Download music notation and TAB for more than 1,475 great songs from the first 30 years of Acoustic Guitar magazine.
How to Play Bonnie Raitt’s Grammy-Winning Story-Song “Just Like That”
With its character-driven narrative and fingerpicking guitar, “Just Like That” taps into Raitt’s love of the folk ballads of her songwriting contemporaries.
Play Happy Traum’s Fingerstyle Arrangement of “Worried Blues” on Acoustic Guitar
“It’s one of those lonesome blues things, but it’s not a standard 12-bar blues... It’s more like a folk song,” says Traum
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Learn “Cam Ye O’er Frae France,” a Dropped-D Arrangement of an Irreverent Scottish Song
Popular versions have been performed by Steeleye Span, Ewan MacColl, and Dick Gaughan
Fanø/Black Sea Dress: Learn to Play this Pair of Miniatures from Charlie Rauh
While hybrid picking lends a certain definition and crispness, especially on the bass notes, straight fingerpicking will work equally well on the two pieces.
Woodshed: How to Play a Dropped-D Gospel Theme as Recorded by Bahamian Guitar Legend Joseph Spence
Listen to any Joseph Spence song and you’ll find unexpected nuance and detail, no matter how many times you have heard it.
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“Dans Kef” – Learn to Play a Mysterious Celtic Arrangement for Solo Guitar
“Dans Kef” is in a sort of modified Orkney tuning I call Celto-Hawaiian, because it can sound like it’s from the islands. The tune is in fact a good case study in how to build your own Celtic arrangement.
Sunny War’s “No Reason” Is Built from a Cool and Distinctive Riff
It has a non-Western vibe, but at the same time connects to the Travis picking tradition
How to Play “Willin’” — Little Feat’s Trucking Anthem in Open-G Tuning
This guitar lesson is based on Little Feat’s original recording of "Willin'," a duet with George on vocals and acoustic guitar and Ry Cooder on bottleneck electric guitar.
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“Prelude No. 1 in C Major”—Transforming a Bach Keyboard Work into a Flatpicking Guitar Study
As this arrangement shows, Bach's Prelude No. 1 in C Major works quite well as a flatpicking etude.
Learn to Play the Fun and Breezy 19th Century Dance Tune “Jenny Jenkins”
“Jenny Jenkins,” which has been covered by the likes of Jerry Garcia (with David Grisman) and Lisa Loeb, is as simple as it is sweet.
Learn a Simple Guitar Arrangement of the Scottish Folk Anthem “Fortune Turns the Wheel”
"Fortune Turns the Wheel" is simple, and the sung melody needs little in the way of instrumental propulsion, so the guitar setting is spare in this arrangement.
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Learn the Scottish Folk Song “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean” on Guitar
Learn an easy guitar arrangement of the traditional Scottish folk song "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean."
Flatpicking Guitar Lesson: Learn Courtney Hartman’s Arrangement of “Cumberland Gap”
Learn to play this expressive and understated flatpicking guitar rendition of the classic tune “Cumberland Gap,” from Courtney Hartman’s 2016 Nothing We Say.
Learn the Mamas and the Papas’ “California Dreamin’” on Guitar
This classic song captures the ethos of the early hippie era and is played in the key of A minor, with a capo at the fourth fret causing the music to sound in C# minor.
Woodshed: How To Play John Fahey’s ‘Uncloudy Day’
Fahey’s version of “Uncloudy Day” was originally released on his 1959 debut, Blind Joe Death.
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Three New Solo Guitar Arrangements of Christmas Carols for 2022
Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers shares three new solo guitar arrangements of Christmas Carols: "What Child Is This?," "O Little Town of Bethlehem," and "Jingle Bells."
Tips on How to Play Michael Hedges’ Evocative Composition “Breakfast in the Field”
This meditative song uses two-handed tappings to fret notes in unprecedented ways.
Adam Levy Teaches His Moving Solo Guitar Composition “Clandestino (Elegy for a Cheesemonger)”
“Clandestino” begins with a playful single-note figure drawn from the D major pentatonic scale.
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“What’s Going On”—Learn an Unplugged Version of Marvin Gaye’s R&B Masterpiece
Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” has nary an acoustic guitar in its swirling arrangement, but the song, in the guitar-friendly key of E major, lends itself nicely to an acoustic treatment.
Learn Jon Stickley’s Clever Guitar Reimagining of the Classic Fiddle Tune “Blackberry Blossom”
Learn to play the Jon Stickley Trio's unique interpretation of the bluegrass tune “Blackberry Blossom” on guitar.
Christmas Classics: Learn Three Unique Fingerstyle Arrangements
Learn sophisticated solo-guitar arrangements of "O Come, All Ye Faithful," "Joy to the World," and "Silent Night."
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Learn an Open-D Bottleneck Slide Guitar Arrangement of “Silent Night”
Fingerstyle guitarist Steve Baughman shares an open-d acoustic guitar arrangement of the beloved Christmas carol "Silent Night" that lends itself nicely to slide treatment.
Learn a Beautiful Open-G Guitar Arrangement of ‘Sally Ann’
Dudley Hill was a beloved guitarist in the Pacific Northwest with great rhythm and time. Here's how to play his version of the tune "Sally Ann" on guitar.
Learn an Easy Guitar Arrangement of “Low Bridge, Everybody Down” (aka “The Erie Canal Song”)
Here's an easy strumming version of “Low Bridge, Everybody Down” (aka “The Erie Canal Song”), a 1900s tune that takes a look back to the mid-1800s.
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“John Henry”: Play This Acoustic Guitar Tribute to an American Folk Hero
Passed down from the late 1800s, the folk ballad “John Henry” tells the story of a Black steel driver who dies in an effort to best a steam drill in laying down steel for the construction of a railroad. Henry is thought to have been a real person, whose proof…