Although I studied other styles at the time, I found myself totally immersed in Ragtime fingerstyle guitar. Richard was ahead of his time with this particular book's release in the '70s ... every piece in the book was original, and although he had many classic Ragtime piano pieces to choose from, considering they're all mostly public domain, he wrote every selection, and every selection in this book is a true classic:

Ragtime Ramble
Dadalada
Just What the Doctor Ordered
Boogaloo Down La Rue
Ragpickin
Coney Island Cakewalk
Bloozinay

Richard is still performing to this day ... his site can be found at: Acoustic Truth.

Mickey's Take Written on the Wisdom of the Wood Website:
This book is a classic and was originally released in the early '70s. This well thought out instructional course carries the beginner to intermediate fingerstyle guitarist to new Ragtime heights. Richard has composed some timeless Ragtime pieces that, when accomplished, will make the aspiring Ragtime Guitarist feel like they've arrived. These are some very addictive pieces; I've personally performed many of these very same pieces since I first learned them (from one and the same book while still in High School) to this very day. Many for whom I have played these for became overly inquisitive on where I learned them and how to go about acquiring the tablatures. Well, ask no more. Richard will be re-releasing this book in the near future.
Check out: Richard Saslow at Acoustic Truth.

A Bio on Richard Saslow:
Richard Saslow has been playing professionally and composing for the
guitar since the late 1960's. Most of his professional work has been as
a sideman playing electric guitar in blues, soul, and rock revival
bands, but he has always had a strong love for the acoustic guitar.

He wrote 2 books for Green Note Music Publishing of Berkeley,
California:
The Art of Slide Guitar - 1972
The Art of Ragtime Guitar - 1974

He wrote, performed and produced much of the music for two documentaries
about surfing by film producer and director Scott Dittrich of Malibu,
California.
Tales of the seven seas - 1981
Adventures in paradise - 1982

He studied film scoring with Don Ray at the UCLA Extension Program.
This gave him an appreciation of orchestration, which can be surprising
relevant, even when composing for the solo guitar.

In 2001, he wrote and performed acoustic guitar solos and duets on a
compact disk titled "PS1". This CD was the result of Richard's
collaboration with another fine guitarist, Jimmy Pagano. The two of
them composed fourteen original tunes, which they perform both solo and
duo. These instrumentals have strong melodies, express a variety of
moods, and are very impressively executed. They also provide a fine duo
rendition of "Holly", written by the legendary folk blues guitarist Steve Mann.

You may send him email at richard@acoustictruth.com.

Richard is currently working on some new material in a modern ragtime vein.

In the early 1980's, Richard came across an early personal computer, and
and wrote some software to practice his sight-reading skills. This lead
to an additional career in software engineering, which he actively pursues.

Additional information is available at http://www.acoustictruth.com/ —

Return to Video Samplers Main Page • Return to Homepage