Scott Nygaard

San Anselmo, San Francisco

Editor at PegheadNation.com

Acoustic Guitar magazine senior editor, guitarist, avid reader and cyclist.

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Articles

Play Jimmie Rodgers’ Bluesy Hit “Waiting for a Train”

2 weeks ago | acousticguitar.com | Maurice Tani |Kate Koenig |Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers |Scott Nygaard

Jimmie Rodgers’ influence spans country, blues, and early rock ’n’ roll, earning him a place in multiple halls of fame. With a career that lasted just five years before his death from tuberculosis in 1933, Rodgers left an indelible mark on American music. “Waiting for a Train” became a hit in 1929, just as the Wall Street crash ushered in the Great Depression.
Learn a Lush Solo Guitar Arrangement of “When the Saints Go Marching In”

1 month ago | acousticguitar.com | Scott Nygaard |Ron Jackson |Adam Perlmutter |Mimi Fox

“When the Saints Go Marching In” has been a favorite of mine since I was a little girl. My father had a large jazz album collection that included Louis Armstrong tearing it up on this classic. Armstrong’s version transported me to New Orleans, making me feel as if I were marching with his band down Bourbon Street! There are as many versions of this song as there are musicians who have recorded it.
“Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down”-Strum Through This Bluegrass and Folk Standard

Dec 11, 2024 | acousticguitar.com | Peter Penhallow |Scott Nygaard |Adam Perlmutter |Maurice Tani

“Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down” is a standard in bluegrass circles today, but the song predates the genre. Like many classic folk songs, its origins are murky, with some verses appearing to be mashups of even older traditional folk songs. The first popular recording was made in 1925 by Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers, and it sold over 100,000 copies—a huge number at the time.
Finding Seventh Chord Shapes All Over the Fretboard

Sep 18, 2024 | acousticguitar.com | Sean McGowan |Sean Mcgowan |Scott Nygaard |Gretchen Menn |Jane Miller

Browse through a guitar songbook and you’ll see the names of chords (called chord symbols) written above the staff. Sometimes those symbols are accompanied by chord diagrams, but not always. Even if you know an option or two for chord forms, there are always different ways to play them. Having choices keeps your fretting hand from jumping around too much in search of the next chord.
Guitar Basics: How to Use Sus and Add Embellishments with Open Chord Shapes

Aug 4, 2024 | acousticguitar.com | Dylan Schorer |Gretchen Menn |Sean McGowan |Sean Mcgowan |Scott Nygaard

In the first installment of this Basics series on chord embellishments (July/August 2024 issue), we focused on simple ways to sweeten your accompaniment by using hammer-ons and pull-offs with open chord shapes—either hammering onto a fretted note from an open string, or pulling off of a fretted note down to the open string.
Two Ways of Approaching the Flatpicking Jam Tune “Old Joe Clark”

Jul 21, 2024 | acousticguitar.com | Scott Nygaard |Adam Perlmutter |Alan Barnosky

Playing with others is perhaps the most fun part of flatpicking. There is a common repertoire of tunes, and musicians at all skill levels who have never met before can sit down and play them together—creating joyous sounds for pickers and audience members alike. One of the most well-known jam tunes out there is “Old Joe Clark,” originally a mountain folk song dating back to 19th-century Kentucky.
Practice Cross-Picking with This Solo by Early Bluegrass Great Bill Napier on “Will the Circle Be Unbroken”

Feb 11, 2024 | acousticguitar.com | Maurice Tani |Scott Nygaard |Jody Stecher |Alan Barnosky

This guitar solo, from the ever-popular song “Will the Circle Be Unbroken,” comes from Bill Napier, one of the great and underrated musicians of early bluegrass music. He was a stellar mandolin player, performed often on banjo, and flatpicked spectacular guitar leads long before the instrument was considered more than a rhythm machine in bluegrass. Raised in Virginia, he relocated to Michigan for work before joining the Stanley Brothers in 1957 at age 22.
Learn “In the Pines,” a Haunting Folk Song Recorded by Musicians from Lead Belly to Nirvana

Dec 5, 2023 | acousticguitar.com | Maurice Tani |Scott Nygaard |David Hamburger |Adam Perlmutter

“In the Pines” is an evocative traditional folk song with a rich and storied history spanning generations and musical genres. It’s also known by various titles, including “Where Did You Sleep Last Night?,” “Black Girl,” and “The Longest Train.” Thought to originate in southern Appalachia in the 1870s, this melody has captivated audiences for over a century.
Learn These Essential Americana Accompaniment Patterns in D Major

Jul 12, 2023 | acousticguitar.com | Scott Nygaard |Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers |Cathy Fink |Josh Workman

Maybe you are familiar with basic boom-chuck patterns in different keys, but not yet the common guitar key of D major. In this lesson, you’ll learn the basic boom-chuck accompaniment on a I–IV–V (D–G–A) progression in D, then make it sound more interesting by playing around with the bass line in a couple of different variations.
How to Play Billy Strings’ Fleet-Fingered Solos on “Way Downtown”

Jun 16, 2023 | acousticguitar.com | Scott Nygaard |Steve Baughman |Stéphane Wrembel |Alan Barnosky

Billy Strings’ November 2022 release, Me/And/Dad, has had remarkable chart-topping success, hitting No. 1 on the Billboard Bluegrass Albums Chart, No. 7 on the Top Country Albums Chart, and even No. 37 on the Billboard Top 200. It’s even more notable considering this is his most traditional bluegrass record to date, a collection of 14 classic songs performed with his stepfather and musical mentor, Terry Barber.