Inside the Songwriting and Guitar Craft of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings
Rawlings and Welch go deep about the writing and recording of their latest songs and the vintage guitar discoveries that helped shape them.
Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers
Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers, founding editor of Acoustic Guitar, is a grand prize winner of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest and author of The Complete Singer-Songwriter, Beyond Strumming, and other books and videos for musicians. In addition to his ongoing work with AG, he offers live workshops for guitarists and songwriters, plus video lessons, song charts, and tab, on Patreon.
Guitar Basics: How to Connect Chords with Bass Runs
We’ll start off with a series of examples that use a bass run to connect two chords, and then we’ll try out bass runs in a few classic progressions.
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Review: Audigo Wireless Microphone/App Turns an iPhone into a Mobile Studio
Audigo lets you record and sync audio and video, use EQ and effects, and share the final product—all on your phone.
50 Years into His Career, Pat Metheny Explores a New Landscape of Sound on the Baritone Guitar
The groundbreaking guitarist goes deep on his latest solo ventures—and why every one of his 50-plus releases feels like a single album.
Add a Blues Flavor to Your Rhythm with Simple Chord Embellishments
In this lesson we’ll work with some "blue" notes that you can use to add bluesy colors to open chord shapes.
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Play Kacey Musgraves’ Dreamy Ballad “Too Good to Be True”
This intimate song is built on layers of acoustic guitar, with fingerstyle parts that are so closely entwined it’s often hard to pick out the individual instruments.
Guitar Basics: How to Use Sus and Add Embellishments with Open Chord Shapes
Sus and add chord voicings are used all the time to add variety to rhythm patterns and create riffs.
Review: Ryan David Green Delivers a Tuneful Solo Guitar Debut with ‘Off and Running’
Green’s playing throughout is crisp and clear, with attention to the fine details of tone and articulation.
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“I Know You Rider”—Learn a Dropped-D Acoustic Take on this Grateful Dead Classic
This arrangement takes some cues from the Dead, but uses dropped-D tuning for more low end punch and adds a bunch of flatpicking fun.
Decorating Open Chords with Hammer-ons and Pull-offs
This basic lesson focuses on using hammer-ons and pull-offs with open chords—creating classic sounds heard throughout roots, country, and rock guitar styles.
How Acoustic Musicians Are Carrying Forward the Songs of the Grateful Dead
Sam Grisman Project, Andy Falco and
Travis Book, Wake the Dead, and Grahame Lesh share thoughts on what the Dead's songbook means to them, and how they approach it as a living tradition.
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Review: Fishman’s Lightweight Loudbox Micro Acoustic Amp Packs a Punch
Whether I fingerpicked, played bluesy lead lines, or dug into percussive strumming, the Micro delivered a clean and detailed sound.
Chris Eldridge Revisits His Bluegrass Roots with Mighty Poplar
“Critter” chats about his bluegrass travels, lessons learned from Tony Rice, and the discovery of his holy grail guitar.
“Help Me”—Learn to Play a Rare Solo Version of the Joni Mitchell Classic
While details of Mitchell's playing are tough to discern on the original, this newly released solo demo is especially illuminating.
Fingerstyle Composer Peppino D’Agostino Connects the Steel- and Nylon-String Guitar Worlds
D’Agostino uses unorthodox tunings, percussion, and other techniques to open up new vistas on the instrument. Yet his compositions feel driven by melody.
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Unlock New Sounds with a Partial Capo
Like a magic trick on your guitar, partial capos hold down some strings while leaving others untouched, changing the intervals between open strings.
How to Play the Indigo Girls’ Folk-Rock Anthem “Closer to Fine”
With tight harmonies, sturdy twin guitar strumming, thoughtful lyrics, and a bit of vocal countermelody, the song has all the hallmarks of the duo's style.
Nickel Creek | The Acoustic Guitar Podcast
Catch up with one of your favorite bluegrass bands!
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Review: ‘Joni Mitchell Archives Vol. 3’ Takes a Deep Dive Into Her Creative Breakthroughs of the Early ’70s
New Rhino set spans a time when Mitchell made multiple musical breakthroughs—as a songwriter, guitarist, and bandleader.
Learn to Play Tracy Chapman’s Groundbreaking Hit “Fast Car”
Thirty five years after its release, this powerful narrative, with its distinctive guitar part, feels as vital as ever.
Explore Double Dropped D, an Accessible Alternate Tuning Used in Classic Songs from Neil Young, Led Zeppelin, and Many Others
Lowering your first and sixth strings from E to D opens up enticing new possibilities on both the low and high ends of the guitar.
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John Lennon, A Songwriter’s Legacy
What gives this music such vitality and allure, even for those who didn't grow up with Beatlemania in the 1960s?
The Milk Carton Kids Deepen Their Sound and Songwriting on ‘I Only See the Moon’
Joey Ryan and Kenneth Pattengale, aka the Milk Carton Kids, discuss the creative process behind what is perhaps their strongest set of songs to date.
Review: Paul Simon Meditates on Faith and Spotlights His Guitar on ‘Seven Psalms’
It’s remarkable to say that even after all these decades of exploring all sorts of sonic and stylistic terrain, ‘Seven Psalms’ is unlike any other Paul Simon creation.
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How to Play Like Nickel Creek Guitarist Sean Watkins
Watkins has developed a guitar vocabulary quite different from the classic boom-chuck.