Category Archives: Teaching | Education

Guitar Slides – Choosing The Right One For You

Guitarists have been using guitar slides for over a century to produce crying, wailing sounds, chunky rhythms, and sweet, vocal-like tones. These little tubes of glass, metal or ceramic that slide onto your finger open up a whole new world of sounds and techniques on both acoustic and electric guitars.  As you’ll soon find out, […]

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Transcribing Bach’s Solo String Music: When to Add or Omit Notes

by Frank Koonce and Heather DeRome We at Strings By Mail are proud to be able to share this excellent new article by our good friend Frank and his collaborator Heather. Here are some of Frank’s many fine products currently available at Strings By Mail. ~John Wunsch For guitarists, transcribing Bach’s works that originally were […]

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Staying Fresh & Evolving as an Artist – Strings By Mail – Blog

Staying Fresh & Evolving as an Artist   The Strings By Mail Blog is happy to share these brief thoughts about arranging, which may keep one evolving as an artist, written by the well established Classical Guitarist Mariette Stephenson, and to offer her fine guitar quartet arrangement of Motzart’s Overture to the Marriage of Figaro […]

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Learning and Remembering the Notes on the Guitar

My Struggle & How I Triumphed:  Learning and Remembering the Notes on the Guitar – without the Struggle  by Philip Glaser     Editor’s note – Solid reading skills are the key to using the many fine available Etudes, these cards will jump start anyone’s efforts to establish excellent reading skills, as Philip’s story makes […]

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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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Thoughts on Technique, Mechanics and Adjustment Points

Thoughts on Technique, Mechanics and Adjustment Points by Stanley Alexandrowicz (DMA, Manhattan School of Music) Correct and efficient technique is the “starting point” and pre-requisite for any type of musicality or interpretation. Technique should be thought of as a “higher level” stemming from the root-source of “mechanics.” Mechanics may be defined as “the efficient use […]

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