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<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<The Acoustic Guitar Wire<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
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1. Welcome to the Acoustic Guitar Wire No. 12
2. News and Notes
3. New at Acoustic Guitar Central
4. Discovering Your Own Alternate Tunings
5. Win a Bundle
6. Highlights from Upcoming Issues of Acoustic Guitar
7. Gibson Giveaway
8. Great Books from String Letter Publishing
9. Win a Free CD
10. Gig from Hell
11. A.G. Wire Archives
12. Contact and Unsubscribe Info

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Welcome to the Acoustic Guitar Wire No. 12.
Enjoy the latest acoustic music news, information about
happenings online, advance notice of special offers and
giveaways, and previews of new publications from String
Letter Publishing. You'll also get tips and advice about
guitars, gear, and playing, plus a few jokes and the chance
to win a free guitar, CDs, or other great prizes.

This newsletter is best viewed in 10-point Courier. Our
hyperlinks are formatted to be "hot" in most mail readers.
If your reader doesn't support click-through linking from
email, just cut and paste the URLs into your Web browser.

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News and Notes

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will make
rare audio recordings of Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, Tom Paxton,
Janis Ian, and other '60s folksingers available to the
public for the first time. A grant from the National Academy
of Recording Arts and Sciences will enable the university to
transfer the deteriorating tapes (some donated by Broadside
magazine publisher Gordon Friesen) to CD. For more
information, go to http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/sfc1.

Artists as diverse as the Beach Boys, Willie Nelson, Keb'
Mo', the B-52s, Nickel Creek, and Bonnie Raitt and Lyle
Lovett (in a double bill) will be joining the Ravinia
Festival's pop and jazz lineup for 2002. The festival will
be held June 7-September 8 in Highland Park, Illinois. For
information, go to http://www.ravinia.org or call (847)
266-5087.

Guitar Talk is the online discussion forum at the Acoustic
Guitar Central website. For the past year or so, folks who
have been meeting in cyberspace to chat about guitars,
making music, and all sorts of stuff have been gathering to
play music together in real time. Join Guitar Talkers in New
York on August 17, Seattle on August 23, and Henry,
Illinois, on September 28. Read more about the events and
post your questions in the Gigs, Workshops, and Gatherings
forum in Guitar Talk at
http://www.acousticguitar.com/ubbcgi/Ultimate.cgi.

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New at Acoustic Guitar Central

Excerpts from the August issue of Acoustic Guitar magazine
are now available online. Read our interviews with
rockabilly-pop crooner Chris Isaak, learn about the essence
of flamenco from Latin Grammy-winner Vicente Amigo, and get
some tips on giving a great performance. Check out the
latest CD reviews, and get tips, advice, and insights from
the pros in the Q & A and What They Play sections. See the
latest at http://www.acousticguitar.com.

A new free online lesson is available on our site. Slide
Melodies with Bass Notes will teach you how to play bass
lines with your thumb underneath slide melodies in open-D
tuning. Try it yourself at
http://www.acousticguitar.com/lessons.

Renowned guitar maker and electronics expert Rick Turner is
moderating a new discussion forum on Guitar Talk
(http://www.acousticguitar.com/ubbcgi/Ultimate.cgi).
Professional guitar techs, guitar retailers, and builders
are invited to talk shop; swap techniques, sources for
materials, and design ideas; and exchange other valuable
information. Discussion topics range from traditional
lutherie to the latest in CNC, finish chemistry, and
electronics.

Take a guitar vacation this summer, and let A.G. help you
pick the right workshop or music camp for your interests.
The expanded Summer Study listings for 2002 are now online
at http://www.acousticguitar.com/summer/welcome.html.

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Discovering Your Own Alternate Tunings
by Gary Joyner

You may already know some of the most popular altered
tunings, such as open D, open G, or open C. Each offers a
tantalizing landscape of possibilities to explore. At some
point, though, you'll want to create your own variations and
new tunings. Here are some signposts that will help you find
your way across the new terrain. Remember to visualize each
string as an interval in the chord implied by the open
strings. The D A D F# A D of open-D tuning will most readily
be identified as R 5 R 3 5 R. The grouping of root-fifth-
root is important because it occurs in many tunings.

