The acoustic guitar has a rich heritage across a wide spectrum of styles, and nothing helps you grow your skills like diving into new musical territory.
Though you may not think of the acoustic guitar as an R&B instrument, players like Kerry “2 Smooth” Marshall are changing the game by bringing acoustic sounds to new genres. Along the way, Kerry has built a dedicated following as a music educator, session musician, and producer, showing the world how the acoustic guitar can make genres like R&B, gospel and neo-soul sound fresh and surprising.
In this series of guitar lessons, Kerry expands on his video lessons from the previous issue of the magazine, where he covered basic R&B chord progressions, the double-stop technique, and using diminished 7th chords to capture that quintessential R&B flavor.
First, Kerry dives into the importance of barre chords in R&B acoustic guitar, showing how a couple of simple chord shapes can open a new range of sounds in your playing.
Cover story: The Builder’s Edition 814ce | Cutting spruce for guitar tops | Powers Electric Guitars | D’Addario XS strings | The redesigned T5z | New American Dream models | 326ce Baritone-8 | How to use harmonics.
Cover story: New American Dream models. Plus: The 2023 Product Guide | Inside Nashville’s Bluebird Cafe | Stevie Salas & the Native American musicians who shaped rock ‘n’ roll | GS Mini Rosewood & Caramel Burst | CAGED playing techniques.
Cover story: The new Urban Ironbark 500 Series. Plus: Urban Ash LTDs | How cities manage their tree populations | Walnut-top Academy Series | R&B upstroke technique | Guitar care tools & tips | Andy Powers named President & CEO.
Cover story: New for ’22: the AD27e Flametop, two new GT models and the Grand Concert AD22e. Plus: the 2022 Taylor Guitar Guide, Andy Powers talks about the evolution of Taylor tone, and more R&B guitar lessons.
On the Cover: Discover the art of Taylor's inlay designs. Plus: the growing popularity of small-body guitars, what artists learned during the pandemic, R&B guitar lessons and updates from our environmental initiatives.
Cover story: Taylor’s transition to employee ownership. Plus: Artists adapt during COVID | How African Americans shaped American music genres | Open minor tunings | the 200 Plus Series | Exotic-top T5z models
Taylor expands the GT Series with two new models, and the American Dream Series becomes a permanent addition. Plus: Talking pandemic creativity with FINNEAS and the inaugural digital edition of the Taylor Guitar Guide.
Meet Taylor’s latest offerings: the American Dream Series and the Taylor GT. Plus: recording acoustic guitars, updated 800 models and a new Grand Symphony.
Taylor’s culture of innovation is built on a foundation of passion, problem-solving, and plucky resolve. During tough times, we know how to respond — it means looking out for others as much as ourselves.
The expanded Builder’s Edition collection, featuring four new models: Builder’s Edition 816ce, 912ce, 652ce and 324ce. Plus: The 2020 Guitar Guide | Upcycling urban trees
