2 comments about Intermediate Mandolin (Book & Cd).

1. I bought both the beginning and intermediate mandolin instruction books by this author and found them both to be excellent! The book is well thought out, presents material very well and the CD is a perfect companion as it provides an interplay for the student between playing chords and melodies. The pieces selected are great (Bluegrass).
   
   Never having played the mandolin in my life, I found myself with two weeks notice that I had to double on mandolin in a show (the other instrument being guitar). These two books saved my life!



2. Great produt for learning mandolin. Seperated in such a way that notation readers can skip that portion of the book without missing any important technique instructions on learning mandolin. technique instuction very clear and detailed.
   Above is the review I wrote for the beginning book. This book just carries on in the same manner. Excellant instructional book.

1 comments about Mel Bay's Mandolin Scales & Studies.

1. As a beginning "mandy" player (I also play guitar, keyboards, and Native American flute), I have found this book to be all the reference I need for playing scales and chords for the mandolin. In addition, I've been able to apply the same information in this book to the violin (Since I'm trying to learn the violin as well as the mandolin). Also, check out Mel Bay's Deluxe Encyclopedia of Mandolin Chords. Either book is a great source of information although I find myself referencing the Mandolin Scales and Studies book more and more.

2 comments about Mel Bay Irish Mandolin Playing: A Complete Guide.

1. This is a great book that I am really enjoying. It starts you out playing tunes you know, like Tell Me Ma and Danny Boy. Really fun. I am a complete beginner and feel like I am moving along pretty well with the help of this book.



2. This is an excellent book and CD! Philip John Berthoud wastes no time gabbing, but goes straight to the stuff! I recommend this item to anyone who wants to increase their mandolin playing abilities.

5 comments about Mandolin Primer.

1. We have one music store locally that focuses mainly on traditional music with traditional instruments (guitar, mandolin, fiddle, dobro, bass) and they suggest this book as the best book to start off with. After working with it for a while I'll have to agree.

   I starts with very basic information on how to hold the instrument and proper left and right hand position. You then start to learn basic picking technique and the notes of the strings. I like this because many books teach you how to read tabulature but don't spend any time trying to teach you the actual notes both on the fingerboard and on the music staff.

   As you progress through the examples you'll learn the basic scales in G, C, D, and A. This will cover most bluegrass tunes. The book also covers hammer ons, pull offs, and triplets so you pretty much get a full technique workout.

   Then the book really starts to shine. There are 12 songs to add to your repitoire. Each song is on the CD in a slow, medium and up to tempo example. In fact, every excercise on the book has an audio example.

   Note, there is also a video tape version and a DVD version of this book. The book is the same for each version, however, there is a bonus song in the book that only the CD has as an audio example. That song is not included on the DVD or Video version. So that's another nice bonus.

   If you want to learn to play mandolin then take the same advice I did. Get this book and work all the way through it. I think you'll enjoy it.




2. Very good as a beginners course. It has both the standard music notation and tablature, which allows you to choose how to study. Tablature is easier and quicker to learn. This book is about the bluegrass style.
   The cd has all songs from the book. It's a pleasure to learn to play the mandolin with this book.



3. Highly suggest this book. Out of all the other books I've played with, I felt I got the most out of this book. Plus, there's a CD with it!
   
   Awesome book. Should be playin' with the pros here in about a week......;)



4. This is an excellent book that works you through step by step. I actually lost this book and had to reorder another one, I wouldn't think of ordering a different book.



5. This is an excellent first book for aspiring mandolin players. It doesn't assume or require any preexisting knowledge of the instrument or musical notation since, as pointed out by a prior reviewer, it provides visual scores or tablature of finger placement. The book also provides very helpful practical tips on such things as tuning, recommending, for example, the purchase of an inexpensive electronic tuner. I followed that advice and bought a Korg CA-30 and used it not only to successfully tune the mandolin but also my guitar which I had for years previously tuned "by ear" with varying degrees of success. Mr. Casey is also straight-forward in making it clear that learning the Mandolin takes a lot of practice and, at least until you develop some callouses on your finger tips, sometime painful practice. However, if you are diligent in following his lesson plans, you will learn to play the mandolin to an extent that will amaze not only your friends but yourself.

