Letter from the Editor | Acoustic Guitar, Summer 2026 Issue 358

From the Summer 2026 issue of Acoustic Guitar magazine

There’s a certain kind of guitarist whose influence becomes so embedded in the acoustic guitar world that it can be easy to forget how fresh and unusual they once sounded. Jorma Kaukonen is one of those players. Long before stylistic openness became commonplace in acoustic guitar music, Kaukonen was bringing folk, blues, roots, and improvisational ideas together into something unmistakably his own. His instrumental “Embryonic Journey,” released on Jefferson Airplane’s 1967 album Surrealistic Pillow, expanded many players’ sense of what the acoustic guitar could be. As Blair Jackson’s excellent cover story makes clear, even at 85, Kaukonen continues to play with the warmth, curiosity, and deep musicality that have defined his work since the early days of Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna.

What struck me most in reading Jackson’s conversation with Kaukonen was the consistency of his artistic outlook over the decades. Even the rediscovered home recordings collected on his most recent release, Wabash Avenue, reveal a player who already understood that acoustic guitar could feel both intimate and expansive at the same time—rooted in folk and blues traditions, yet unmistakably personal in voice.

A thread that runs throughout this issue is DADGAD, one of the guitar’s most evocative alternate tunings. Players have been exploring the possibilities of DADGAD for more than a half century, and the tuning has proven equally suited to Celtic music, modal improvisation, singer-songwriter accompaniment, and contemporary fingerstyle composition.

Doug Young’s substantial DADGAD feature lesson offers a practical and musical guide to the tuning, examining the approaches of players like Pierre Bensusan, Laurence Juber, and Kaki King while unpacking both the mechanics of navigating DADGAD and the broader creative possibilities it opens up. In addition, DADGAD is at work in this issue’s Woodshed column, where Sean McGowan explores Celtic ornamentation and phrasing through the traditional tune “Banish Misfortune,” showing how subtle embellishments can dramatically alter the shape and feel of a melody.

DADGAD, down a half step, also appears in this issue’s transcription of the Led Zeppelin track “Black Mountain Side,” Jimmy Page’s adaptation of the traditional song “Blackwaterside.” Few recordings did more to introduce generations of guitarists to the resonance of DADGAD and modal acoustic playing. The piece retains a strange, hypnotic quality; its drones, open-string textures, and shifting rhythmic pulse sound as compelling as ever.

Jazz and improvisation form another current running through these pages. In Guitar Talk, Brandon Ross reflects on intervallic thinking, spontaneous creation, and the freedom that comes from listening deeply in the moment. Elsewhere, Dida Pelled offers a beautifully idiosyncratic arrangement of “Hesitation Blues,” filtering a familiar tune through spare, modern harmonies.

We’re also thrilled to present the world premiere transcription of “Ocala” by Julian Lage, whose work continues to connect with jazz musicians, flatpickers, songwriters, and experimental players alike. Like much of his writing, “Ocala” feels both sophisticated and inviting, balancing harmonic depth with a melody that unfolds naturally beneath the fingers, even in the decidedly non-guitar-friendly key of Gb.

Elsewhere in the issue, Los Angeles guitarist Dylan Day discusses the austere approach behind his striking solo debut, while lessons on building melodic solos from chord shapes and understanding the mysterious half-diminished seventh chord continue the wide-ranging exploration of the instrument from multiple angles. Taken together, these pieces point toward one of the enduring strengths of the acoustic guitar itself: its ability to absorb countless traditions while still sounding deeply human in the hands of an individual player.

As always, thanks for reading, listening, playing, and for supporting Acoustic Guitar. —Adam Perlmutter