The Tonewood Project

The Tonewood Project tells the story of the tree species used to create musical instruments, and their uncertain fate amid the forces of climate change, human disturbance, and cultural fragmentation.

Mail Order Guitar

Sometime in 1976 or 1977, a Navy Utilitiesman in Port Hueneme, California purchased a Yamaha FG-75-1 steel string acoustic guitar from a mail order catalog. The guitar, which I am looking at right now, has a black label inside the body that reads:

August 21, 2025


About the Tonewood Project

When considering a story of the relationships between forests, trees, instrument making, and global change, the biggest question is where to start. I will attempt to dodge that question by starting with any and all of them, letting the reader and listener navigate between the threads of natural history and climate change, land-based livelihoods and global economies, artisanal and advanced manufacturing, and the interplay between musicians, composers and embodiments of sound. 

August 12, 2025

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