The convenient solitary third that occurs in each of the
three basic tunings is a good place to begin further
tweaking. Modality is determined by the third. If you lower
it one half step you will have a minor tuning. D major (D A
D F# A D) becomes D minor (D A D F A D or R 5 R b3 5 R).
Lower the second string a half step in G major (D G D G B D)
and you get G minor (D G D G Bb D or 5 R 5 R b3 5). In both
cases, root-fifth-root is still there as a frame of
reference.

For more tips and advice on alternate tunings, be sure to
check out "Alternate Tunings Guitar Essentials."
http://www.acousticguitar.com/books/LessonBooks.html#alternate

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Win a Collection of Acoustic Guitar CD-Songbooks!

There's always a good discussion about guitars, players, and
acoustic music going in the Guitar Talk forums. Register to
participate and automatically get a chance to win a free
package of six of our CD-Songbooks, including the Alternate
Tunings Guitar Collection, Shades of Blue, Habits of the
Heart, and Flatpicking Guitar Masterpieces.

Get the details when you sign up today at
http://www.acousticguitar.com/ubbcgi/Ultimate.cgi

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Highlights from Upcoming Issues of Acoustic Guitar Magazine:

Our August issue with Chris Isaak on the cover hit
newsstands this week. See "New at Acoustic Guitar Central,"
above, for more information.

In September, we'll examine the connection between "O
Brother, Where Art Thou?" and the roots music boom and show
you how to play "Man of Constant Sorrow," talk with singer-
songwriter Patty Griffin, and offer advice on how to find a
teacher. You'll also get flatpicking tips from David
Hamburger and learn how to use another performer's voice to
spur on your songwriting.

Don't miss out on any of these great features! Subscribe to
Acoustic Guitar today. Sign up online at
http://www.acousticguitar.com/service/service.html#subscribe
or call toll free (800) 827-6837.

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Enter to Win a Great Giveaway Package from Gibson!

The grand prize winner will receive a Gibson Acoustics L-200
Emmylou Harris model guitar and 12 sets of Gibson
Masterbuilt Premium strings. The second prize winner will
take home a Gibson Songbird guitar and 12 sets of Gibson
Masterbuilt Premium strings.

To enter the contest and see the grand prize package, go to
http://www.acousticguitar.com/giveaway2/gibson/index.html

To meet some of our previous giveaway winners, go to
http://acousticguitar.com/giveaway2/winners/index.html

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Available from String Letter Publishing

BEGINNING GUITARIST'S HANDBOOK

Filled with the information beginners of all ages need to
know, Beginning GuitaristÕs Handbook by Jeffrey Pepper
Rodgers takes new players step-by-step through the process
of shopping for a guitar, setting goals, learning to play,
and sharing music with others.

Drawing on his decade as the editor of Acoustic Guitar
magazine, as well as extensive interviews with teachers and
experts, Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers provides a wealth of advice
for a strong start on the guitar and years of fun,
adventure, and inspiration.

Learn more:
http://www.acousticguitar.com/books/Guidebooks.html#begin

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Win a Free CD!

We're giving away a free CD of acoustic guitar music to the
contributor of the best music joke or gig story each month.
To enter, simply send your favorite music joke or anecdote
about a gig from hell to mailto:jokes@stringletter.com. Be
sure to include a mailing address in case you win. We'll
award a new prize with each edition. Our prizewinner this
month is Garrison Smith, who sent us
this gig from hell.

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Gig from Hell

A few years ago, I was gigging as an acoustic singer-
songwriter, doing originals and a lot of classic rock. I was
booked to play out on top of someone's boathouse on Lake
Blackshear in central Georgia. It was a huge Fourth of July
party with hundreds of people and intermittent fireworks. It
was also about 95 degrees out there! Because it was so hot,
the guy who booked the gig set up one of those big shop fans
that blows like a tsunami. For about three hours, I rocked
on. I also ate about a half-dozen bugs! They ranged from
little mosquito types all the way up to larger ones I
couldn't even identify. I'd bust out with some passionate
rock vocal line and get a mouth full of flying insects! It
was horrible!

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Back issues of the A.G. Wire are available online at:
http://www.acousticguitar.com/wire_archive/index.shtml

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Send news, comments, and requests:
mailto:agwire@stringletter.com
Copyright (c) 2002 String Letter Publishing. All Rights
Reserved. You are welcome to forward this email to your
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Letter Publishing is prohibited. Acoustic Guitar Wire and
the respective logos are trademarks of String Letter
Publishing.

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