![\"Joan](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/JoanArmatrading8-8.jpg?resize=750%2C1001&ssl=1\")
<\/a>Armatrading considers herself a songwriter first, and her tough yet tender vocals and emotionally incisive lyrics take center stage. But one of the not-so-secret powers behind her music is her instantly identifiable acoustic guitar\u2014at turns delicate, jazzy, fierce, and funky. In the realm of pop\/rock, the acoustic is often assigned the limited role of accompanying soft ballads, but in Armatrading\u2019s hands, the instrument has no boundaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe reason I think my acoustic style developed in the way that it did was because when I write, I tend to hear lots of things\u2014the bass part, the keyboard bit, some strings, what kind of percussive sound it should be,\u201d says Armatrading. \u201cI\u2019m trying to play all those things at once, so my style is quite aggressive.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
While generations of fans have felt the power of Armatrading\u2019s guitar work, both acoustic and electric, the mechanics of how she plays have not been well documented or widely understood. So in this lesson I take a deep dive into her acoustic style, using a series of examples inspired by some of her best songs. And Armatrading herself, by way of a Zoom interview from her home in England, shares observations about her guitar craft\u2014and the songwriting that ultimately drives it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2014\u201315, Armatrading undertook what she announced as her last major world tour, and while in California she visited Acoustic Guitar<\/em> to record a video session performing three classic songs: \u201cDown to Zero,\u201d \u201cSteppin\u2019 Out,\u201d and \u201cLove and Affection.\u201d Excerpts from that session are transcribed below, and you can find the complete words and music to \u201cLove and Affection\u201d in the print edition of the May\/June 2022 issue<\/a>. Be sure to check out the videos on AcousticGuitar.com for an up-close look at Armatrading solo, coaxing a band\u2019s worth of sound out of her guitar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Armatrading was born on the island of Saint Kitts, in the West Indies, but moved to Birmingham, England, at age seven. After delving into piano, guitar, and songwriting as a teenager, she made her entr\u00e9e into a performing arts career in 1970, when she was cast in a touring production of Hair<\/em>. Not only did she love singing and playing guitar in the show, but she connected with fellow cast member Pam Nestor, who became co-writer for the songs on Armatrading\u2019s first album, Whatever\u2019s for Us<\/a>,<\/em> released in 1972. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A folky production based around acoustic guitar and piano, Armatrading\u2019s debut delivered strong songs like the title track and \u201cCity Girl.\u201d But it was on her self-titled album from 1976 that she fully hit her stride as a songwriter and guitarist\u2014and scored her first hit, with the 12-string-powered \u201cLove and Affection.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n By that time, too, Armatrading had discovered Ovation guitars<\/a>, which have remained core instruments for her ever since. When she was guitar shopping circa 1975, a music store clerk suggested she check out these unique bowl-backed guitars, and she was thrilled to find that their integrated, plug-and-play amplification systems alleviated her frustrations with the crude clip-on acoustic pickups she\u2019d been using. \u201cI tried it and thought, this is perfect,\u201d she recalls. \u201cNo more rummaging around onstage because the pickup has fallen off or something. And I liked the tone as well.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Early on, Armatrading began to experiment with dropping standard tuning a whole step to D (D G C F A D). While some guitarists use low tunings to better match their vocal range, the primary draw for Armatrading is the tone. \u201cIt sounds really good,\u201d she says. \u201cI mean, not every song is going to want that tone, or not every song that\u2019s played on the guitar wants that register.