Acoustic Guitar | lessons, music to play, and how-tos for all guitarists

mimi fox plays a 1994 hollenbeck simplicity

Watch Mimi Fox Play “Mr. White‘s Blues” on a 1994 Hollenbeck Simplicity

Ask the Expert: The Delicate Art of Fretwork—and Why It’s Best Left to a Professional

Gibson Generation Collection | Amythyst “Wild Turkey”

Bruce Sadownick with a 1935 Dobro across his lap

Watch Bruce Sadownick Demo a 1935 Dobro Model 37 Squareneck

"I'll admit that I had expected this 1935 Model 37 Dobro to have more of an old-school, swampy sound... Instead, I was stunned by how modern and responsive this beauty sounded."

Learn the Essential Techniques of Fingerstyle Acoustic Guitar

Bob Dylan holds a guitar in a promotional photo from Columbia Records

Tips to Play ‘Tangled Up in Blue,’ Bob Dylan’s Apparently Unfinished Masterpiece

Watch Gretchen Menn Play “Going to California” on a 1997 Santa Cruz D

6 Ways to Play D7 | Chord by Chord

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NEW GEAR

Hercules Stands: Practical New Products for Producing Audio and Video Content at Home

Hercules Stands offers new products to aid in the pursuit of producing the perfect home video for your music performance.

action shot of a vocalist singing into the iZotope Spire Studio unit while holding a smartphone and using the izotope spire studio app

Review: iZotope Spire Studio Allows Pro-Quality Audio Recording on the Fly

The new Izotope Spire Studio is packed with professional features that make it a proper recording and tracking device for acoustic guitarists.

MORE GEAR

Ask the Expert: The Delicate Art of Fretwork—and Why It’s Best Left to a Professional

Whether building an instrument from scratch, restoring a collector’s item, or setting up a brand-new guitar, it’s likely that some amount of fretwork will be required.

Watch Bruce Sadownick Demo a 1935 Dobro Model 37 Squareneck

"I'll admit that I had expected this 1935 Model 37 Dobro to have more of an old-school, swampy sound... Instead, I was stunned by how modern and responsive this beauty sounded."

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FROM THE LATEST ISSUE

Buck Curran and his 2009 Sobell acoustic guitar

Great Acoustics: Buck Curran’s Long Lost 2009 Sobell Model 1

Singer-songwriter and guitarist Buck Curran’s tale about his 2009 Stefan Sobell Model 1 is more uplifting than some other tales of "the one that got away."

fingerstyle acoustic guitar player seated photo by brendan hollis

Exploring Fingerstyle Guitar Techniques in Celtic Music with the Traditional Welsh Song ‘Men of Harlech’

George Harrison’s ‘All Things Must Pass (Deluxe 50th Anniversary Edition)’ is a Solid Remix Plus Acoustic Demos

Luthier Jeff Jewitt buffing acoustic guitar

Jeff Jewitt Embraces Dual Roles as Both a Top Finishing Supplier and Guitar Luthier

ron jackson guitar lesson weekly workout

How to Strengthen Your Picking Skills Through Efficient Patterns

Hercules Stands: Practical New Products for Producing Audio and Video Content at Home

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FEATURED CONTRIBUTOR

Get to know Ron Jackson

Video Lesson: How to Spin Endless Variations on a Simple Tune

From the October 2017 issue of Acoustic Guitar | BY RON JACKSON In the early 1780s, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart took a simple French folk song... Read More...

Ron Jackson ‘Takes Over’ Acoustic Guitar’s FB Page July 10 for Live Performance, Q&A with Special Guest Sean McGowan

How to Strengthen Your Picking Skills Through Efficient Patterns

Video Lesson: 4 Ways to Improve Your Sightreading

Ron Jackson posing with his acoustic guitar

New York-based, seven-string guitarist Ron Jackson has performed and recorded in over 30 countries. He’s played and toured with artists such as Taj Majal, Jimmy McGriff, and Oliver Lake. Influenced by George Benson and Pat Metheny, Ron has studied with Pat Martino, Barry Harris, and the late seven-string master Bucky Pizzarelli. Albums include: Guitar Thing (91) and recently the Jazzweek 2019 Top 100 album, Standards And Other Songs. Read More...

ALTERNATE TUNINGS

Learn Nathan Salsburg’s “B.B.”: A Melodic Instrumental with an Unusual Origin

From the November 2018 issue of Acoustic Guitar | BY ADAM PERLMUTTER Having accidentally overindulged on a giant bowl of rice and beans... Read More...

