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The master teachers at Acoustic Guitar magazine have prepared a variety of great lessons for players of all musical interests and skill levels. You're sure to pick up a new technique or a new tune right here, right now. Then check out our library of instructional books, each with its own audio CD. Each lesson includes audio clips in the RealAudio format. Download their plug-in to hear your instructor play examples from the lesson.

A Holiday Favorite Rick Ruskin walks you through his fingerstyle arrangment of the holiday classic, ''We Three Kings.''

A Left-Hand Workout Developing left-hand technique for classical guitar.

All-Purpose Rhythm Guitar A few rhythm techniques useful in a wide variety of playing styles and situations.

Alternate Tunings Made Easy David Hodge explains alternate tunings from the ground up. With words and music to 'Handsome Molly.'

Arpeggios and Melodies (Part 1 of 2) Learn the basics of arpeggios and melodies from Paul Kotapish. Features the simple Irish reel ''Walker Street.''

Arpeggios and Melodies (Part 2 of 2) Continue the Celtic flatpicking with arpeggios lesson, and learn the Irish jig ''Tripping up the Stairs.''

Arranging a Holiday Favorite Dylan Schorer walks you through his arrangement of ''Shchedryk'' (the piece that ''Carol of the Bells'' was based on).

Arranging Bach Dylan Schorer explains his approach to arranging classical pieces for alternate tunings, illustrated by his arrangement of Bach's Prelude from Cello Suite No. 1.

Barre Chords Acoustic Guitar magazine's founding editor unlocks the mystery of this essential and often difficult chord form, which uses one of your fingers to play several strings at once. Learn to play without pain and discover the upper reaches of the fingerboard.

Blues Chords up the Neck David Hamburger explains how to get musical results past the fifth fret with commonly used chords.

Blues Lead Phrasing Building licks from a few essential notes.

Bluesy Bluegrass Lead Fiddle tunes and G-runs will get you off to a good start in bluegrass, but to really get that lonesome guitar sound, you need to come down with a bad case of the blues now and then.

Bossa Nova Basics Geoff Stewart explains how to capture the essence of bossa nova rhythms.

Building Fingerstyle Arrangements Instructor Andrew DuBrock explores the development of a simple melody into a complete fingerstyle arrangement using the traditional tune ''Greensleeves.''

Bye Bye Baby Blues Steve James shows how to play this country blues classic.

Candy Man Mississippi John Hurt's quiet demeanor, memorable songs, and sweet fingerpicking charmed and mesmerized '60s folk revival audiences, and his playing has been an influence on folk/blues players ever since. Learn some of the elements that contributed to his influence on folk/blues players.

Chord Fills Spice up basic chord progressions with great-sounding embellishments. This lesson includes a wealth of pro tips on suspensions, hammer-ons, pull-offs, slides, and special licks courtesy of Acoustic Guitar magazine's former music editor Dylan Schorer.

Chord-Melody Arranging Ken Hatfield shows you how to arrange a melody for solo jazz guitar. In this lesson you will master an array of skills from drop-2 and drop-3 chords to harmonic, melodic, and rhythmic devices to play Ken's original song ''Sho' Nuff Liz.''.

Chords 101 Everything you wanted to know about chords and strums (but were afraid to ask)

Chords and Melodies up the Neck A lesson in how to play ''up the neck.'' Includes music to the song ''Forked Deer.''

Clawhammer Guitar Add driving rhythms to your arrangements with clawhammer banjo techniques.

Conquer Stage Fright Is your fear of the bright lights keeping you from sharing your music with the world? Remember that people really aren't that scary, you can never be too prepared, and most importantly, it's not about you, it's about the music.

Creating Chord Progressions Coming up with your own chord progressions with basic chords.

Crosspicking Pop Songs Use simple crosspicking techniques to create full, driving acompaniments to pop tunes, country songs, or any other song you can think of.

Crow Jane Texas roots music wizard Steve James teaches his version of a classic country blues.

Do the Shuffle Chris Grampp gives an easy introduction to one of the most popular rhythms of all time.

Down in the Valley to Pray AG editor Scott Nygaard explains how to play his version of the classic spiritual.

Down in the Valley to Pray AG editor Scott Nygaard explains how to play his version of the classic spiritual.

Dropped-D Tuning Join the multitude of professional guitarists exploring the world of alternate tunings. Instructor Happy Traum will introduce you to this simple and beatiful new tuning, with an arrangement of ''Worried Blues.''

Dynamic Arranging Eight simple ways to use dynamics to get to the emotional heart of your band's songs.

Easy Fingerpicking David Hamburger teaches a common fingerpicking pattern and how to use it to play ''House of the Rising Sun.''

Easy Fingerpicking on a Coldplay Song Unlock the flowing rhythm of Coldplay's ''Clocks'' with one simple pattern.

Embellishing Arpeggios John Coco leads beginners through an easy, step-by-step process for learning and integrating arpeggios into their playing.

