News release (Country Guitar Chords and Accompaniment)

For Immediate Release...

New Country-Guitar Instruction Guide Teaches
How to Accompany Country Music

From Shania Twain, Alan Jackson, and Wynonna to Garth Brooks, Toby Keith, and the Dixie Chicks, almost all country superstars are seen singing and strumming the guitar on stage and MTV. Whether used to accompany the singing or compose a song, the guitar has been an integral part of country music since its beginnings as “hillbilly” in the 1920s. While the roots of country music lie in its simplicity and the importance of the lyrics, the genre has developed throughout the years with the influence of other musical styles and, in particular, the emergence of such talented country guitarists as Maybelle Carter, Merle Travis, and Chet Atkins. As diverse and multifaceted as country music has become, the role of the guitar has remained the same—to accompany the singer and support the band.

Country Guitar Chords and Accompaniment: Your Ultimate Step-by-Step Guide to Country Rhythm-Guitar, is a new self-instruction guide, just released by Six Strings Music Publishing, that will help beginning guitar players learn how to accompany country music. From basic strumming to Travis-picking and open tunings, the book guides the student systematically through the basic guitar chords and the various accompaniment styles typically used in country music. The book’s topics include:

How to play the Carter style

How to play fingerstyle, including arpeggios, Travis-picking

Music fundamentals, including notation, scales, chord theory,
and the 12-bar blues

How to use a capo

Open tunings

Each subsection of a chapter presents only a handful of information, so that readers can progress at their own pace without feeling overloaded. Throughout the book, various music examples and sample songs are included to clearly demonstrate how the basic guitar chords, riffs, and various techniques can be combined to create effective country accompaniments.

This country instruction manual is but the latest addition to Six Strings’ Guitar Chords and Accompaniment Series, written and developed by Arakawa. The author has penned over forty guitar instruction titles including: Top Hits of the Country Superstars, Best of Alan Jackson, Blues Guitar Chords and Accompaniment, Best of Willie Nelson, and A Fingerstyle Christmas.

Country Guitar Chords and Accompaniment is scheduled for a February 2004 release, but Six Strings is now taking advance orders (Web-site: http://www.sixstringsmusicpub.com/ E-mail: order/ P.O. Box 7718, Torrance, CA 90504/ Tel: 800-784-0203, Fax: 310-362-8864). The book is available for $15.95, plus $3.95 Shipping & Handling ( L.A. County residents add 8.25% sales tax/ other CA residents add 7.25% sales tax). Dealers can order from the company’s exclusive distributor, Music Sales Corporation (Tel: 800-431-7187).

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