How to Get Great Acoustic Guitar Tone
“This is a wonderful way to recalibrate with the instrument, let us calm down our nervous system, and get a bigger sound"
Learn to Play “You Gotta Move” | AG Patreon Song of the Month
Learn to play an African American spiritual as interpreted by the legendary bluesman Mississippi Fred McDowell
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Learn Sophisticated Chordal Ideas Through Stevie Wonder’s “You Are the Sunshine of My Life”
This gently rolling ballad is not only satisfying to play, it shows the musical benefits of learning pieces not originally composed for guitar.
Learn to Play “When the Levee Breaks” | AG Patreon Song of the Month
As I write this, California is seeing historic atmospheric rivers and treacherous flooding and I can’t help but think of this song from the blues canon.
Learn to Play “Hotel California”| AG Patreon Song of the Month
This Eagles classic is one of the most requested song transcriptions from AG readers.
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Muireann Bradley, Ireland’s Roots and Blues Prodigy | Acoustic Guitar Sessions
Bradley digs deep into classic roots tunes, and delivers inspired fingerstyle blues.