Category Archives: * Classical Guitar Strings

Performance Anxiety, Part 2: Building the Bridge

Performance Anxiety, Part 2: Building the Bridge

Introduction Veteran performer, Strings By Mail owner, and guitar teacher for 15 years at the Interlochen Center for the Arts, John Wunsch presents a series of articles on alleviating performance anxiety. A series of articles beginning with Part 1. This month’s article will present a paced approach to playing comfortably in front of others. This […]

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New options through Tradition and Innovation

New options through Classic Tradition and Modern Innovation By John Wunsch   Classical guitar string technology has seen considerable advances over the decades since Albert Augustine introduce the first nylon strings for guitar in 1947. The combination of today’s best technologies, with both modern and traditional string chemistry, gives us as players more options than […]

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What is the Story on Carbon Strings? – Strings By Mail

What is the Story on Carbon Strings?   Carbon guitar strings and carbon strings for other instruments are favored by many players for their loud bright sound. They are made of harder and generally more durable materials than those used in the formulations for traditional nylon guitar strings. Using a material such as Kevlar, which […]

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Playing Fast, by Collin Bay – Strings By Mail

“Collin Bay is a talented and extremely knowledgeable jazz guitarist who is currently helping many musicians as director of artist relations and product development at Mel Bay publications. It is to all our benefit that he has written this book with a tried and true method to develop speedy chops. I have seen the undeniable […]

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Hector Ayala – Selected Works for Guitar | Edited by Rico Stover – Strings By Mail

Hector Ayala – Selected Works for Guitar   We are honored to have a guest article by Rico Stover, well known for his five decade career primarily focused Latin and South American music, and 2013 recipient of the Guitar Foundation of America’s lifetime Artistic Achievement Award. Strings By Mail is also fortunate to carry many […]

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Other Inspirations to Practice Music – Strings By Mail

Other Inspirations to Practice Music   This article is about some ideas that developed before I was the owner of Strings By Mail. They helped some of my students at the Interlochen Arts Academy to stay inspired about practicing during those times when they might not be inspired enough to pick up the instrument for […]

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To Nylon from Steel

To Nylon from Steel Transitioning from a steel string guitar to a hybrid-crossover nylon string By Richard Robeson Until fairly recently, the term “acoustic guitar” was reserved primarily for steel string instruments, with most of the variety within the category coming from different combinations of tonewoods, and different body styles, with dreadnoughts being the most […]

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