Acoustic Guitar Notes, No. 53

From the publishers of Acoustic Guitar magazine
www.acousticguitar.com

ENTER TO WIN A JOHN MAYER MARTIN GUITAR! SPONSOR: WorkshopLive NEW AT ACOUSTICGUITAR.COM SPONSOR: MANNES COLLEGE - THE NEW SCHOOL FOR MUSIC THE 2006 GUITAR MAKER DIRECTORY BULLETIN BOARD GUITAR TALK SPONSOR: BERKLEEMUSIC WHAT'S HAPPENING SPONSOR: ACOUSTIC PRO MUSICIAN UPCOMING IN ACOUSTIC GUITAR SUBSCRIBE TO ACOUSTIC GUITAR: FREE TRIAL ISSUE! DO YOU TEACH GUITAR? PLAY GUITAR! THE ACOUSTIC GUITAR STORE STRINGLETTER.COM BACK ISSUES OF ACOUSTIC GUITAR ADVERTISE IN ACOUSTIC GUITAR SEND US YOUR COMMENTS AG NOTES: SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE, ARCHIVES

ENTER TO WIN A JOHN MAYER MARTIN GUITAR! Enter by December 31, 2006, and you could be the lucky winner of a Special Edition OMJM John Mayer Martin guitar (retail price $3,999) and 12 sets of Martin phosphor-bronze light-gauge Eric Clapton signature strings (retail price $165). Total retail value $4,164. Enter the giveaway by clicking here or by clicking on the “Win” button in the left-hand menu bar at www.acousticguitar.com Return to Top

SPONSOR: WorkshopLive Have fun and test your music knowledge. Take the WorkshopLive challenge, today! www.workshoplive.com Return to Top

NEW AT ACOUSTICGUITAR.COM The October issue of Acoustic Guitar is on newsstands now. Access these features, articles, and lessons online: (To access special reader/subscriber features, including audio files and lessons, enter pumpkin when prompted.) MULTITRACK MINDS: If setting up a complicated computer-based home studio doesn’t sound like your idea of fun, check out a self-contained digital multi-track recorder. We help you identify the most important features for capturing acoustic guitar. NEW GEAR: Alvarez-Yairi Masterworks DYM95C Aura We review this contemporary take on the dreadnought design that features boutique craftsmanship and cutting-edge Fishman Aura electronics. LUTHIER'S WORKBENCH: Old Friends Depression-era Gibson L-00s are excellent guitars for blues and fingerstyle players. Baker Rorick unravels their often-confusing history and tells you what to look for when tracking down one of these vintage gems. LESSONS AND MUSIC TO PLAY: (To access special reader/subscriber features, including audio files and lessons, enter pumpkin when prompted.) HERE'S HOW: Introduction to Ear Training David Hodge shows you how to recognize the sounds of four basic chord types and three different chord voicings. THE BASICS: In Read Tablature Intelligently, David Hodge shows you how to make your tab reading more efficient—and your playing more enjoyable. WOODSHED: Seventh-Chord Inversions for Blues Guitar: Pete Madsen’s lesson will help you quadruple your chord palette by incorporating four-string seventh-chord shapes into your fingerstyle blues tunes. LICK OF THE MONTH: Learn the manic blues-based riff from the opening of Michael Chapdelaine’s “Blue Chile.” It features rapid hammer-ons and pull-offs combined with picking-hand tapping a la Eddie Van Halen. Also in the October issue: a feature lesson on the eccentric but pioneering guitar style of the late John Fahey; folk-jazz diva Cassandra Wilson talks about her return to the acoustic guitar; reviews of the new Guild GAD-30 flattop and the Planet Waves Chromatic Pedal Tuner; music to Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Bad Moon Rising” and John Fahey’s “Requiem for John Hurt”; profiles of singer-songwriter Jackie Greene and ragtime guitar virtuoso Craig Ventresco; reviews of new CDs by Ani DiFranco, Rory Block, Bruce Cockburn, and more. Subscribers gain access to even more online features, including audio files and lessons, via the password included in each issue of Acoustic Guitar. www.acousticguitar.com Return to Top

SPONSOR: MANNES COLLEGE - THE NEW SCHOOL FOR MUSIC Study classical music at a world class conservatory in the heart of New York City. Offering undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. www.mannes.edu Return to Top

THE 2006 GUITAR MAKER DIRECTORY The Brand New 2006 Edition is Online Now! With links to more than 100 guitar makers. Click here to go to the Guitar Maker Directory Return to Top

BULLETIN BOARD Instructional DVD Review Elijah Wald, The Guitar of Joseph Spence After his discovery by the folklorist Sam Charters in 1958, Bahamian guitarist Joseph Spence went on to influence a generation of fingerpickers, most notably Ry Cooder and Taj Mahal. In this excellent DVD lesson, Elijah Wald breaks down Spence’s unorthodox picking technique and quite nicely captures the rolling, sprightly rhythms that epitomize his playing. Spence fingerpicked his repertoire of sacred, folk, and pop songs in dropped-D tuning, and he kept time primarily with the index finger of his picking hand, as opposed to the thumb (which drives most Travis-picked pieces). Wald, a fine guitarist better known as a blues historian, exhibits a real passion for Spence’s music, as he expertly teaches six Spence tunes, including the masterpieces “Happy Meeting in Glory” and “Comin’ in on a Wing and Prayer.” Both tablature and standard notation are included for all the songs and their many variations, and a split screen shows Wald’s picking and fretting hands. The DVD also contains 55 minutes of unreleased audio of Spence talking and playing many of his most famous tunes, a nice add-on for students of this joyful folk music. (Stefan Grossman’s Guitar Workshop, www.guitarvideos.com) —Ian Zack Return to Top