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDown to Zero,\u201d which kicks off the Joan Armatrading<\/a><\/em> album, is one of several songs in this lesson that uses the D-to-D tuning, which gives the guitar a looser, huskier sound. Example 1<\/strong> (below) shows the intro rhythm pattern as she played it in her AG<\/em> video, strumming her Ovation Custom Legend<\/a> in 3\/4 time. Use basic first-position chord shapes except for the Fmaj7#11 in bars 5\u20137, which you form by holding the bottom of an F barre but leaving the top strings open\u2014a shape she uses in different positions in \u201cLove and Affection\u201d and many other songs. Maintain down-up strumming on the eighth notes throughout; at the end of measure 4, play an up-strum arpeggio that lands on the open sixth string on beat 4, leading to the F chord in the next measure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While many players would take open chord shapes like these and capo up to play in other keys, Armatrading never does that. Why not use a capo? \u201cI can\u2019t do it,\u201d she says. \u201cI get confused. I think, \u2018I don\u2019t know what I\u2019m doing here. I\u2019m just playing an E in another place. Why don\u2019t I just play the B instead?\u2019\u201d What she describes as a sort of limitation turns out to be a strength, because instead of using a capo to transpose the same shapes, she\u2019s developed the facility to travel all around the fretboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMama Mercy,\u201d from 1977\u2019s Show Some Emotion<\/a>,<\/em> is one example of how Armatrading creates propulsive acoustic rhythms with up-the-neck shapes, again on a low-tuned guitar. Example 2<\/strong> shows the type of rhythm used during the first part of the verse. Play sliding power chords up the neck\u2014think the Kinks\u2019 \u201cYou Really Got Me\u201d unplugged\u2014with a spiky rhythm pattern that leaves beat 4 open (with a full band, the drummer hits the snare in that spot). Notice also the two-beat measures (bars 2 and 9) that break up the 4\/4 meter and add further momentum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While Armatrading generally sticks with standard tuning, she does have some notable open-tuned songs, especially on her early albums. One is \u201cCity Girl,\u201d from her debut, which is played in open D (D A D F# A D) with an opening riff similar to Example 3<\/strong>. Pick a bass line by sliding on the fifth string up to the fifth fret in the first measure, and then follow with a walk-up to the A chord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During her last world tour, Armatrading played \u201cCity Girl\u201d on her Line 6 Variax electric guitar<\/a>, which simulates different tunings as well as guitar types (acoustics, electrics, even 12-strings) through digital modeling. So while the strings of the solid-body Variax physically remain in standard tuning, in \u201cCity Girl\u201d the output sounds as an acoustic in open D. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Another open-D gem from Armatrading\u2019s repertoire is \u201cWoncha Come On Home,\u201d from Show Some Emotion,<\/em> a haunting song about loneliness mixed with paranoia. As shown in Example 4, <\/strong>play fingerstyle, picking melodies on both the upper and lower strings. On the record, Armatrading adds a touch of African thumb piano to the guitar arrangement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For Armatrading, the song dictates the instrumentation and arrangement, and her job is to follow. As she puts it, \u201cThe song is king or queen, whatever you want to say. The song will tell you what key it wants to be in, the tempo it wants, whether it wants to be rhythmic, whether it wants to be on the guitar or piano. I\u2019ve written songs that really, if I was sensible, I wouldn\u2019t have written it in that key, but the song says, ‘This is the key that I need to be in.’ So that\u2019s the key it stays in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Within her guitar repertoire, the song also suggests the type of instrument or setup: six-string or 12-, acoustic or electric, low-tuned or standard. Songs she plays on 12-string, such as \u201cLove and Affection,\u201d \u201cLet It Last,\u201d and \u201cPromise Land,\u201d wouldn\u2019t be the same on a six-string. \u201cYou need that sound, really,\u201d she says. \u201cYou need that jangly thing going.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She associates songs with specific guitars in her collection, too. On her most recent album spotlighting acoustic guitar, 2018\u2019s Not Too Far Away<\/a>, <\/em>and in concerts promoting the release, she played her Martin 00 and dreadnought guitars (see \u201cWhat She Plays\u201d below), which she says have a tighter feel very different from her \u201claid back\u201d Ovations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Example 5 <\/strong>is based on the intro to \u201cI Like It When We\u2019re Together,\u201d the opening track on Not Too Far Away<\/em>, played on a low-tuned Martin. Play fingerstyle, picking the notes in each chord simultaneously with your thumb and fingers, and add a light slap with your picking fingers on beat 4. At the end of the intro, add one beat (see the change to 5\/4) before resuming in 4\/4 in the verse. Continuing in the song, she switches to strumming for the chorus. Her guitar arrangements often use these kinds of textural changes to create contrast from section to section.