Special Measures is the debut album from guitarist JONO WRIGHT. Wright might hail from the Midlands in the UK, but the heart and soul of Special Measures lies some 4000 miles away in Nashville, Tennessee. Named after Wright’s experiences in …
The Martin Reimagined Series: A New Dawn in Acoustic Guitar Innovation
Greetings, rhythm enthusiasts and immediately allow me to introduce you to the fresh sounds of Martin's Reimagined series, an innovative line from the legendary guitar creators at Martin. Now these aren't folks just fresh off the boat but have …
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Cranes in the Moonlight by James Filkns
Cranes in the Moonlight, James Filkins first new album in over ten years. The 12 new original acoustic guitar based instrumentals, on this album are acoustically melodic, moody, as well as sonically textured and feature the talents of Polish cellist …
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Espasón, by Gustavo Alonso López
Espasón is a contemporary flamenco album and the second full-length studio project by US-based flamenco guitarist Gustavo Alonso López. The recording contains 55 minutes of original composition, traditional cante flamenco, and improvisation. …
7 Popular Thumb Picks to Mix Up Your Solo Fingerpicking
I've taken a dive into using thumb picks in recent months. Without being too obvious, I should clarify by saying that thumb picks are plastic (typically) guitar picks that wrap around the thumb so that you can easily pick independently with …
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Top 10 Best Jazz Guitars of All Time
Jazz guitarists have a unique style that sets them apart from other genres. From the big bands of the swing era to the bebop pioneers of the 1940s and beyond, jazz guitarists have always sought out the best instruments to help them achieve their …
How to Practice Scales on Fingerstyle Guitar
One of the practical problems I've had with fingerstyle guitar is figuring out the best technique for practicing scales. And the problem really boils down to this: what exact type of fingerstyle picking are you using? The techniques for your …
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The 150 Top “Perfect” Albums (according to Reddit)
There's a fun thread on Reddit that got going when someone shared what they consider 'perfect albums', as in: ""Perfect" meaning you never skip any songs, the album flows seamlessly, and there's an overall theme." In an era of Spotify singles and …
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Tim Lerch, A Modern Master of Telecaster Jazz & Blues
Tim Lerch is like a mash-up of Bob Ross and Jeff Bridges... if they could play guitar like Ted Greene. Here's the quick backstory before I dive into why you should be following and learning from Tim Lerch: I discovered Lerch as many of us …
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10 Steps to Learning a Jazz Standard on Guitar
Frank Vignola's course, "Jazz Standard Learning System", provides an efficient and thorough methodology for learning a jazz 'standard' song on guitar. Frank Vignola is a long-time favorite educator in the jazz guitar space, with some amazing …
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“Contemporary Latin Jazz Guitar” with Neff Irizarry
Neff Irizarry's new instructional book, "Contemporary Latin Jazz Guitar", breaks open the history of Afro Cuban latin jazz rhythms and how they work for guitar. Neff Irizarry is a guitarist, composer, educator, and author specializing in Latin and …
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The 10 Best Easy Fingerpicking Songs for Beginners
Learning fingerpicking guitar (or "fingerstyle guitar" as it's also called) can be overwhelming. You see YouTube's of people like Andy McKee or Tommy Emmanuel and you think, "not me". But playing this kind of music is like the …
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The 10 Scales Used 99% Of The Time in Jazz Improv
Even if you haven't heard of Gary Burton, you've definitely heard the results of his teaching. Burton has been playing vibes (AKA the vibraphone) on jazz records for over 50 years, both as a side player and band leader, he's taught improvisation …
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‘mise en place’
'Mise en place' (French pronunciation: [mi zɑ̃ ˈplas]) is a French culinary phrase which means "putting in place" or "everything in its place". It's a good concept to apply to making music as well. The point of 'mise en place' in the culinary …