Learn a Traditional Hymn in DADGAD Tuning

From the December 2017 issue of Acoustic Guitar | BY ADAM PERLMUTTER In 1984, Steve Baughman was putting himself through college, working... Read More...

Open Tuning Lesson: How to Play the Blues in DADGAD

In this lesson, I’ll show you some fingerpicking exercises based on some of my blues in DADGAD ideas.

Throwback Thursday: DADGAD Master Davey Graham Plays ‘She Moved Through the Fair’ in 1963

Though still not very well-known in the U.S., English guitarist Davey Graham (1940–2008; his first name is sometimes spelled "Davy" on some ... Read More...

NEW BOOK ALERT

DADGAD Guitar Essentials

Learn all about this versatile open tuning, from basic chord shapes to sophisticated arrangements of J.S. Bach, the Beatles, and much more. Includes 17 full songs to play and 11 in-depth lessons from the master teachers at Acoustic Guitar, as well as guitar legends like Pierre Bensusan and Laurence Juber. Learn more.

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HERE'S HOW

Learn from the Best: Plan Your Summer Camp Getaway

From the February 2018 issue of Acoustic Guitar | BY DAVID LUSTERMAN Summertime, and the living is . . . way ... Read More...

illustration of acoustic guitar being cut out with scissors like fabric

DIY Folk: What It Takes to Survive and Thrive in the Streaming Era

guitar luthier listening to sonic characteristics of tonewood

Acoustic Guitar Tonewood Primer: How to Pick the Right Materials for Your Optimal Sound

get heard guide to acoustic guitar pickups and amplification

Get Heard: A Guide to Acoustic Guitar Pickups and Amplification

The Digital Troubadour, Part 2: How to record yourself to sound like yourself

Learn How to Play Guitar Online in 2021

GET STARTED ON GUITAR

How to Find the Right Guitar Teacher

From the August 2018 issue of Acoustic Guitar | BY JEFF GUNN As an 11-year-old wannabe guitarist in Cana... Read More...

7 Ways to Find a New Guitar Teacher Now

Want to Learn Guitar? It’s All in a Day’s Work, Says Marlene Hutchinson…

Summer Guitar and Music Camps, Workshops, and Clinics

While My Guitar Gently Smirks: Ben Fong-Torres Reflects on Learning Guitar as an Older Adult

FEATURED LESSON

Kate Koenig teaching the G-D chord progression

How to Play a G-D Progression | Chord by Chord

BY KATE KOENIG Welcome to the latest installment of Chord by Chord, a series designed to build your fretboard familiarity and understanding of harmony. In the previous lesson, I showed you various ways of connecting C and G chords. This time I’ll do the same thing with G and D chords. The Wor... Read More...

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CHORD BY CHORD

What is Chord by Chord? Introducing Acoustic Guitar’s How-To Video Series

Welcome to Acoustic Guitar’s Chord by Chord, a series of 62 brief lessons designed to build your fretboard familiarity, chord flu... Read More...

Learn 7 Ways to Play C Major | Chord by Chord

8 ways to play g major on guitar chord by chord

Learn 8 Ways to Play G Major | Chord by Chord

Learn to Play D Major Chords Up and Down the Neck | Chord by Chord

Kate Koenig teaching the C-G chord progression on guitar

How to Play a C-G Progression | Chord by Chord

Learn 8 Ways to Play an A Minor | Chord by Chord

Video lessons week by week, Chord by Chord. Sign up free!

SESSIONS

Badi Assad’s Musical Magic | Acoustic Guitar Sessions in Place

Badi Assad is an enchanting performer, to say the least. Assad's technical mastery allows her to fully explore the guitar’s sonic range, an... Read More...

buffalo nichols playing his guitar against a wall of art

Buffalo Nichols’ Blues Guitar Hits Hard in This Acoustic Guitar Sessions Performance

Buffalo Nichols is writing songs that channel the music he heard growing up into a deeply lived vision focused on “putting more Black stories” into acoustic blues.

FEATURED SONG

Acoustic Classic: “I Feel for You”

From the March/April 2020 issue of Acoustic Guitar | By Adam Perlmutter It might seem incongruous to see “I Feel for You,” a song made popular by the R&B singer Chaka Khan in the mid-1980s, in this magazine. Sure, it’s a classic, but there’s nothing even faintly acou... Read More...