https://acousticguitar.com lessons, music to play, and how-tos for all guitarists Fri, 20 Jun 2025 16:57:20 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://i0.wp.com/acousticguitar.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/AG_Favicon.png?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 https://acousticguitar.com 32 32 103806923 https://acousticguitar.com/how-to-build-your-own-fingerstyle-arrangements/ https://acousticguitar.com/how-to-build-your-own-fingerstyle-arrangements/#comments Sun, 22 Jun 2025 12:01:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=148056 In this lesson, we’ll look at how to build an arrangement of a melody from the ground up by working on the traditional tune “Greensleeves.”]]> https://acousticguitar.com/how-to-build-your-own-fingerstyle-arrangements/feed/ 1 148056 https://acousticguitar.com/how-to-sing-and-play-guitar-at-the-same-time/ https://acousticguitar.com/how-to-sing-and-play-guitar-at-the-same-time/#respond Wed, 22 Jun 2022 05:20:27 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=119115 In this lesson you'll learn how to sing and play a whole song with any set of strum patterns you like. ]]> https://acousticguitar.com/how-to-sing-and-play-guitar-at-the-same-time/feed/ 0 119115 https://acousticguitar.com/johnny-cash-and-willie-nelson-i-still-miss-someone/ https://acousticguitar.com/johnny-cash-and-willie-nelson-i-still-miss-someone/#respond Thu, 05 Nov 2020 13:00:38 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=119333 Cash played the original version - which features just three chords - with a capo on the first fret. ]]> https://acousticguitar.com/johnny-cash-and-willie-nelson-i-still-miss-someone/feed/ 0 119333 https://acousticguitar.com/watch-an-alternate-take-of-elvis-performing-thats-alright-at-his-68-comeback-special/ https://acousticguitar.com/watch-an-alternate-take-of-elvis-performing-thats-alright-at-his-68-comeback-special/#respond Mon, 07 Sep 2020 16:41:30 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=119318 As guitarist Scotty Moore tells it, the song’s recording happened nearly by accident.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/watch-an-alternate-take-of-elvis-performing-thats-alright-at-his-68-comeback-special/feed/ 0 119318 https://acousticguitar.com/acoustic-classic-paul-mccartneys-unusual-accompaniment-techniques-on-the-beatles-blackbird/ https://acousticguitar.com/acoustic-classic-paul-mccartneys-unusual-accompaniment-techniques-on-the-beatles-blackbird/#respond Fri, 24 Jul 2020 14:08:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=118822 McCartney’s unusual fingerpick-and-strum technique gives “Blackbird” its distinctive sound. ]]> https://acousticguitar.com/acoustic-classic-paul-mccartneys-unusual-accompaniment-techniques-on-the-beatles-blackbird/feed/ 0 118822 https://acousticguitar.com/big-yellow-taxi-a-joni-mitchell-classic-in-open-e-tuning/ https://acousticguitar.com/big-yellow-taxi-a-joni-mitchell-classic-in-open-e-tuning/#respond Fri, 24 Jul 2020 14:07:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=118774 “Big Yellow Taxi” was the sole single from Joni Mitchell’s 1970 album, Ladies of the Canyon. Though it didn’t crack the Top 40 (it charted at No. 67 on the Billboard singles chart), that doesn’t accurately reflect its success.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/big-yellow-taxi-a-joni-mitchell-classic-in-open-e-tuning/feed/ 0 118774 https://acousticguitar.com/add-fingerpicking-fills-to-melody-lines-2/ https://acousticguitar.com/add-fingerpicking-fills-to-melody-lines-2/#respond Sat, 09 Nov 2019 08:41:08 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=112174 The goal of good fingerpicking accompaniment is to support the song you’re playing the best you can. Short fills between vocal lines, like the one in Example 9, can be a nice contrast to straight pattern picking.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/add-fingerpicking-fills-to-melody-lines-2/feed/ 0 112174 https://acousticguitar.com/play-leads-with-major-scales-2/ https://acousticguitar.com/play-leads-with-major-scales-2/#respond Sun, 29 Oct 2017 18:00:31 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=98281 Like pentatonic scales, the patterns that make up major and minor scales can be found and repeated all over the fretboard.