Category: Jamming In General

My old friend Stanley Garrison, besides being a hella guitar player, is also an innovative luthier. Check out his unique String Bass Banjo: Banjo…

The tonal power of the theorbo comes from its dramatically long scale length. As detailed in my article here, the length of strings greatly influences…

In 1974, I bought a 1973 Alvarez/Yairi classic (with the carved face headstock) from my friend and mentor Stanley Garrison. For the better part…

When it comes to my stage gear (and not having the luxury of a roadie), I’m a big fan of ergonomics. I strive to…

1. Listen to the birds. That’s where all the music comes from. Birds know everything about how it should sound and where that sound…

It’s a little-known historical factoid that the very first “Wine-down Wednesday” occurred in the famous Tuscany region of Italy, beloved by many wine aficionados…

Posted in honor of my mother, Violet Lillian Foster, who played her Hammond organ for me every day of her pregnancy. Not that I…

More and more scientific studies have been looking into how people who play the guitar have different brain functions compared to those who don’t….

String freak du jour — the 14-string theorbo.

AMAZING! Tonight (May 15, 2019) marks a full six years of ‘Wine-down Wednesday’ at the Hobnob Corner Restaurant. That’s somewhere in the neighborhood of…

No other guitarist in history has had such a profound influence on his instrument. Andrés Segovia single-handedly elevated the guitar from its dismissal as…

This post touches on a guitar repair job currently on my bench, but is really more about a cool online resource I found for…

Best interview I’ve seen to date with one of my favorite pickers, Brad Paisley. Just had to archive this one. More videos like this…

A trip back in time to Leo Fender’s office/lab, where he conceived and created his revolutionary designs. Join Pete & Lee of UK’s Andertons…

Excellent article. “Both jazz and classical art forms require not only music literacy, but for the musician to be at the top of their game…

Welcome to the day-by-day video recording of a beautiful Goodall guitar being constructed over a five week build period. In this long version recording…

As a guitarist, I play many gigs. Recently I was asked by a funeral director to play at a graveside service for a homeless…

Interviewer: Mr. Berra, can you explain jazz? Yogi: I can’t, but I will. 90% of all jazz is half improvisation. The other half is…