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Armatrading\u2019s songs tap into a much wider vocabulary than basic cowboy chords or power chords. She has a special fondness for extended chords\u2014major and minor sevenths, ninths, 11ths, 13ths, and more\u2014that she traces back to the early and indirect influence of her father. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou know, my father had a guitar that he wouldn\u2019t let me play,\u201d she recalls. \u201cThe song that I heard him play was \u2018Blue Moon,\u2019 and it\u2019s very jazzy. So I think that\u2019s where the jazzy chords come from. He didn\u2019t show me how to play any of those chords, but I loved the sound of them.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n One song that exemplifies how Armatrading uses these types of extended chords is \u201cKissin\u2019 and a Huggin\u2019,\u201d from Show Some Emotion,<\/em> which she has often cited as her favorite song to play. It\u2019s almost three songs in one, each with its own feel. Try the driving main-chord riff in Example 6a<\/strong>, based on the E7#9\u2014commonly called the Hendrix chord because of its appearance in \u201cPurple Haze,\u201d but Armatrading\u2019s frequent use of this shape makes a strong case for calling it the Armatrading chord. At the end of the second measure, play a quick Am11 to G#7b5 before looping back up to E7#9. The rhythm notated here is closer to recent solo performances by Armatrading than to the original recording.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From that main riff, though, \u201cKissin\u2019 and a Huggin\u2019\u201d makes a sudden transition into a much more relaxed chorus (not shown) based on strumming straight major and minor chords. And then comes the instrumental section, which has a light jazz feel. Example 6b <\/strong>shows the chord progression: E7#9\u2013A7\u2013Gmaj7\u2013Cmaj7\u2013C13\u2013B7b13. The original record has electric guitar and saxophone solos; performing by herself, Armatrading solos over her own prerecorded rhythm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Armatrading is generally conversant with the make-up of extended chords but careful not to get bogged down in theory. \u201cI can name chords, and I try to know what it is more by the chord shape that I\u2019m playing,\u201d she says. \u201cBut I don\u2019t really want to be playing and thinking, I am doing a ninth or a flattened 13th. I don\u2019t want to play like that. That\u2019s boring. To me, that\u2019s not musical, because music is all about feel and expression.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Interestingly, she also does not use these more sophisticated harmonies in the initial stages of songwriting. \u201cWhen I\u2019m writing, the start of the song is always a basic chord\u2014E, F, G, D, A, B, C, that\u2019s it,\u201d she says. \u201cYou don\u2019t need anything else. Once I\u2019ve written the song, then I\u2019ll start to put the advanced chords on if it needs it. If it doesn\u2019t need it, you obviously don\u2019t do it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The title track from Show Some Emotion <\/em>is another classic song that uses some jazz harmony and feel without really sounding like jazz. In the first measure of Example 7<\/strong>, play the speedy A minor pentatonic riff that carries the verses. Vintage live clips show Armatrading casually ripping through this riff\u2014on a 12-string, no less\u2014while singing. No easy feat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Then the chorus of \u201cShow Some Emotion\u201d modulates to A major and goes into a string of minor seventh, ninth, sixth, and diminished chords, as in measures 2\u20139. Between the D6 and A7, play quick natural harmonics at the 12th fret on the top two strings to suggest a passing E chord. (This is a touch I noticed in live footage.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Along with her powerful rhythm, Armatrading is an adept lead player\u2014though audiences may not always realize it. \u201cI mean, I\u2019ve been onstage with an electric guitar and playing a solo,\u201d she says with a chuckle, \u201cand the audience is looking at the other guitarist who\u2019s in the band.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Frequently, Armatrading is<\/em> her own band. On her last six albums, going back to Lovers Speak<\/a><\/em> in 2003, she has played nearly all the instruments (guitars, bass, keyboards, programmed drums, and so on), layering and engineering the tracks in her own studio, called Bumpkin Studios.