Embellishing Cowboy Chords Create countless easy and cool patterns by adding hammer-ons and pull-offs to first-position chords.

Expanding Your Chord Vocabulary Gary Talley explores the world of chords from a songwriter's perspective.

Exploring D A D G A D Mark Hanson will help you get familiar with the popular D A D G A D tuning.

Finger Freedom Fingerstyle ace Teja Gerken shows how to break out of the same old fingering patterns.

Fingerpicking and Slide Covers basics of using various slides and slide tunings with a fingerpicking approach.

Fingerstyle Basics Learn the basics of fingerstyle guitar from Chris Proctor, with his own arrangement of the traditional folk song ''Aura Lee.''

Fingerstyle for Flatpickers An introductory fingerpicking lesson using blues progressions and walking bass lines.

First Chords Learn seven easy chords that will give you the basic tools you need to play thousands of popular songs.

Flatpicking Celtic Style With the right feel, phrasing, and a few authentic ornaments, you can play Irish fiddle tunes like you're from the old country.

Flatpicking Fiddle Tunes (Part 1 of 2) Take a free on-line lesson with flatpick wizard Scott Nygaard. Learn to play ''Soldier's Joy.''

Flatpicking Fiddle Tunes (Part 2 of 2) Continue the flatpicking lesson with Scott Nygaard. Learn to play two versions of ''Sandy River Belle.''

Folk Song Accompaniment In this lesson, instructor Happy Traum takes a simple song, ''Down in the Valley,'' and adds embellishments to create a nice arrangement.

Frailing in Alternate Tunings Learn how to use this wonderfully rhythmic clawhammer-banjo style on the guitar. Fingerstyle magus Steve Baughman goes step-by-step to demonstrate this right-hand technique and shows you how to play a cool tune in an alternate tuning.

Great Classical Exercises (Part 1 of 2) Gary Joyner teaches some great classical guitar exercises to build your finger strength and dexterity. These lessons, based on classical-guitar exercises, are perfect for both nylon- and steel-string fingerpicking styles.

Great Classical Exercises (Part 2 of 2) More great classical guitar exercises for both nylon- and steel-string fingerpicking styles. Learn to play the lovely ''Slow Waltz'' by Matteo Carcassi.

Guitar Rag Rags have been a treasured element of fingerstyle repetoire since the mid 20's. Dale Miller shows you how to get started playing these flashy, humorous and fun songs.

Hammer-ons, Slides, and Pull-offs Learn these tricks of the trade that will help you slur notes together to make your melodies flow. Instructor David Hamburger teaches you how to play these trusty embellishments.

Harmonics The pure, flute-like tone that you get when you pluck a guitar string while lightly touching—but not fretting—the 12th fret is called a harmonic. Learn all about harmonics up and down the fingerboard from Sharon Isbin.

Harmonize a Melody Add color to your melodic lines by harmonizing them with chord or scale tones a third or sixth below the melody.

Hendrix-Style Embellishments How to adapt Jimi Hendrix-like chord voicings to acoustic guitar.

Hot Lick Breaks A lesson in firing up your fingerstyle leads.

Jazz Chord Basics Learn the essentials of closed-position chords and how to move them around the fingerboard. Dix Bruce gets you swinging and comfortable playing a jazz blues in G and Bb.

Jazz Chord Families Learning how jazz chords and chord shapes relate to each other.

Jazz Up Your Blues Give fingerstyle country-blues tunes new colors by adding cycle-of-fifth and other common jazz-style substitutions to the 12-bar form.

Lap-Slide With assistance from Dylan Schorer, innovative guitarist Kelly Joe Phelps shows his unique approach to lap-style slide guitar, with examples drawn from his debut recording, Lead Me On.

Lead On! Fire up a rockabilly-style lead over a classic Merle Haggard song.

Legato Lines Do your single-note melodies sound staccato and stiff? Make them more fluid by mixing open strings with higher notes up the neck on lower strings, and using hammer-ons and pull-offs 'from nowhere.'

Luring the Muse Patty Larkin shares her thoughts on the art of songwriting, with a look into her own creative process.

Marching Through Georgia Music by Henry Clay Work, arranged by Eric Lugosch. Get into step with a fingerstyle arrangement of the folk classic 'Marching Through Georgia.'

Minor-Key Fingerstyle Chris Proctor explains the ins and outs of playing in a minor-key alternate tuning, using his original piece, ''Swept Away.''

Minstrel Melodies Let master guitarist Scott Nygaard introduce you to this memorable style from the American folk tradition, with an arrangement of ''Golden Slippers.''

Modal Harmony Scott Nygaard shows you how to build chords from a mode or scale to create different sounds. Learn 88 modal chords and a song.

Modern Fingerstyle Bass Lines With a little syncopation, phrasing, and a few percussive techniques, you can turn boring bass lines into fingerstyle funk fests.

