In any music style, there are essentials - scales, licks, chords, etc. Acoustic Guitar Chords teaches you the must-know chords that will get you strumming quickly. You won't get bogged down with tons of details. Rather, you'll be armed with many chord shapes that have been used throughout the acoustic guitar's history in countless hits. The included DVD demonstrates each chord and all the examples are accompanied by a full band, so you can hear these chords in the proper context. Teaches: open chords, barre chords, seventh chords, other chord types (suspended, add9), open-string drone chords, full song examples, and more. You don't need to learn how to read music to play acoustic guitar. But you do need to know these chords!New product for the week of March 19, 2012.

Core gauges: .011.

This book offers solo fingerstyle guitar arrangements of 35 Christmas melodies from around the world. To eliminate page turns, the settings are presented in separate standard notation and tablature versions. A few of these popular carols are written in dropped-D tuning. All are tastefully set in guitar-friendly keys with minimal fingering indications and a solid knowledge of traditional harmony and counterpoint. These arrangements would best be rendered by the intermediate to advanced classical or fingerstyle guitarist.

Gauges: 012 (1-E), 016 (2-B), 024 (3-G), 032 (4-D), 042 (5-A) & 054 (6-E).

Meet Randy Parsons, a custom builder for the likes of Jack White, Jimmy Page, and Joe Perry who uses materials like bone, copper, and solid ebony to craft his extraordinary creations. Also, interviews with the Black Keys' Dan Auerbach and Sommatone Amplification, exploring the unsung guitar heroes of the '60s, a look at Guild amps of the 1950s, and a touching introduction to the Guitars for Vets organization. Reviewed: Mesa/Boogie Trans-Atlantic, Port City Sahana Amp and Cab, Vox AGA70 Acoustic Guitar Amp, Kala U-Bass, Amptweaker TightDrive and Bass TightDrive pedals, Dunlop Jerry Cantrell Signature Wah, Reverend Pete Anderson Signature guitar, Harden Engineering Switchblade guitar, Dynamic 2040 HG DynaLead amp, and Aracom Power Rox PRX150-Pro Attenuator.

We visit the severely flood-damaged Soundcheck studios in Nashville to see firsthand the damages. Plus, builder profiles of Collings Guitars and Tom Anderson Guitarworks, Interviews with Kaki King and Rodrigo y Gabriela, a look at replacing a famous guitarist from those who have done it, and the building of Dweezil Zappa's custom PRS. Reviewed in this issue: Matchless Avalon 35, ZT Amplifiers Lunchbox Acoustic Amp, Electro-Harmonix Ring Thing, Strymon Brigadier, Orbit, Blue Sky, and Ola pedals, Z.Vex Inventobox, Fender Acoustasonic Telecaster, David Munn Small Jumbo Acoustic Guitar, Guild F-512 Jumbo 12-String Acoustic, and Orange SP410 Isobaric Bass Cab.

Gillian Welch Returns with the Album of the Year, 19 Guitar Shopping Tips, How to Use EQ Effectively, The Best Acoustic Albums of 2011

Acoustic Guitar, March 2012, No. 231 - Wilco's Jeff Tweedy on Songwriting Strategies, 21st Century Guitar Innovations, Froggy Bottom Guitars, How to Use Diminished Chords, more.

Pat Metheny on Baritone Guitars and Playing Classic Pop Songs, How to Build the Perfect Gig Rig, 21 Song-Writing Tips from Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, Elvis Costello, and More, How to Use Reverb, Delay, and Chorus Effects, Carolina Chocolate Drops.

Randy Rhoads: With 30th anniversary editions of Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman on the way, Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne reveal the truth about their time with Randy Rhoads and the making of these landmark metal albums. Zakk Wylde: Taking acoustic guitar in hand, Zakk Wylde covers a handful of classic rock hits and recasts some Black Label Society originals on his latest BLS offering, The Song Remains Not the Same. Amon Amarth: As they release Surtur Rising, Amon Amarth are riding a new wave of popularity and turning headbangers on to the power of Viking metal. The 50 Greatest Stomp Boxes of All Time: From fuzz-tones to phasers, from treble boosters to talk boxes-these are the pedals that crush the common guitar tone. Warren Haynes: The guitarist shines a light on his soul roots with Man in Motion, his brand-new solo album. Plus the following song tabs: Ozzy Osbourne: I Don't Know