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<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<The Acoustic Guitar Wire<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
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1. Welcome to the Acoustic Guitar Wire No. 9
2. News and Notes
3. New at Acoustic Guitar Central
4. Win a free set of Dean Markley Vintage Bronze strings!
5. Alternate tuning resources on the Web
6. Highlights from upcoming issues of Acoustic Guitar
7. Giveaway from UltraSound amp!
8. Great new books from String Letter Publishing
9. Free Guitar Clinics
10. Win a free CD!
11. Joke of the month
12. A.G. Wire archives
13. Contact and unsubscribe info

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Welcome to the Acoustic Guitar Wire No. 9.
Enjoy the latest acoustic music news, information
about happenings on-line, 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 amp, strings, or CD.

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 e-mail, just cut and paste the URLs into your
Web browser.

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News and Notes

All of us here at String Letter Publishing send our deepest
condolences and best wishes to everyone touched by last
week's devastating events. May the love of your family and
friends--and the blessing of music--help you cope with these
trying times.

Many of us found it comforting to hear eight-string
classical guitarist David Perry's duet with singer Denyce
Graves during the memorial service broadcast from National
Cathedral the other day, and music has been a welcome
reminder that there is hope amidst the madness.

The chaos in the transportation network that followed the
disaster meant many cancelled gigs and postponed tours.
There were heartening moments, however, as musicians around
the globe mixed and matched and filled in for brothers and
sisters stranded at distant airports. In our favorite story,
a string band in Charlottesville, Virginia, filled in at an
east-coast gig for a stranded San Francisco band who in turn
filled in at a Bay Area gig originally booked for a band
from the Twin Cities. A little cooperation got the job done!

Reflecting that same spirit of togetherness, the Guitar Talk
Open Mic series continues with two events this October.

The next gathering of on-line guitar enthusiasts will
convene in Phoenix on Saturday, October 20, at the Coffee
Plantation.

A week later folks from a dozen states will gather on
Saturday, October 27, at the Loft in Columbus, Georgia.
Festivities will run from 1 PM to 8 PM.

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

There are Guitar Talk gatherings in the works for other
parts of the country. Rumor has it that a national gathering
might take place next April. Check the Web site often to
find out about upcoming gatherings near you.

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New at Acoustic Guitar Central

On Monday, September 24, fingerstyle master Steve Baughman
will play guest host in the Guitar Talk Playing
Guitar forum. Steve is a state-of-the-art fingerstyle
guitarist and a contributor to Acoustic Guitar magazine. He
will be on hand to answer questions about frailing
techniques on the guitar, alternate tuning schemes such as
the versatile Orkney tuning and the arcane cheese tuning,
plus other mysteries of fingerstyle guitar. Read more about
Steve here:
http://www.acousticguitar.com/ubb/Forum8/HTML/000102.html

Take a free on-line guitar lesson with Steve Baughman on the
topic of frailing the guitar in alternate tunings:
http://www.acousticguitar.com/lessons/frailing/1.shtml

New content from the October issue is on-line now, with
the complete text of the Shawn Colvin story. We also added
the latest CD reviews, new artists' gear profiles, and more.
See it all at http://www.acousticguitar.com

Homegrown CD Contest

We had so much fun listening to the hundreds of recordings
submitted by Acoustic Guitar readers for the Homegrown CD
Awards last year, that we're going to do it again! Just as
before, we're looking for projects created entirely outside
of the recording industry's borders, music that is played,
recorded, produced, packaged, released, and sold by the
artists themselves. We'll identify the three highest-quality
projects and present them in the pages of Acoustic Guitar
magazine, along with all the glorious details that went into
making them. We'll also put audio samples and ordering
information up on our Web site, and provide each winner with
a $500 gift certificate from First Quality Musical Supplies.

Get the scoop on qualifications, deadlines, judging, and
prizes, and download an entry form at:
http://www.acousticguitar.com/Homegrown/Homegrown2.html


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Win free Dean Markley Vintage Bronze strings

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 set
of Vintage Bronze strings. Drawings weekly. Sign up today at
http://www.acousticguitar.com/ubbcgi/Ultimate.cgi

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Alternate Tunings On-Line

October's On the Web department in Acoustic Guitar magazine
features Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers conducting a tour of cyber
spots for learning about alternate tunings. Here is an
excerpted selection of hot URL's from that story for anyone
who wants to explore the world beyond E A D G B E.

http://www.accentonmusic.com
http://www.adrianlegg.com
http://www.dancingcat.com/dancingcat/shorthist.shtm
http://www.jonimitchell.com
http://www.looknohands.com

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Highlights from upcoming issues of Acoustic Guitar magazine:

Our November gear issue will be hitting the newsstands in
the next week or two. Highlights include:

--The Great Dreadnought Review
--The Pickup and Amplification Setups of the Pros
--Frank Vignola's Gypsy Jazz
--Gear, Gear, Gear! (Did we mention gear?)

