Tag: March 2016

Peggy Seeger on The Child Ballads—Learn ‘O the Wind & Rain’

[Editor’s note] Peggy Seeger is no stranger to folklore. Her father was the famed folklorist Charles Seeger; her mother, Ruth Crawford Seeger, was a trailblazing avant-garde composer. Her folk musician brother, Mike Seeger, co-founded the New Lost City Ramblers, one of the most influential groups in the 1960s folk revival.…

Andy Hughes
April 23, 2016

Ron Jackson, seated and holding an acoustic guitar, performs the examples from this lesson on accompaniment

Weekly Workout: Be a Better Accompanist

Creating cool parts from scratch may seem to be a mysterious art form but it needn’t be an intimidating prospect

Adam Levy
January 26, 2016

Review: Taylor 326e Baritone Acoustic Guitar Offers a Wide Tonal Palette

I began to appreciate the tonal possibilities inherent to this nicely executed modern baritone with a throaty low voice.

Adam Perlmutter
January 25, 2016

Video Lesson: How to Unlock I-IV-V Chord Progressions

The chord trinity known as I–IV–V is one of the most useful theoretical concepts for any musician. The I–IV–V is a skeleton key for countless songs in folk, country, rock, blues, and beyond, revealing the basic similarities of, say, “Louie Louie,” “Ring of Fire,” “Man of Constant Sorrow,” and “I Fought the Law.”

Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers
January 25, 2016

Martin’s All-Mahogany 00-15E Pairs Vintage Look, Modern Electronics

The 00-15E’s mahogany soundboard isn’t as excitable as spruce, but the guitar is responsive whether I’m playing gently or digging in with a pick. Single-note lines and complex chords alike are clear and brilliant up and down the neck.

Adam Perlmutter
January 25, 2016

Blueridge BG-1500ESB Jumbo Acoustic Guitar

Video Review: Blueridge BG-1500ESB Jumbo Super Jumbo

The first thing you notice when you strum the Blueridge BG-1500ESB Jumbo is the robust warmth of its tone—like a splash of sunlight filtering through tall trees in the Smoky Mountains that give this company its name.

Greg Cahill
January 25, 2016

Video Lesson: Practice Ragtime Fingerpicking in the Style of Reverend Gary Davis [Pt. 2]

Part 1 of this lesson focused on my ragtime piece “Pete’s Barrelhouse Rag”—inspired by the piano-based jazz-blues form that’s heavily syncopated and that was popular in the late 1800s/early 1900s. Now, as promised, here’s a look at three additional variations on the piece. Variation 5 returns to the standard eight-bar…

Pete Madsen
January 25, 2016