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even when she\u2019s performing solo with guitar, Armatrading likes to incorporate instrumental breaks. One example is the solo version of \u201cSteppin\u2019 Out\u201d recorded in her AG<\/em> video. The song is mostly a two-chord jam, going between the I and IV (E and A shapes, tuned down a step), with a few quick touches of the V (B). She starts in open position but soon jumps up to the fifth and 12th frets for variety. And then she cuts loose in a full-blown instrumental, moving around the neck and toying with the tonality with major, seventh, minor, and 7#9 voicings of E. <\/p>\n\n\n\n An excerpt from her solo is shown in Example 8<\/strong>. Start with E and A7 up at the 12th fret, and add rock-style (up and down) vibrato on the A7, which is easier with the low tuning. Then head down to the seventh and sixth frets in measure 2, followed by a single-note line in measure 3. Along the way, spice up the harmony with touches of Amaj9 (measure 2) and E7b13#9. Throughout the solo, Armatrading plays hard, with plenty of additional percussion and open strings. As you work through the example, focus more on the overall feel than on re-creating every scratch and note.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou have to naturally keep the rhythm going,\u201d she says when I ask how she approaches an improv section like this. \u201cAnd when you\u2019re in the feel, then it\u2019ll happen, won\u2019t it? I\u2019m trying not to analyze how I\u2019m playing it or work out beforehand what the little bits will be. I just play it and hope that it works, because I can\u2019t spend my time trying to second-guess myself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of Armatrading\u2019s most arresting guitar moments on record is the intro to \u201cLike Fire,\u201d from Show Some Emotion<\/em>. In Example 9<\/strong>, again in the low tuning, open with a bluesy passage played mostly around the fifth fret. The harmony is ambiguous here, with hints of A minor and D but no obvious root chord. In measure 3, though, kick into the song\u2019s sly, funky primary groove in E, as used in the verse. Notice how the repeating riff goes for six beats, so it starts at the beginning of measure 3, in the middle of measure 4, and again on the downbeat in measure 6.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In measures 7 and 8, slide a minor 11th shape from C# down to the B, and then wrap up the intro with a real stretch, a 7#9 with a fourth-finger barre on the top two strings, climbing from A back up to B. Armatrading takes these kinds of finger-buster chord moves in stride. <\/p>\n\n\n\n On the Path<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n While Armatrading, at 71, has retired from extended touring, that doesn\u2019t mean she\u2019s hanging up her hat as a musician. Writing songs, she says, is \u201cas natural as breathing really. I think this is what I was born to do. It\u2019s something I have<\/em> to do, and I know I\u2019ll never stop doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And for all she\u2019s accomplished over 50 years and more than 20 studio albums, she still feels the simple drive to get better on the guitar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI find it quite a difficult instrument to play, and I\u2019m still learning,\u201d she reflects. \u201cI know I\u2019m good, but I think I could be better, so I try all the time to get better at it\u2014just to get the chords that I want quicker and cleaner, and play better solos… Just understanding the guitar more. It\u2019s a lovely instrument to play, and when you get some measure of control over it, it\u2019s such a great feeling.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Joan Armatrading has been playing Ovation guitars since the mid-1970s, and two of her current companions onstage are a six-string Custom Legend and a 12-string Legend. Among her other acoustics are two Martins, a DCPA4 cutaway dreadnought and a smaller-bodied 00-28. Live, she sometimes uses a Boss chorus pedal with her acoustics but otherwise goes direct into the mixer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her main electric guitar for performing is a Line 6 Variax, which uses digital modeling to create a wide range of instrument types and tunings. She runs the Variax through a Line 6 HX Stomp amp and effects processor, and has no amps onstage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Armatrading\u2019s six- and 12-string acoustics are set up with D\u2019Addario phosphor bronze extra-light strings (.010\u2013.047). On electric, she uses D\u2019Addario EXL110 nickel-wound regular lights (.010\u2013.046). For flatpicks, she uses a .73mm Dunlop, and she\u2019s a big fan of Roadie automatic tuners for keeping her guitars and basses in tune. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This article originally appeared in the May\/June 2022<\/a> issue of Acoustic Guitar<\/em> magazine.