Acoustic Instrument
Primers
What Kind of Guitar
Should I Start On?
What Kind of Banjo
Do I Want?
Evaluating and
Buying Used
Guitars
Setting Up Acoustic
Guitars and other
Fretted Instruments
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Acoustic Instrument Primers
Americans have always been on the move. It is any wonder that America's musical heritage was founded on instruments you could easily haul anywhere? Guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, but especially guitar.Though I've been playing guitar and banjo, and giving acoustic-based concerts for well over 40 years, I've never gotten tired of the things you can do with a few pieces of wood, a few skinny wires, and a lot of hope. But the time is coming to pass the torch. As I prepared to start giving lessons again recently, I realized that many of the things "everybody" knew about guitar and other acoustic instruments when I was sixteen are now all but lost to the last generation (or two). So this section of this site is devoted to capturing the things that were "common knowledge" when I started the guitar and was supported by numerous friends on the same musical journey.
You'll also notice that what I say about choosing, learning, and maintaining acoustic instruments is brutally practical. Sadly, lots of modern-day Lady Catherine de Bourghs think that having warm fuzzy feelings about music are all it takes to become a great musician. But if you want your music to touch hearts, or even lives, you will need to learn, study, practice, and practice some more, until music is your second language, and the instrument in your hands is an extension of your own soul.
We will do everything we can to assist you on that journey. We have several more articles on the drawing board, but the ones that are at least somewhat ready for publication are listed below:
- What Kind of Guitar Should I Start On?
- What Kind of Banjo Do I Want?
- Evaluating and Buying Used Guitars
- Setting Up Acoustic Guitars and other Fretted Instruments
- How to Give Guitar Lessons - A Humorous Look
- Whatever Happened to the Banjo? - Marginalization of an American Icon
Creek Don't Rise™ is operating as a part of Breakthrough Communications™, the communication company started by writer and musician Paul Race in 1995. We are not a non-profit agency, although Paul and other individuals affiliated with Creek Don't Rise™ have worked with non-profit regional educational, musical, and theatrical organizations for many years.
If you are interested in contributing content, asking questions, sponsoring a concert, or sponsoring a reading or production of our play, please contact us for more detailed information, for reading copies of the script, song demos, etc.
All material, illustrations, and content of this web site is copyrighted © 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 by Paul D. Race. All rights reserved.
For questions, comments, suggestions, trouble reports, etc. about this play or about this web page, please contact us.
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