MARK HANSON BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

Early Training
I studied piano and clarinet as a youngster in Minnesota, and sang with my family and in numerous choirs through high school. Playing those instruments and singing provided me with performance experience and exposure to great repertoire. It also proved to be a great training ground for learning to speak and read (and play!) the language of music.

Influences
I started guitar by borrowing my sister's Sears Silvertone acoustic and imitating Peter, Paul & Mary, Pete Seeger, and Kingston Trio records. I also played guitars with the kid who lived over the back fence, performing for hospital patients and church groups.

At that point the Beatles arrived, and guitar became my main non-basketball focus. Our duo turned into a junior high rock and roll band, where I learned to play barre chords and keep a steady tempo. (I joke with my adult students who can't play barre chords that they need to join a middle school rock band for six months. After that they should spend six months with a marching band to learn to avoid rushing the tempo!)

Acoustic pop players influenced me considerably during the '60s: Paul Simon, Stephen Stills, the Beatles and James Taylor. That led to the British greats John Renbourn and Bert Jansch, Chicago blues icon Big Bill Broonzy, and eventually a lasting appreciation for the late jazz virtuoso Joe Pass.

Schooling
I received my college degree in music from Stanford in the mid-70s, and commenced on my teaching/performing career. I look back at all of this time as my apprenticeship, preparing me to compose, arrange, perform, and teach. Every hour I spent on music, whether it was studying Bach and Beethoven or lifting fingerpicking licks off records, was educational and worthwhile.

First Book
I wrote my first book, The Art of Contemporary Travis Picking, in 1985. Years of private teaching had clearly defined my teaching method for alternating-thumb fingerpicking, so Greta and I started Accent On Music and published our first book. Merle Travis himself graciously consented to us using his name in the title.

Frets Magazine
About this time I began writing for Frets Magazine, and eventually was hired as an assistant editor in 1986. My position at Frets trained me to write clearly, provided an insider's view of the publishing business, and gained me a great Rolodex. I interviewed and wrote cover stories on James Taylor, David Crosby, Leo Kottke, and many other luminaries in the acoustic guitar field. I became a monthly columnist at Frets, providing transcriptions and compositions for fingerstyle guitarists.

After Frets
When Frets was discontinued in 1989, Greta and I continued with Accent On Music. We had published my follow up Travis Picking book, The Art of Solo Fingerpicking. In the ensuing years I have authored many books, videos and DVDs. You can see them listed here.

Greta and I started our annual summer seminar in Portland, Oregon in 1998, and are happy to report that it continues with a strong core of supporters. Information on past seminars can be viewed here.

The Grammy Award
A great thing occurred in 2005, when I was included in the Grammy winning Henry Mancini - Pink Guitar CD from Solid Air Records, including a trip to the award ceremony in L.A. and a handshake from Cyndi Lauper, our presenter. I wrote a blow-by-blow article about that amazing journey, which you can read here.

New Projects
I continue to produce new materials, the most recent being two solo CDs for Solid Air Records, scheduled for release in late 2008. Some of my best, finger-busting arrangements are on these recordings, including the jazz standards "Take the 'A' Train" and "Angel Eyes", and pop tunes like "Breakdown" and "Best of My Love." Look for more instructional materials as well.

On the Road
I have presented concerts and workshops around the country for 20 years now. I have a workshop repertoire of over two dozen topics, which makes it possible for me to visit the same venue numerous times without boring the repeat students! If you want me to come to your area, please contact me and send me an invitation!

Thanks for taking the time to read.

- Mark Hanson, September, 2008

Main Guitars
1993 Collings, mahogany SJ
2008 Goodall, Indian rosewood Concert Jumbo
1966 Martin D-28
1970 Gibson L-5 Electric Archtop

Strings
I use D'Addario phosphor bronze light gauge strings, but replace the .012" first string with a .013. I work at making the melody on the treble strings stand out above the accompaniment. I accomplish this mainly by controlling the power of my picking-hand fingers and listening closely to what I play, but a slightly heavier first string also aids me in this pursuit. I tune to A-440.

Picks
I use a Fred Kelly Speed Thumb Pick when I want to mute the bass strings and get a punchy bass sound - on about 10% of my repertoire. Most of the time I fingerpick using skin and natural fingernails to create my fingerstyle sound.

Fingernails
If I break a nail, I glue on an artificial nail tip. The brand and style I use is KISS French Overlap (available at Walgreen's and other pharmacies). I buy Krazy Glue separately, since I find the glue in the KISS container to be less than adequate. I am very careful to cover no more than 1/3 of my natural nail with the artificial nail, as the natural nail weakens when covered. For this reason, I do not go to a manicurist as many of my cohorts do.

When using instantly bonding glue, I am exceedingly careful to keep the glue away from my skin and eyes. The glue generally begins to let go about the time the front edge of the artificial nail is worn down enough to warrant gluing on another - about one week. Hopefully the natural nail has grown out by then!

For more information on fingernail care, artificial fingernails and fingerstyle tone production, check out my article "More on Fingernails and Fingerpickers" in the Resources area of the web site.

I generally play in standard tuning, since I know my way around the fretboard so well. But I will use an alternate tuning if the technique of a tune requires it, or if I want to create a particular sound - like using DADGAD for a Celtic tune.

I have composed and arranged hundreds of tunes over my decades of playing - many using an alternate tuning. Below I have included a partial list of my alternate-tunings titles, and links to publications and CDs where you can find them. Without taking the time to count, I would hazard to estimate that about 1/3 of my private-lesson repertoire (of well over 1,000 tunes) uses an alternate tuning of some sort. Here is a sample list:

If you're interested in learning more about alternate tunings, be sure to check out my Complete Book of Alternate Tunings book. We also have an Alternate Tunings Page on this site that is a supplement to the information in the book and has information on tunings used by popular guitarists. If you're interested in learning more about DADGAD tuning, be sure to read my DADGAD article on this website.

For a complete discography of Mark's publications and recordings, please consult the menu on the side of Accent on Music's Home Page.