Skip James Lesson
Learn the minor tuning and contrapuntal picking style that made this blues icon’s music haunting and timeless. With video and tab. By Orville Johnson.

Buddy Miller Interview
Whether he’s onstage with the Three Girls—Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, and Shawn Colvin—touring with Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, playing sessions and producing in Nashville, or making his own records, Buddy Miller is the go-to guitarist in roots music. By Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers.

Equipment Picks: The Guitars and Gear of Buddy Miller.

Five Bluesy Flattops Reviewed
Acoustic Guitar checks out flattop guitars made by Durango, Loar, Gibson, Collings, and Santa Cruz. With video. By Stevie Coyle.

DEPARTMENTS

ACOUSTIC CLASSIC
Good Hearted Woman. Words and music by Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings. By Andrew DuBrock.
Angel Band. Traditional, arranged by Ruth Parry. With video and tab. By Ruth Parry.

PRIVATE LESSON
Eric Bibb Lesson. The bluesman talks about merging the acoustic blues tradition with jazz influences. With audio and tab. By Adam Perlmutter.

NEW GEAR 1
National Reso-Phonic M-1 Review. Acoustic Guitar checks out the wood-body version of the classic tricone model. With video. By Andy Markham.

NEW GEAR 2
Walden Madera CD4040-CERT Review. Acoustic Guitar reviews an elegant affordable dreadnought with certified FSC-pure tonewoods and versatile sounds. With video. By Adam Perlmutter.

PLAYER SPOTLIGHT
Mississippi Sheiks tribute album. Multi-instrumentalist and producer Steve Dawson turns to a cast of acoustic stars to pay tribute to the influential '30s string band. By Kenny Berkowitz.

HERE'S HOW
Improve Your Vocals. Ten tips to help you become a better singer. With video. By Amanda White.

THE BASICS
Alternating-Bass Fingerpicking. Learn to play versatile accompaniment by training your picking-hand thumb and fingers to work independently. With video and tab.

Excerpted from the full Acoustic Rock Basics instructional guide “Alternating-Bass Fingerpicking.” By Andrew DuBrock.

LUTHIER'S WORKBENCH
Muiderman Guitars Profile. North Dakota luthier Kevin Muiderman builds remakably expressive instruments. By Charles Saufley.

PLAYLIST
David Olney, Dutchman's Curve. By Drew Pearce.
Kaki King, Junior. By Celine Keating.
LAGQ, Interchange. By Mark Small.
Rev. Gary Davis At Home and Church, 1962–1967. By Ian Zack.
Tift Merritt, See You on the Moon. By Celine Keating.

WOODSHED
Ninth Chords Lesson. Use the ninth note of the scale as a colorful extension for major-, minor-, and dominant-seventh chords. With audio and tab. By Jane Miller.

SONGBOOK
Going Down the Road Feeling Bad. Traditional, arranged by Andrew DuBrock. With video and tab. By Andrew DuBrock.

GREAT ACOUSTICS
1928 Gibson L-1. By John Thomas.