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/play-leads-with-major-scales-2/feed/ 0 98281 https://acousticguitar.com/play-mccartneys-fingerpicking-pattern-from-yesterday/ https://acousticguitar.com/play-mccartneys-fingerpicking-pattern-from-yesterday/#respond Sun, 22 Oct 2017 18:00:11 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=98278 Here’s another way to use monotonic-bass picking. Try plucking a bass note with the thumb followed by three eighth notes in the fingers.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/play-mccartneys-fingerpicking-pattern-from-yesterday/feed/ 0 98278 https://acousticguitar.com/laid-back-modern-rock-groove-2/ https://acousticguitar.com/laid-back-modern-rock-groove-2/#respond Sun, 24 Sep 2017 18:00:45 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=98265 Some modern rock and pop tunes get a boost by injecting a laid-back groove with a 16th-note swing feel.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/laid-back-modern-rock-groove-2/feed/ 0 98265 https://acousticguitar.com/learn-the-bo-diddley-beat/ https://acousticguitar.com/learn-the-bo-diddley-beat/#respond Sun, 17 Sep 2017 18:00:18 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=98263 The so-called Bo Diddley beat, shown in Example 5a may seem difficult at first, but if you break the beat down into a 16th-note subdivision, you’ll find a 3–3–2 pattern in the first half of the measure that may help you get a handle on it.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/learn-the-bo-diddley-beat/feed/ 0 98263 https://acousticguitar.com/borrow-chords-from-related-keys/ https://acousticguitar.com/borrow-chords-from-related-keys/#respond Sat, 02 Sep 2017 18:00:37 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=98259 Finding a chord progression’s parallel major or minor key is easy: simply take the letter name of the original key and then flip it to major or minor.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/borrow-chords-from-related-keys/feed/ 0 98259 https://acousticguitar.com/monotonic-bass-patterns/ https://acousticguitar.com/monotonic-bass-patterns/#respond Sun, 21 May 2017 19:12:35 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=98208 A cousin of alternating-bass fingerpicking, monotonic-bass fingerpicking keeps your thumb on the same bass note, instead of alternating between two or three notes.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/monotonic-bass-patterns/feed/ 0 98208 https://acousticguitar.com/how-to-fingerpick-the-beatles-julia/ https://acousticguitar.com/how-to-fingerpick-the-beatles-julia/#respond Sun, 16 Apr 2017 18:59:30 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=98193 John Lennon added an interesting twist in the Beatles’ “Julia” by playing the same bass strings in the same order for each chord, regardless of which string held the root.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/how-to-fingerpick-the-beatles-julia/feed/ 0 98193 https://acousticguitar.com/how-to-play-easy-movable-arpeggios-that-work-with-any-chord-progression/ https://acousticguitar.com/how-to-play-easy-movable-arpeggios-that-work-with-any-chord-progression/#respond Sun, 29 Jan 2017 19:00:34 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=98164 Most guitarists start playing leads by learning to play scales. This is a great way to begin, but scales are just one way to play solo lines. Learn more with this excerpt from Acoustic Rock Basics.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/how-to-play-easy-movable-arpeggios-that-work-with-any-chord-progression/feed/ 0 98164 https://acousticguitar.com/the-country-boom-chuck-rhythm-2/ https://acousticguitar.com/the-country-boom-chuck-rhythm-2/#respond Sun, 01 Jan 2017 18:49:46 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=98154 This pattern lifted from bluegrass boom-chuck rhythm alternates bass notes with strums, as shown in Ex. 2a. You can mix bass notes and strum patterns in many ways.