GUITAR TALK Join the conversations about guitars, acoustic players, playing techniques, gigs, and workshops in the online forums at Guitar Talk. www.acousticguitar.com/ubbcgi/ultimate.cgi Return to Top

SPONSOR: BERKLEEMUSIC Online Guitar Courses and Certificate Programs from Berklee College of Music Study guitar online with Berkleemusic.com. Expand your knowledge of scales, chords, blues, rock, rhythm and more with Berklee's renowned faculty. Online courses and certificate programs are now enrolling for the fall term starting September 25th. Learn more at: http://www.berkleemusic.com/?pid=1287 Return to Top

WHAT'S HAPPENING International Acoustic Music Awards: Entries are now being accepted for the third Annual IAMA (International Acoustic Music Awards). Prizes will be awarded in eight categories: Folk/Americana/Roots, AAA/Alternative, Instrumental, Open, Bluegrass/Country, Best Male Artist, Best Female Artist, and Best Group/Duo. One top winner will receive the Overall Grand Prize (a $10,000 value), which includes radio promotion to over 250 radio stations in US and Canada. Judging—by a panel of established artists and industry professionals—is based on excellence in music performance, songwriting/composition, and originality. Entries must be postmarked by November 9, 2006. Get the details at www.inacoustic.com. Return to Top

SPONSOR: ACOUSTIC PRO MUSICIAN Largest Goodall dealer in the South! Goodall, Collings, McPherson, Everett, Petros, Sheppard, Charis, McCollum, Eggle, Renaissance, Schwartz, Vines, and many more. LOTS OF BRAZILIAN AND OTHER EXOTIC-WOOD ACOUSTIC GUITARS! Free accessories with each guitar. Like having your own music store! Thanks for letting me serve you. Playing for an audience of One, Danny Brevard Acoustic Pro Musician P.O. Box 3289 Lufkin, Texas 75903 Corporate Office: (800) 658-1167 danny@acousticpromusician.com www.acousticpromusician.com Return to Top

UPCOMING IN ACOUSTIC GUITAR November T Bone Burnett talks about his return to songwriting, recording, and touring after producing hit albums for others and masterminding blockbuster film soundtracks Adam Levy (Norah Jones’ guitarist) sits down with Kelly Joe Phelps for a feature fingerstyle lesson We survey the new gear unveiled at the summer NAMM show in Austin, Texas Tips on how to make your own pickguard, how to be an opening act, and how to play well with others at a jam A bossa nova fingerpicking lesson Music to Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi” and Bach’s Bourrée in E Minor The inside scoop on the new R. Taylor guitar line Profiles of José González and Slick Ballinger, and more. December A feature lesson with Taj Mahal Kris Kristofferson talks bout 40 years of songwriting Teja Gerken visits the Gibson Montana factory and workshop A remembrance of Irish guitar innovator Mícheál Ó Domhnaill A Private Lesson with Woody Mann A report on the Newport Guitar Festival How to replace your tuning machines, and more. Return to Top

SUBSCRIBE TO ACOUSTIC GUITAR: FREE TRIAL ISSUE! For a complimentary issue of Acoustic Guitar, click the link below. If you like it and decide to continue, pay just $32.95 for 12 issues and save 54% off the cover price. If for any reason you decide not to continue, simply write 'Cancel' on the invoice and owe nothing. The FREE TRIAL ISSUE is yours to keep, no matter what. Click here for your free trial issue! Current subscribers, take care of all your subscription needs online: pay your bill, renew, give a gift, or change your address. Click here for Subscription Services Return to Top

DO YOU TEACH GUITAR? Guitar Teacher is the only magazine dedicated to guitar instructors of all levels, in all styles. Each issue of Guitar Teacher includes practical advice on developing a teaching practice, useful reviews of instruction materials and methods, inspiring profiles of successful teachers, and other exclusive content written specifically for guitar educators. Guitar Teacher is a magazine that helps its readers attract and motivate students, whether they are beginner, intermediate, or advanced-level players of jazz, classical, or roots music. In short, Guitar Teacher is the perfect professional resource for your guitar education career. Click here for more information about the current issue. Click here for your free trial issue! www.guitarteachermagazine.com Return to Top

PLAY GUITAR! The only magazine for beginning and developing guitarists. Subscribe at the Play Guitar! website! www.playguitarmagazine.com Click here for your free trial issue! Return to Top

THE ACOUSTIC GUITAR STORE Authentic Acoustic Guitar T-shirts, baseball caps, messenger bags, coffee mugs, and more. Acoustic Guitar Online Store Return to Top

STRINGLETTER.COM A full catalog of titles from Acoustic Guitar Books; instruction and repertoire books, DVDs, and videos from other publishers and your favorite artists. Check out our latest release, Traditional Songs for Beginning Guitar, by Peter Penhallow. Click here. Return to Top

BACK ISSUES OF ACOUSTIC GUITAR We have issues going back to 1990 when Acoustic Guitar first hit the stands. Get them while they last! Click here for back issues Return to Top

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Got a question for Acoustic Guitar's editors? Please send us an email at editors.ag@stringletter.com or snail-mail Acoustic Guitar Editorial, PO Box 767, San Anselmo, CA 94979. We regularly print reader letters in our Mail column and reader questions and tips in Q&A.

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