Author: Ron

I started playing guitar in high school bands playing songs by the Ventures, early Beatles and other British Invasion bands. With excursions into many types of musical styles and genres in the intervening years I have developed an appreciation for the unique skills of the guitar accompanist. The accompanist serves the song and serves the singer, enhancing rather than competing with the song and the performance. This blog highlights those skills and the practitioners who exemplify this important bit of artistry.

You have spent a fair amount of time developing your chops, getting comfortable moving around the fretboard, honing your ear … Continue ReadingLead Guitar and Follow Guitar

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Music Stores

May 6, 2013

There are only two kinds of stores that I like to go in purely for the sake of browsing, trying … Continue ReadingMusic Stores

Acoustic Guitar Acoustic Music Electric Guitar Guitar Accompaniment Guitar Players Guitar Technique

Four Ways to Make Yourself Desirable

April 2, 2013September 11, 2013

While this may seem like a topic more suited for a glossy newsstand magazine than for a music blog it … Continue ReadingFour Ways to Make Yourself Desirable

Acoustic Guitar Acoustic Music Electric Guitar Guitar Accompaniment Guitar Technique

Learn the fretboard

March 28, 2013September 11, 2013

Being a valuable accompanist requires you to play a complementary role to the player or singer you are accompanying. One … Continue ReadingLearn the fretboard

Acoustic Guitar Electric Guitar Guitar Accompaniment Guitar Players Guitar Technique Guitarists

Making Musical Sense

March 20, 2013September 11, 2013

A number of years ago I had the opportunity to take a class with renowned jazz guitarist Herb Ellis. As … Continue ReadingMaking Musical Sense

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Artists and Engineers

March 15, 2013

I was reading an interview with Bil VornDick in Premier Guitar magazine the other day. http://digital.premierguitar.com/premierguitar/201304_1#pg128. Bil is a very … Continue ReadingArtists and Engineers

Acoustic Guitar Electric Guitar Guitar Accompaniment Guitar Technique

Frank and Horns

January 11, 2013

I like Frank Sinatra. I didn’t always. My parents would play his records when I was a kid. When I … Continue ReadingFrank and Horns

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Air

November 30, 2012September 11, 2013

I was visiting a friend’s recording studio today and listening to some songs he was in the process of mixing. … Continue ReadingAir

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Steve Cropper

March 22, 2012

You have to be impressed with someone whose sound and style defined a musical genre while their name remained unknown … Continue ReadingSteve Cropper

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Guitar: An American Life

March 13, 2012

Several years ago, while browsing in a large, well-known chain bookstore near Union Square in Manhattan I happened across a … Continue ReadingGuitar: An American Life