Dansm's Acoustic Page


When there's no one left on earth to comfort you,
there's always the guitar!

-Alan Craig
Unplugged Forever
-Highpkts

Hi! Welcome to Mike McCracker Presents Dansm's Acoustic Guitar Page. My name is Mike McCracker and I rescued these pages. His name is Dan Smith, and he was at the time a first-year grad student at Harvard, and had been playing guitar for 5 years then. Dan's first guitar was a Washburn D-10 acoustic, a great guitar for beginners. A year later he bought an electric and dove into Eagles electric parts. During the summer of '96 he went back to his musical roots: John Denver and Simon & Garfunkel; and started fingerpicking. He began singing and fell in love with his acoustic again. He bought a Martin D-1 hasn't stopped playing since. Mike McCracker started playing in 2004 and owes most of his guitar skill in some form or another to these pages, which is why he's gone to such lengths to restore them. This page went up in April '97, and it's slowly grown to be the largest acoustic page on the web, with a huge collection of lessons and the largest set of acoustic songs anywhere. I hope you enjoy what I've done. So kick back, dust off that guitar, and discover the world behind my favorite instrument: the acoustic guitar.

This site contains an acoustic guitar song page, links to other acoustic guitar sites, and lessons for acoustic guitarists. It encompasses all types of music from rock to folk in all eras of modern music. These pages incorporate fingerpicking and other techniques, so almost everyone can find something they like. Whether your favorite artist is James Taylor, Martin Sexton, or Nirvana, you can find material tailored to your needs and interests. The page is designed to help all acoustic guitarists have fun and make the most out of the instrument, so enjoy it!

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On May 17, 1997, Dan bought a Martin D-1, a gorgeous guitar which sounds even better. Martin is a legendary acoustic guitar company, producing hand-made instruments in Pennsylvania since 1833. Their web page can be found here. My D-1 looks like the one at right. If you are interested, you can purchase a D-1 from Musician's Friend. I would definitely recommend a Martin to anyone, because they are phenomenal guitars.
Acoustic Songs dansm Acoustic Links
Dansm's Acoustic Song Page dansm Dansm's Acoustic Links Page
click here for chords and tabs to many different acoustic songs from many bands in all genres click here for links to many great acoustic guitar sites you should find useful


Lessons

Dansm's Fingerpicking Lessons Dansm's Guitar Scale Lessons Dansm's Guitar Chord Theory Page
if you've ever wanted to fingerpick, these lessons for beginners will get you started lessons on major, minor, and pentatonic guitar scales and modes: the most important technique in guitar music theory lessons regarding guitar chords (Dsus4, D/F#, etc.) which are useful to all guitarists


Dansm's Beginner's Guide to Chords Dansm's Musical Notation for Guitar Dansm's Guitar Techniques
chord formation for beginners, covering both basic chords and barre chords to better understand tab notation, chord notation, or standard musical notation, visit this page! lessons on basic techniques: slide, bend, hammer-on & pull-off, etc.; great for beginners!


Helpful Information

Dansm's Acoustic Guitar Basics
short pages on a lot of the basics of acoustic guitar: types, styles of playing, capo use, humidity control, amplification, etc

Dansm's Guide to Hand Care
a collection of information on nail care, calluses, hand strength, and injury prevention



Playing Advice and Instruction

Dansm's Advice for Beginning Guitarists
suggestions for learning guitar using great lessons from across the web. If you just bought a guitar, come here!

Dansm's Strumming Patterns
a page of suggested strumming patterns to help beginners create their own patterns

Dansm's Warm-Up Exercises
a collection of warm-up and practice exercises for acoustic guitar

Dansm's Guitar Chord List
a comprehensive list of common guitar chords--use this page!!



Links and Fun Stuff

Dansm's Acoustic Guitar Song Page
the largest tab page on the web dedicated solely to acoustic music

Dansm's Acoustic Guitar Links
a comprehensive set of links to all quality sites I feel are relevant to acoustic guitar

Dansm's Acoustic Guitar Manufacturer Links
a collection of links to all the major acoustic guitar manufacturers

Dansm's Acoustic Musician Links
a collection of links to my favorite acoustic musicians

Dansm's Acoustic Guitarist Photo Page
photos of the Gods of Acoustic Guitar, including James Taylor and Paul Simon, plus some of me

Review of the Martin Factory Tour CD-ROM:
How Acoustic Guitars Are Made

an outline of the construction of an acoustic guitar, with photos from the CD

Dansm's Acoustic Guitar String Page
my ratings of every brand of string ever played on my Martin

Dansm's Eagles Page
my page dedicated to the Eagles; with info, links, and chords or tabs to almost all their songs

Daniel Smith: Singer/Songwriter
I play local solo acoustic gigs; go here for sound clips, lyrics, and a performance schedule!



Guitar Software

Dansm's Guitar Freeware
my collection of the best freeware for guitar: tuner, metronome, tablature, and chord software, plus more!


Dansm's Guitar Page


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You are visitor number since 4-14-97
© 1997 Daniel E. Smith. © 2004 Mike McCracker. Last updated 11-18-04.