Ask the Expert: Why Is My Guitar Buzzing?
Is your acoustic guitar making an unwanted buzzing sound? Here our resident expert offers some possible causes and solutions.
Watch Paul McCartney Play ‘Mother Nature’s Son’
“Mother Nature’s Son” reveals that the Beatles's Paul McCartney plays the acoustic guitar just as deftly as he does the bass guitar.
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Mariachi Instruments Guitar Players Should Know About
A typical modern version of a mariachi instrument has guitar-like additions not found on its traditional counterpart, including a truss rod and inlaid frets.
Learn to Play the Mexican Son Jarocho-Style Folk Song ‘El Cascabel’
This song is a prime example of 'son jarocho'—a folk style, from the Mexican state of Veracruz, typically played on guitar-like instruments such as the jarana jarocha.
Mariachi Is Inspiring a Revolution in Music Education
Acoustic guitars are flying off the shelves at Iowa-based West Music, one of the country’s largest and oldest distributors of instruments for schools and school districts. Not just any acoustic guitars, but Spanish classical guitars and guitars with exotic names and unique sounds—like the oversized, bulbous bass guitarrón and the…
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Tips for Beginning Mariachi Guitar
Mariachi guitar is very special,” Eunice Aparicio says. She should know—she’s been playing mariachi music for 17 years. Aparicio is the guitarrón player in the Latin Grammy-nominated all-female mariachi band Flor de Toloache. But for several years she’s studied mariachi guitar with teachers from across Mexico, where the tradition is…
Video Lesson: How to Spin Endless Variations on a Simple Tune
By taking a basic melody and changing the rhythms, pitches, and articulations, you can make some hip variations.
Video Lesson: How to Play the Blues Like Skip James
Capturing the haunting, emotive quality of Skip James' music is a challenge. Learn to get into open-D-minor tuning and explore his evocative music.
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Video Lesson: Learn Neil Young’s Simple but Singular Guitar Style
Among the many players who’ve used such tactics to create sui generis riffs and chord progressions, perhaps no one has been more successful than prolific singer-songwriter Neil Young.
Color Your Chords with Hammer-Ons and Pull-Offs
Enhance your rhythm playing by adding hammer-ons and pull-offs to chords—an essential technique used in all styles on the acoustic guitar.
8 Dreadnoughts Around $500
The dreadnought is big. Outside of its portly proportions, this form remains a top-seller a century after its birth.
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Gear Review: Fender’s Fortis F-10BT is a Sturdy and Excellent Performer
When I gig as a solo acoustic blues guitarist and vocalist, I usually take a small amp. But there are some instances, like when I play for crowds of more than 100 people, when the amp doesn’t quite cut it. Because of this I became intrigued with the idea of using powered speakers, instead of an amp, in situations where I need enough volume to fill up the space.
Bill Collings, 1948-2017: Read Tributes & Watch a Short Documentary About the Legendary Luthier
Bill Collings was one of the world’s most respected names in acoustic guitar making