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Joan Armatrading has followed her own path for 50 years to become one of the most revered songwriters of her generation. Here’s an in-depth look at her guitar playing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":129241,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"Joan Armatrading has followed her own path for 50 years to become one of the most revered songwriters of her generation. Here's an in-depth look at her guitar playing.","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1152],"tags":[1388,1117],"ppma_author":[1559],"class_list":["post-129239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-video","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-play-like","tag-may-june-2022","tag-play-guitar-like-the-great-songwriters","post_format-post-format-video"],"blocksy_meta":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/JoanArmatrading3-3.jpg?fit=750%2C562&ssl=1","authors":[{"term_id":1559,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"jeffrey-pepper-rodgers","display_name":"Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/About-Us-8.jpg","url2x":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/About-Us-8.jpg"},"user_url":"https:\/\/www.jeffreypepperrodgers.com\/","last_name":"","first_name":"","job_title":"","description":"Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers, founding editor of Acoustic Guitar<\/em>, is a grand prize winner of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest and author of The Complete Singer-Songwriter<\/em><\/a>, Beyond Strumming<\/em><\/a>, and other books and videos for musicians. In addition to his ongoing work with AG<\/em>, he offers live workshops for guitarists and songwriters, plus video lessons, song charts, and tab, on Patreon<\/a>.\r\n"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129239"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129239\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":136984,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129239\/revisions\/136984"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/129241"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129239"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=129239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Finding Her Groove<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Joan](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/2007-10-25_Joan_Armatrading_Kantine_Koeln_IMG_8237-Eckhard-Henkel.jpg?resize=714%2C1024&ssl=1\")
<\/a>Open Tunings<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"joan-armatrading-whatevers-for-us-\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/joan-armatrading-whatevers-for-us-.jpg?resize=750%2C737&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/li>![\"Joan-Armatrading-album\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/JoanArmatrading_Frt_Mini-.jpg?resize=750%2C745&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/li>![\"joan-armatrading-show-some-emotion-\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/joan-armatrading-show-some-emotion-.jpg?resize=750%2C750&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/li>![\"joan-armatrading-Consequences\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/joan-armatrading-Consequences-.jpg?resize=750%2C750&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/a><\/a><\/a>Instrumental Choices<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Jazzing up the Chords<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Steppin\u2019 Out<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Joan](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/joan_armatrading-1024x1015-photo-Joel-Anderson.jpg?resize=750%2C743&ssl=1\")
<\/a>What She Plays<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n![\"Joan](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/AG334-JOAN-ARMATRADING-EX-1-2.png?resize=749%2C1024&ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Joan](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/AG334-JOAN-ARMATRADING-EX-3-4.png?resize=1024%2C564&ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Joan](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/AG334-JOAN-ARMATRADING-EX-5-7.png?resize=760%2C1024&ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Joan](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/AG334-JOAN-ARMATRADING-EX-8.png?resize=1024%2C830&ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Joan](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/AG334-JOAN-ARMATRADING-EX-9.png?resize=1024%2C825&ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n![](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/001_334_Cover-150px.jpg?w=1290&ssl=1\")
<\/a>\n
\n\n\n\n![\"learn](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/acoustic-guitar-play-the-blues-lessons.png?resize=600%2C200&ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"