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/the-country-boom-chuck-rhythm-2/feed/ 0 98154 https://acousticguitar.com/play-acoustic-guitar-like-john-oates-learn-the-classic-two-bar-rock-rhythm-from-maneater-video/ https://acousticguitar.com/play-acoustic-guitar-like-john-oates-learn-the-classic-two-bar-rock-rhythm-from-maneater-video/#respond Sun, 04 Dec 2016 19:00:25 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=98146 Strum through this pattern on one chord, and you can hear the verse rhythm behind the Strokes’ “Last Night,” the rhythm pattern behind Hall and Oates’s “Maneater,” or the recurring anthemic rhythm in the Doors’ “Touch Me.”]]> https://acousticguitar.com/play-acoustic-guitar-like-john-oates-learn-the-classic-two-bar-rock-rhythm-from-maneater-video/feed/ 0 98146 https://acousticguitar.com/how-to-make-great-rock-strumming-patterns-from-simple-rhythms/ https://acousticguitar.com/how-to-make-great-rock-strumming-patterns-from-simple-rhythms/#respond Sun, 23 Oct 2016 18:00:33 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=98134 The steady eighth-note pattern is about as simple as they come, but it’s the consistent use of downstrokes that gives this rhythm pattern its character.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/how-to-make-great-rock-strumming-patterns-from-simple-rhythms/feed/ 0 98134 https://acousticguitar.com/fingerstyle-rock-in-dropped-d-tuning/ https://acousticguitar.com/fingerstyle-rock-in-dropped-d-tuning/#respond Wed, 20 Jan 2016 07:20:43 +0000 http://acousticguitar.stringlettermusic.com/?p=1150 Drop-D tuning has been popular among many influential folk and Celtic players]]> https://acousticguitar.com/fingerstyle-rock-in-dropped-d-tuning/feed/ 0 1150 https://acousticguitar.com/acoustic-rock-basics-creating-chordal-riffs/ https://acousticguitar.com/acoustic-rock-basics-creating-chordal-riffs/#respond Tue, 30 Jun 2015 18:00:16 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=67222 Learn to deconstruct simple chord shapes and progressions to create classic-sounding riffs with this lesson in the Acoustic Rock Basics series from Acoustic Guitar.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/acoustic-rock-basics-creating-chordal-riffs/feed/ 0 67222 https://acousticguitar.com/use-the-flatted-fifth-in-your-blues-scale-licks/ https://acousticguitar.com/use-the-flatted-fifth-in-your-blues-scale-licks/#respond Wed, 16 Oct 2013 05:37:47 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=2937 One great way to use the flatted fifth is to approach it from below, ascending from the fourth.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/use-the-flatted-fifth-in-your-blues-scale-licks/feed/ 0 2937 https://acousticguitar.com/the-country-boom-chuck-rhythm/ https://acousticguitar.com/the-country-boom-chuck-rhythm/#comments Fri, 19 Jul 2013 01:28:11 +0000 http://acousticguitar.stringlettermusic.com/?p=163 Learn to adapt the country boom-chuck rhythm to rock songs.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/the-country-boom-chuck-rhythm/feed/ 1 163 https://acousticguitar.com/simple-rhythms-make-great-patterns/ https://acousticguitar.com/simple-rhythms-make-great-patterns/#comments Thu, 04 Jul 2013 00:35:51 +0000 http://acousticguitar.stringlettermusic.com/?p=7 Sometimes, you only need a simple trick to create the right feel, and that’s the key to the groove in Example 1a. ]]> https://acousticguitar.com/simple-rhythms-make-great-patterns/feed/ 1 7 https://acousticguitar.com/learn-a-classic-two-bar-rock-rhythm-pattern/ https://acousticguitar.com/learn-a-classic-two-bar-rock-rhythm-pattern/#comments Thu, 04 Jul 2013 02:04:07 +0000 http://acousticguitar.stringlettermusic.com/?p=232 Example 6a shows a syncopated rhythm that has become a staple of classic rock, modern rock, and pop.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/learn-a-classic-two-bar-rock-rhythm-pattern/feed/ 1 232 https://acousticguitar.com/laid-back-modern-rock-groove/ https://acousticguitar.com/laid-back-modern-rock-groove/#respond Wed, 03 Jul 2013 11:30:23 +0000 http://acousticguitar.stringlettermusic.com/?p=234 Some modern rock and pop tunes get a boost by injecting a laid-back groove with a 16th-note swing feel. Example 7a shows one common syncopated groove you can get with this feel, and Example 7b shows how you might embellish it to sound similar to Train’s hit “Drops of Jupiter.”]]> https://acousticguitar.com/laid-back-modern-rock-groove/feed/ 0 234