No. 228, December 2011
On the Cover: Jerry Garcia. A look at the Grateful Dead guitarist’s influential acoustic style, which reflected his love of roots music, bluegrass, and modal jazz.
Songs:
- Emmylou Harris and Bill Danoff – "Boulder to Birmingham"
- Traditional – "What Child Is This?"
- Joni Mitchell – "Urge for Going"
Features: Doc Watson and David Holt. Almost 30 years since their first collaboration, the North Carolina musicians continue to explore the rich traditions of American folk; Archtop Guitar Heroes. John D'Angelico, Jimmy D'Aquisto, and John Monteleone and their New York archtop guitar making legacy; Over the Rhine. Karen Bergquist and Linford Detweiler conjure fresh approaches to their soulful, American-roots-influenced pop; Maintain Your Fingernails. How to strengthen, cultivate, and shape your nails for fingerstyle; USB Microphones. These inexpensive microphones make it easy to record directly to your computer.
Lessons:
- Two-Handed Grooves Lesson – Create grooves with two-handed tapping and other percussive techniques
- Travis Picking in 3/4 Time – Adapt 4/4 alternating-bass fingerpicking patterns for waltz time.
- Delta Blues Lesson – Play bluesy riffs on top of a monotonic bass for a classic Delta sound.
- Picking Hand Technique – How to properly position your picking hand and use rest and free strokes for the best fingerstyle tone.
Gear Reviews:
- Collings OM1A
- Boulder Creek ERJ7-N
- Fishman Blackstack Pickup