Monotonic Bass Fingerpicking Accompany your blues licks with a thumping one-note bass.

Movable Minor Chords Learn to play movable minor chord shapes up and down the neck.

Movable Open-String Chords AG's music editor shows you how to turn simple chord patterns integrating open strings into magic bullets you can fire from across the fretboard.

Octaves in D A D G A D Various ways to incorporate playing octaves in D A D G A D tuning.

Open-String Chords Create a whole new library of fresh, colorful chord voicings by combining familiar chord shapes with open strings.

Percussive Fingerstyle Add driving backbeats to your arrangements with these percussive slapping and strumming techniques.

Play It Loud Increase your flatpicking volume—without sacrificing tone—with these seven adjustments to your technique and attitude.

Play the Blues David Hamburger teaches right-hand positioning, a fingerpicking pattern, and a complete song to play.

Postscript Mark Hanson explains how to play his fingerstyle ballad.

Power Chords Learn how to play power chords! Adam Levy shows you the basics behind these bare-bones chords, and why they rock the world.

Rhythms in Three Get comfortable playing rhythm in 3/4, 6/8, and 12/8, and you'll open up a whole new world of songs to add to your repertoire.

Right-Hand Fretting Expanding your palette of chord voicings with right-hand fretting.

Silent Night The easy-to-play arrangement of this Christmas classic is just the thing to get you into the holiday spirit. Peter Penhallow teaches ''Silent Night'' using easy chords and a simple strum pattern.

Simple Syncopated Grooves Syncopation is one of the guitar players' most valuable tools. Take this step-by-step tutorial, developed by Andrew DuBrock, and turn any simple progression into an ear-catching riff.

Single-string slide melodies David Hamburger explores the fundamentals of single-string melody playing on acoustic slide guitar in open D tuning.

Slack-Key Guitar: Wahine Tunings Slack-key master Keola Beamer introduces two major-seventh ('wahine') tunings, and shows how to play two complete songs.

Slack-Key in Open G Patrick Landeza will get you started playing slack-key guitar in Open G tuning. He finishes the lesson with a complete song, ''Kahuku Slack-Key.''

Slide: Working in the Thumb David Hamburger explains how to play bass notes with your thumb underneath slide melodies in open D tuning

Soloing with Nonchord Tones We show you how to paint leads in exuberant new colors by venturing outside expected chord notes.

Start Your Own Jam Find songs that are fun and easy to play, round up some nourishment for your jammers, and you can fill your house with the great feeling of friends making music together.

Starting to Fingerpick David Hamburger gets you fingerpicking with a basic pattern and a complete song.

Step Up to the Barre Play any major, minor, or seventh chord in any key with barre chords.

Strum and Bass Note Patterns (Part 1 of 2). The strum-and-bass rhythm technique is fundamental to many acoustic styles including bluegrass, folk, country, and rock. Larry Sandberg will teach you the basics with this full audio and tab lesson.

Strum and Bass Note Patterns (Part 2 of 2) Learn more about the strum-and-bass rhythm technique in Part Two of this great lesson. Larry Sandberg will teach you how to embellish your strums with hammer-ons and walking bass lines.

Sustained-Note Chords Create exciting new chords by simply holding onto a note or two when you change from one chord to another.

Swing Soloing (Part 1 of 3) Instructor David Hamburger teaches the fundamentals of swing soloing with a 12-bar blues in swing style.

Swing Soloing (Part 2 of 3) Learn more about building a swing solo, adding mixolydian scales and dominant seventh and minor sixth arpeggios.

Swing Soloing (Part 3 of 3) Adding sequences and passing tones, you'll build a complete swing solo.

Take It Easy It doesn't take much to prevent playing-related injuries.

The Kansas City Lowdown Music by David Hamburger. Learn to play an open-C blues inspired by pianists like Jelly Roll Morton.

Understanding Modes A primer in learning and playing in seven different modes.

What Chord Names Mean (Part 1 of 2). David Hamburger demistifies confusing chord names, turning them into a tool so you can know exactly what you're playing. In this lesson he'll cover major, minor, augmented and dimished triads and seventh chords.

What Chord Names Mean (Part 2 of 2) Starting where Part One left off, Hamburger walks you through sixth chords, five chords, suspended chords, extended chords, and chords with altered extensions.

Music Notation Key Learn how to read music with this useful guide. It covers the basics of guitar tablature and standard notation as used in our lessons.

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Sponsor: Lessons Interactive





Lessons Interactive provides online guitar lessons with a real teacher
through the use of a webcam.

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Got a question for Acoustic Guitar's editors? Please send us an email at editors.ag@stringletter.com or snail-mail Acoustic Guitar Editorial, PO Box 767, San Anselmo, CA 94979. We regularly print reader letters in our Mail column and reader questions and tips in Q&A.

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Sponsor When you're finally ready for the guitar you've always dreamed of.................

Froggy Bottom Guitars

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