Album Review: Sarah Jarosz Digs Deeper with Multi-Instrumentalist/Producer John Leventhal
What’s most striking on this rich, satisfying album is Jarosz’s growth as a songwriter,
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.
“Angel from Montgomery”— Here’s How to Play John Prine’s Best-Known Song
“I am an old woman.” So goes the opening of “Angel from Montgomery,” first released in 1971 by John Prine, who was neither a woman nor old. Along with songs like “Hello in There” and “Sam Stone” on his self-titled…
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How Singer-Songwriter Anaïs Mitchell Tapped Into Tradition in Hadestown—and New Band Bonny Light Horseman
Back in 2006, Anaïs Mitchell was in a Vermont studio with producer/guitarist Michael Chorney working on her album The Brightness. Then in her mid-20s, she was already a rising star of the singer-songwriter world, winning the Kerrville Folk Festival’s New…
Woody Guthrie’s Songwriting Wisdom
Guthrie is in many ways our prototypical singer-songwriter, showing the young Bob Dylan, among countless others, how to use old songs to make new ones.
Video Lesson: Bruce Cockburn Teaches His Sophisticated Guitar Style
In Bruce Cockburn’s hands, the guitar becomes a true band in a box, delivering powerful grooves, riffs, melodies, harmonized lines, and improvised solos in real time.
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Video Lesson: Learn to Play Like John Denver
Thanks to his gift for simple and emotionally direct expression, the songs John Denver wrote and interpreted have remained standard repertoire for any musicians who sing with an acoustic guitar.
DIY Folk: What It Takes to Survive and Thrive in the Streaming Era
At the 2019 Folk Alliance International conference, held in Montréal in February, evidence of the vitality and diversity of the contemporary folk scene was everywhere, as nearly 3,000 attendees representing 47 countries crammed the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth hotel with acoustic…
Video Lesson: David Rawlings Shares a Close-up Look at His Singular Style
When Gillian Welch and David Rawlings released their seminal debut back in 1996, they were often tagged as traditionalists—after all, the album title was Revival, with a black-and-white cover photo of Welch that looked as if it could have been…
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Acoustic Classic: ‘Quite Early Morning’
Pete Seeger wrote this lovely song in the 1960s, and it may have been the last song he sang. He told banjoist Tony Trischka this was his favorite of his own songs.
Video Lesson: Sus Chord Embellishments
Some of your favorite classic songs from artists like James Taylor and Bob Dylan rely heavily on suspended chords for embellishment.
Fender Unveils the American Acoustasonic Telecaster
At the New York showroom, I spent some time exploring these sounds with a natural finish Acoustasonic plugged straight into a Fender '65 Deluxe Reverb tube amp.
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Video Lesson: Inside Joni Mitchell’s Inventive Guitar Style
Mitchell reinvented the guitar as a vehicle for accompaniment and songwriting. The evolution of her guitar style is inseparable from her journey as one of the defining singer-songwriters of her generation.
Beyond Strumming | Acoustic Guitar Champions
Learn to create dynamic accompaniment parts in any setting.
Weekly Workout: Build Your Speed by Using More Efficient Fingerings
If you watch the hands of guitarists who play with enviable speed and fluidity, you may notice how little effort they seem to exert. Their finger movements are relaxed and minimal, considering the amount of music they are generating. What they’re playing is surely not easy, but it looks that way. So how does a guitarist achieve that state of grace?
Sunny War: A Different Kind of Blues
And then there’s Sunny War's guitar playing—a startling take on fingerstyle technique, with melodic riffs dancing over bluesy bass lines.
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How Three Guitar Duos Work Together to Create Tapestries of Sound
From interlocking rhythms to wide, piano-like harmonies and melodic counterpoint, two guitars—skillfully and tastefully employed—can cover a tremendous amount of musical territory.
Video Lesson: How to Make the Most of Playing With Two Guitars
Creating a full-fledged duo sound doesn’t necessarily require playing anything tricky or fancy.
Syracuse’s Guitar League has Created an Impressive Model for Both Teaching and Learning
On a Monday night in Syracuse, New York, guitar cases line the walls of a hotel meeting room. Around 70 players, many cradling their instruments, are listening to a presentation by singer-songwriter Tim Burns, leader of the local Americana band Two Hour Delay. Burns is sharing ideas on how to back up another guitarist, and to demonstrate, he’s invited to the stage John Cadley, a veteran of the bluegrass/country scene in upstate New York and beyond (Lou Reid & Carolina once topped the bluegrass charts with Cadley’s song “Time”).
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I’m With Her Brings Out the Best from Aoife O’Donovan, Sara Watkins, and Sarah Jarosz
What happens when these three musicians band together is something greater than a typical all-star project, where the members take turns in the spotlight.
Mary Gauthier Helps Veterans Turn Stories into Songs on ‘Rifles and Rosary Beads’
In 2015, singer-songwriter Mary Gauthier was sipping coffee inside the Carey Center for Global Good in upstate New York, watching one of the participants arrive for a weekend retreat led by an organization called SongwritingWith:Soldiers.
Video Lesson: Building Solos Around Chord Shapes
Chord shapes are great tools for expanding the range and flexibility of your guitar solos—in any style. They can help you get your bearings up and down the neck and find phrases and riffs that truly lock in with a song’s chord changes.
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A Songwriting Tip from Pete Seeger (via Woody Guthrie)
Explore what Pete Seeger, citing Woody Guthrie, called "the genius of simplicity."
Acoustic Classic: George Harrison’s ‘Within You Without You’ Arranged for Guitar
Like the Indian traditions it’s based on, “Within You Without You” has no chord changes—the melody unfolds over a drone.
Photo Recap: Woodstock Invitational Luthiers Showcase 2017
Though the instruments on display were stunningly varied, one trend in clear evidence was the continuing resurgence of the small-bodied guitar.
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Classic Shawn Colvin Revisited: ‘A Few Small Repairs’ 20th Anniversary Edition
“Sunny Came Home” and A Few Small Repairs are back in the spotlight with the recent 20th anniversary edition from Sony/Legacy.