Adam Perlmutter | Acoustic Guitar

Adam Perlmutter holds a bachelor of music degree from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro and a master's degree in Contemporary Improvisation from the New England Conservatory. He is the editor of Acoustic Guitar and a longtime contributor to other Stringletter Media publications, including Strings, Ukulele, and Classical Guitar.

Favorite Guitar Album: In the solo steel-string realm, World's Fair by Julian Lage

Favorite Song to Play on Guitar: Any piece my children are learning on their respective instruments, cello and trumpet, when I help them practice.

Favorite Guitar: Collings AT 16

Articles by Adam Perlmutter

Steve Nall making a guitar in the Collings workshop

Steve Nall Steps into a Big New Role at Collings Guitars

Steve Nall recently took over selecting tonewoods and voicing the tops and backs of all Collings acoustic guitars after working for decades with mentors Bill Collings and Bruce VanWart.

Tips on How to Play Michael Hedges’ Evocative Composition “Breakfast in the Field”

The meditative 1981 Michael Hedges song “Breakfast in the Field" uses two-handed tappings to fret notes on the steel-string acoustic guitar in unprecedented ways.

Adam Levy Teaches His Moving Solo Guitar Composition “Clandestino (Elegy for a Cheesemonger)”

Adam Levy's “Clandestino” begins with a playful single-note figure drawn from the D major pentatonic scale (D E F# A B), followed by a series of broken sixths.

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“What’s Going On”—Learn an Unplugged Version of Marvin Gaye’s R&B Masterpiece

Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” has nary an acoustic guitar in its swirling arrangement, but the song, in the guitar-friendly key of E major, lends itself nicely to an acoustic treatment.

Learn Gretchen Menn’s Challenging Chord-Melody Arrangement of “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling”

Guitarist Gretchen Menn based this lovely chord-melody guitar arrangement of "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" on a version that vocalist Bing Crosby recorded in 1939.

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Learn Peppino D’Agostino’s ‘Dancing with Shadows’

“As in a painting, the melody should be the subject right up front, close to your eyes, and the bass should be the mountains in the background,” D’Agostino says.

Fingerstyle Legend Will Ackerman Plays a New Piece, “I Had to Go There,” in a Radical Open Tuning

Will Ackerman's “I Had to Go There,” from album Positano Songs, cohas a striking tuning of F C Eb Ab C Eb. Watch and hear him play it in this video and try your hand at playing along.

‘Little Satchel’— Learn Sarah Jarosz and John Leventhal’s Take on a Traditional Tune

From the November/December 2020 issue of Acoustic Guitar | By Adam Perlmutter On “Little Satchel,” the most traditional number on Sarah Jarosz’s brilliant n... Read More...

Are $45 Guitar Picks Worth the Cost? A Roundup of Tortoiseshell-Alternative Picks from Boutique Makers

Dive into the boutique pick market, where makers work by hand to produce flatpicks in small batches, and discover the difference these small accessories can make.

Learn Tony Rice’s Flatpicking Take on the Traditional Fiddle Tune ‘Cattle in the Cane’

This is not only a good introduction to fiddle tunes, but to flatpicking in general as it covers the hallmarks of the style.