Video Lesson: 5 Ways to Build Your Rock Rhythm Guitar Rudiments
Developing your sense of time and rhythmic vocabulary won’t just make you a better rhythm player, it will make you a better lead player, and a better musician overall.
These articles originally appeared in the February 2017 issue of Acoustic Guitar magazine.
Video Lesson: 5 Ways to Master Artificial Harmonics on Acoustic Guitar
Guitarist Jeff Gunn offers a series of exercises designed to get you used to playing harp harmonics, a technique that produces chime-like tones, on acoustic guitar.
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Austin Electric Guitar Phenom Eric Johnson Unplugs for a Journey to Self-Realization
Those who know Eric Johnson only for his rock instrumental “Cliffs of Dover”may be shocked by the guitarist’s first all-acoustic set.
Becky Warren Turns Personal Hell into Poetic Song on New Album ‘War Surplus’
“I found it really freeing, to be able to think about these things as characters instead of as myself,” says Warren, talking by phone just before hitting the road with the Indigo Girls.
Guitar Legend David Bromberg Goes Back to the Blues on New Album: Q&A
David Bromberg is back at the top of his game, playing blues that are as funny as they are sad and talking about old songs, new chords, and his custom Martin 0000s.
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Video Lesson: Mixolydian Mode is an Essential Tool for Guitar Soloing in All Styles
Bored of soloing with the major scale or the minor pentatonic? Looking for something new to help expand your musical palette? The Mixolydian mode might just be the thing. This mode can be a great tool for improvising in blues, jazz, rock, or practically any other style.
Lesson: Folk-rock Songwriter Peter Mulvey Explains How to Create a Dynamic Solo Sound with Alternate Tunings
Songwriter Peter Mulvey visited my home studio while on tour in upstate New York and walked me through his song “The Knuckleball Suite.”
Gear Review: Ernie Ball PowerPeg Guitar String Winder Makes Life Easier
If you have a fondness for carpal tunnel syndrome, read no further. Everyone else, follow me to a product that’s brimming with awesomeness.
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Learn to Play Richard Shindell’s Song ‘Your Guitar’ from His Album ‘Careless’
Any guitarist who’s ever scored a vintage instrument has likely wondered about the music, travels, and caretakers it has known. That reflection is the inspiration behind Richard Shindell’s “Your Guitar,” from the singer-songwriter’s most recent album, Careless (Continental Record Services). Shindell recorded the song not on an old guitar, but…
Video Review: Batson’s Americana Is Innovative and Affordable
The Batson Americana is visually striking: The ebony fretboard, bridge, and tailpiece make a beautiful, chocolate-hued center line against the vanilla-shaded, solid Sitka spruce top; and the light-colored, solid mahogany back and sides have a honey-hued, koa-like sheen.
Video Review: Cort’s Frank Gambale Luxe Is a Fast-Playing Flattop
The Cort Frank Gambale signature model is a collaboration between the guitar company and the artist, who oversaw almost every detail of this guitar. Gambale, a jazz-fusion shredder who often records and performs acoustically, wanted an acoustic that played like an electric, and he has put his personal stamp on the Luxe.
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Video Review: Taylor’s Revoiced 712e Is a 12-Fret Fantasy
The 712e 12-fret, a member of the newly refreshed 700 Series, is Taylor’s most recent variation on the Grand Concert platform. And it’s one sweet guita
Video Review: Guild’s D-40 Is a Rebirth of a Made-In-America Classic
The Guild D-40 has a long history of producing an iconic sound. Much of the desirable tone heard on 1960s folk-revival recordings is compliments of a Guild D-40, which was introduced in 1963.
Video Review: Martin Custom’s Limited-Edition CS-Bluegrass-16 Dreadnought Delivers the Goods
The CS-Bluegrass-16's sound is nicely split between robust fundamentals and shimmering overtones. It’s everything a fine dreadnought should be—and then some.
Elvis Costello, Neko Case, Lowell “Banana” Levinger & Others Are Finding a Place for Tenor Guitars in Their Music
The contemporary pop-music scene boasts a small, but enthusiastic, cadre of tenor fans seeking to add color to their stage and studio sound.
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Ben Harper Discusses His Passion for Weissenborn Guitars with Christopher Paul Stelling
‘My first memory of a Weissenborn was seeing them—not even hearing them—and going, “God, that’s one of the more beautiful instruments I’ve ever seen come through the doors of my family’s music shop.”’
Acoustic Guitar Sessions Presents Michaela Anne
Michaela Anne's songs are filled with thoughtful, probing, literate subjects. Give a listen. She stopped by the Acoustic Guitar Sessions studio, with guitarist Daniel Knobler, to perform three other songs from that a: "Living Without You," "Stars," and "Won't Go Down."