Acoustic Guitar

Acoustic Guitar is a monthly publication that has been available in the United States since July/August 1990, produced by String Letter Publishing. This magazine provides valuable information, motivation, and guidance for acoustic guitar enthusiasts, catering to everyone from newcomers to experienced educators. Each edition features around three songs complete with notation and tablature, along with lessons, product reviews, and interviews with well-known acoustic musicians. The magazine enjoys a readership of about 54,000 and has a strong social media presence, boasting over 490,000 likes on Facebook, making it easily accessible across North America.

International

English

Magazine

Outlet metrics

Domain Authority

Ranking

Global

#244880

United States

#115582

Arts and Entertainment/Music

#1464

Traffic sources

Monthly visitors

Articles

Variations on a Theme-Explore Ways to Shape and Reshape a Simple Tune

6 days ago | acousticguitar.com | Mimi Fox |Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers |Mary Flower |Dylan Schorer

I’ve always loved how a simple melody can open the door to so many musical possibilities. The concept of theme and variations has been around for centuries, from classical composers to jazz improvisers, and it’s something I naturally gravitate toward in my own playing.
Introduction to Ragtime Guitar

1 week ago | acousticguitar.com | Adam Perlmutter |Pete Madsen

Text by Jerry Snyder | Video by Doug Young — Excerpted from Ragtime Guitar Essentials. The roots of ragtime music come from gospel, banjo, and African American folk music traditions, as well as 19th-century European composers. From the late 1890s until around 1917, ragtime music was primarily arranged for the piano.
Hone Your Hybrid Picking on Jason Isbell’s Lighthearted Love Song “Foxes in the Snow”

2 weeks ago | acousticguitar.com | Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers |Adam Perlmutter |Maurice Tani |Danny Carnahan

The title track from Jason Isbell’s new solo acoustic album, Foxes in the Snow, is one of its happiest—an unabashed celebration of love and intimacy amid many songs that traverse much darker emotional terrain. Set to a bouncy minor-key groove, “Foxes in the Snow” also features some fine picking and is very fun to play, with a melodic solo that could stand on its own as an instrumental.
Five Young Players Honoring Tradition While Shaping New Acoustic Sounds

2 weeks ago | acousticguitar.com | E.E. Bradman |Emile Menasche |James Rotondi |Mark Small

As country, Americana, and bluegrass artists like the Avett Brothers, Rhiannon Giddens, Jason Isbell, Sierra Ferrell, and Billy Strings continue to shake up the national charts and rack up record crowds, a rising generation of proudly roots-faithful young players and songwriters is following in their footsteps.
Teja Gerken & Doug Young’s ‘The Water Is Wide’ Bridges Familiar Tunes and Fresh Arrangements

2 weeks ago | acousticguitar.com | Kenny Berkowitz |Pat Moran

If, like me, you loved fingerstyle titans Teja Gerken and Doug Young’s wonderfully eclectic 2020 album Duets and Gerken’s recent solo voyage, Test of Time (released on New Year’s Day 2024), you’re almost certain to enjoy the SF Bay Area duo’s latest stellar effort, The Water Is Wide.
Victoria Canal’s Pop Brilliance | Acoustic Guitar Sessions

3 weeks ago | acousticguitar.com | Joey Lusterman |Greg Cahill |Mark Kemp

On a recent tour, singer-songwriter Victoria Canal stopped by the AG studio to play some music and talk about her new album, Slowly it Dawns. In this trio of songs—“June Baby,” “Yes Man,” and “15%,”—Canal shares not only her talents as songwriter, but as a vocalist and performer. Despite performing in a small room for an audience of just three (me; her tour manager; and her accompanying guitarist,Callaghan Kevany), Canal put her entire heart and soul into playing these songs.
Great Acoustics: Jason Isbell’s 1940 Martin 0-17

3 weeks ago | acousticguitar.com | Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers |Greg Olwell |Michael Simmons |Adam Perlmutter

Jason Isbell owns some prized vintage guitars, such as a 1934 Martin 000-28 that he calls the best acoustic guitar he’s ever played. But when it came to recording his solo acoustic album Foxes in the Snow, he turned to this smaller and plainer Martin 0-17, a recent acquisition from Retrofret Vintage Guitars in Brooklyn, New York. Listed at $30, the 0-17 was nearly the bottom of the line in Martin’s 1940 catalog—only the 0-15, a very similar model with a less glossy finish, was cheaper, at $25.
Sue Foley Teaches the Guitar Stylings of Maybelle Carter and Elizabeth Cotten

4 weeks ago | acousticguitar.com | Adam Perlmutter |Pete Madsen |David Surette |Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers

Sue Foley is both a guitarist and a scholar, and she was kind enough to create this exclusive lesson, breaking down key techniques from some of the musicians she celebrates on One Guitar Woman. In Example 1, Foley demonstrates the Carter scratch, a technique pioneered by Maybelle Carter in which the guitarist plays single-note melodies on the bass strings while adding chordal accents on the upper strings.
Jason Isbell Takes the Solo Spotlight on ‘Foxes in the Snow’

1 month ago | acousticguitar.com | Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers |Adam Miller |Karen Peterson

In October 2024, Jason Isbell walked into New York City’s historic Electric Lady Studios with one guitar—a Martin 0-17 from 1940—and a satchel of new songs. For most of his career Isbell has worked with bands, from his stint in the early 2000s with Drive-By Truckers to many years leading the roots-rocking 400 Unit, but his plan this time was to go completely solo and acoustic.
Cameron Knowler’s ‘CRK’ Bridges Early American Guitar Styles with a Deeply Personal Touch

1 month ago | acousticguitar.com | E.E. Bradman |Kenny Berkowitz |Pat Moran

At the end of a long day at work, I found out on social media that the husband of a dear friend had died after a sudden stroke. Still in disbelief and struggling to convey my sympathy in a concise Facebook comment, I happened to put on Cameron Knowler’s CRK. There was something deeply comforting about the gentle acoustic bubbling underneath the opening monologue, but the words seemed to be a scattered collage, randomly reassembled.