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Ideally, practicing guitar should feel like a combination of playtime and meditation.  Focusing too hard on one’s perceived goals can end in frustration and discouragement. Although everyone learns and refines their abilities differently, I have uncovered some approaches to the instrument that will hopefully inspire a few readers out of a rut. #1 Woodshedding We’ve all heard the term, …

All About Eastman Guitars Eastman Guitars are an incredible value and will challenge most handcrafted acoustic guitar builders. Eastman guitars are not “Made in China,” they are proudly hand-crafted in Beijing. In our increasingly global economy, this is an important distinction to make. Founded in 1992 by a Chinese music student named Qian Ni, Eastman strings initially gained their re …

Double Harmonic Major Scale At some point, most guitarists will tire of major and minor scales and start looking for something more “exotic”. After exploring the “church” modes, which can be committed to memory using the mnemonic, “ I Don’t Play Loud Marshalls Any Longer” (Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeo …

The Sunflower River School of Blues The roots of the blues run wide and deep, but there was something special in the soil along the Sunflower River a tributary of the Yazoo that runs through  Clarksdale, Mississippi. The Sunflower River School, as I’ve dubbed it, included such luminous figures as Charley Patton, Bukka White, Howlin’ Wolf, Son House, Po …

I love instrumental Rock & Roll.. When words fail, I take solace in the shiver of six strings. When I want to transubstantiate my anger into something worthwhile, I paddle out to my woodshed, warm up my amp, and ride a wave of feedback back to shore. It all started with a power chord. When  Link Wray’s “Rumble” was released in 1958, it was banned in New York in Boston for fear tha …

Rivolta Guitars have an vintage-retro inspired look that can only come from the master builder of the boutique guitar, Dennis  Fano. Dennis Fano’s Rivolta line channels the zeitgeist of our time with a price tag aimed at the starving artist type. This ever-expanding pantheon of elegant off-sets pays homage to the global diaspora of Rock & Roll. When Fender, Gibson, and Gretsch were stil …

There Are Many Ways To Vibrate A String | Midwood Guitar Studio There are many ways to vibrate a string. Some use their fingers, some use a pick. However, rather than taking it for granted and sticking with what you know, it’s useful to evaluate the timbral differences and stylistic limitations of each available option. Classical guitarists use all the fingers of their pickin …

The Evolution of Acoustic Music - Martin & Taylor Guitars Martin, Taylor, and the evolution of acoustic music. In the years following WWII, we were most concerned with what was new. Electric guitars and shiny cars became fixtures of the popular aesthetic. It wasn’t until the mid-50s and 60s that the folk revival drew our interest back to the traditional tools of the …

The Allure of Pre-War Tone: A Journey from Nazareth, PA to Hillsborough NC Time and time again, it has become clear that in addition to natural sonic symmetry, sustain, volume, etc., players gravitate towards guitars that somehow embody their favorite recordings. After all, for most of us here in the 21st century, it was a CD, Tape, or Vinyl that spurred our love of music in the first place. One …