In December we pay tribute to the memory of Chet Atkins,
visit with Mary Chapin Carpenter, and get to know Irish
guitar wizard John Doyle. Lots of music to play in this
issue, plus a review of kids' guitars, a look at National
Reso-Phonic, and EQ 101 for guitarists.

Don't miss out on any of these great features! Subscribe to
Acoustic Guitar today. Sign up on-line at
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 Fender!

The Grand Prize winner will receive a Fender Grand
Auditorium Electric-Acoustic GA-45SCE guitar with case, an
Acoustasonic SFX amp, plus 12 sets of Fender Phosphor Bronze
60 L strings.

The Runner-up prize package includes a Fender Grand
Auditorium Electric-Acoustic GA-43SCE guitar with case, an
Acoustasonic Jr. amp, and 12 sets of Fender Phosphor Bronze
60 L strings.

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

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

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New from String Letter Publishing

ACOUSTIC GUITAR METHOD BOOK 1
by David Hamburger

Learn how to play guitar using the techniques and songs of
American roots music with the revolutionary new ACOUSTIC
GUITAR METHOD.

Whether you are studying with a teacher or on your own, this
comprehensive approach, with graded lessons and
supplementary songs, is the one tool you need to get
started. On the companion CD you'll hear clear performances
of all the music in the book.

In Book 1, learn your first basic chords, strumming, single
notes, country backup basics, waltz time, and melodies with
half notes and rests.

Includes "Columbus Stockade Blues," "East Virginia Blues,"
"Scarborough Fair," "Man of Constant Sorrow," and more.

Acoustic Guitar Method Book 1 (48 pp.) #21695648 $9.95
Learn more at:
http://www.acousticguitar.com/method/

CHRISTMAS SONGS FOR BEGINNING GUITAR
by Peter Penhallow

Add to your repertoire and reinforce your technique with
this collection of traditional, easy-to-play holiday
classics.

Bring these beautiful melodies to life by listening to the
recordings on the companion CD and then using the
transcriptions to practice single-note melodies in open
position, basic downstroke strums, and simple chords.
Reinforces the techniques you learn in THE ACOUSTIC GUITAR
METHOD BOOK 1.

Includes "Jingle Bells," "Joy to the World," "Deck the
Halls," "Silent Night," "The First Noel," "What Child is
This?," and more.

Christmas Songs for Beginning Guitar (40 pp.) #21699495
$9.95
http://acousticguitar.com/books/LessonBooks.html#christmas

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Free Acoustic Guitar Clinics

Come and get a first-hand introduction to the groundbreaking
new ACOUSTIC GUITAR METHOD from author David Hamburger.

See the current schedule of free clinics for students and
teachers at:
http://www.acousticguitar.com/method/clinics.html

TEACHERS
You'll have an opportunity to ask questions about all the
books in the series and find out how each book serves
students at different skill levels.

As an acoustic-guitar teacher, you may have been piecing
together an assortment of materials to formulate lessons for
your students, making your own simplified arrangements and
transcriptions. The Acoustic Guitar Method is organized to
make your teaching as logical, progressive, and rewarding as
possible, offering beginning students a comprehensive
introduction to the songs, artists, and history of
traditional American music.

STUDENTS
If you've never held a guitar, or you know just a few
chords, come to this clinic! Author David Hamburger will
show you how to get started with The Acoustic Guitar Method,
Book One.

He'll cover open chords, basic strums, single note picking,
and country backup, plus a few songs from the folk and blues
repertoire, according to student level.

REGISTER NOW FOR THE CLINIC THAT'S RIGHT FOR YOU!

The Acoustic Guitar Method clinics are sponsored by:

Fishman Transducers
Gibson Original Acoustic Instruments
CF Martin & Co.
National Reso-Phonic
John Pearse Strings

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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 Connor Blain of Berkeley, California, who dropped
us the following concise gem.

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Joke of the month:

A banjo player, a priest, a rabbi, a kangaroo, a stripper,
an accountant, an aardvark, and an accordion player walk
into a bar.

"What is this?" says the bartender. "Some kind of a joke?"

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Free back issues of the A.G. Wire are available on-line at:
http://www.acousticguitar.com/wire_archive/index.shtml

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Send news, comments, and requests:
mailto:agwire@stringletter.com
Copyright (c) 2001 String Letter Publishing. All Rights
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or medium without express written permission of String
Letter Publishing is prohibited. Acoustic Guitar Wire and
the respective logos are trademarks of String Letter
Publishing.

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