3 comments about Parking Lot Picker's Songbook: Mandolin.

1. This is a beautiful book. Very well done. It is very easy to play out of this book, as the notes and tabulature are very clear, and large enough to easily read. There is a great variety of songs, from bluegrass, to gospel. I especially like the spiral binding, to make it easier to turn the pages, and to lay flat on the music stand. My only wish is that the songs would be played through a couple of times. The CD's are of excellent quality. A great value for the price.



2. This is one of the best mandolin music books in existence with a
   wonderful selection of songs with music, chords, and tablature. It is
   arranged so that you can avoid the problem of turning pages, and the
   format easily stays open on a music stand. The CD only goes through a
   single verse of everything so it is not a play along, but it helps you
   know how things sound. There's also valuable information for transposing
   songs.
   
   This has become indispensible for me and my husband too, as he has a
   tenor guitar tuned like a mandolin. I play the mandolin. Of all my mandolin
   books, this is the very best value for the money. I highly recommend this
   as a must-have book for a mandolin library. Interestingly, I have not
   seen it in any stores around here and had to order it online.



3. I have many 'picking' books and 'fake' books. This is the best I own. I like everything about it. The spiral bound book, the number of songs in the book and the fact that every single song is on the cds. You can't go wrong.

5 comments about Mandolin Blues: From Memphis to Maxwell Street.

1. Mandolinist Rich DelGrosso is a self-professed "blues freak." After first hearing the strong, expressive blues mandolin of Johnny Young, he began a journey to research and revive that type of music. Nominated by The Blues Foundation for a 2006 Best Instrumentalist Award, DelGrosso has put together a charming overview of music, history, lessons and photos. "From Memphis to Maxwell Street" is the story of America's black mandolinists who nurtured the growth of blues music, complemented and energized jug and string bands of the South, and inspired such composers Scott Joplin and W.C. Handy. In the early 20th-Century, Memphis was where touring mandolin players like Vol Stevens, Will Weldon, Eddie Dimmitt and Charlie McCoy played. In nearby rural areas, W. Howard Armstrong and Carl Martin and their Tennessee Chocolate Drops played medicine shows, parties, picnics and fish fries. In the 1960s, they revived their string band sound in Martin, Bogan & Armstrongs. From rural Tennessee, Yank Rachell travelled with guitarist Sleepy John Estes and Hammie Nixon. In this book, "Yank Rachell's Blues" and "Early This Morning" show how his music was more modal than melodic.
   
   After introductory info about the style itself, DelGrosso's clear perspective focuses on blue notes, harmonies based primarily on seventh chords, predictable 8- or 12-bar progressions, and rhythms driven by back beats. Three kinds of rhythmic dance music (rags, drags, stomps) are demonstrated. Using standard notation and tab, the author gives us some great melodic examples of these forms (Dallas Rag, Jackson Stomp, Knox County Stomp, State Street Rag, Vine Street Drag). Many of these tunes are derived from the music of Howard Armstrong, a man who befriended, inspired and mentored DelGrosso until Howard's passing in 2003. "Betty and Dupree" illustrates Armstrong's masterful melodic technique with double-stops. The book also explores the music of others in the Memphis collective of musicians. "Vol Steven's Blues" is a good study in phrasing and how to use flatted and natural notes. Also playing the Memphis and saloons of the 1920s and 30s were Will Weldon, Eddie Dimmitt and Charlie McCoy. Strong, hard-driving, passionate blues from each of these guys are offered. Phrasing, syncopation and the use of blues notes were their strengths.
   
   As blacks migrated north, so did their music. Chicago's Maxwell Street became a center for blues folks. Carl Martin and Johnny Young were seen playing with guitarists and harmonica players from the windy city's South Side. Originally from Mississippi, Young moved north in search of work about 1940. "Johnny Young's Blues" and "Young's 8-Bar Blues" are taught. DelGrosso concludes the book with his own "DelGrosso's Blues (It's Funk)" and a selected discography for further exploration. Through the pages of Mandolin World News, I was familiar with blues mandolin and some players examined. However, this book pulls it all together into one place. It's a joy that may open up new doors for you and change your direction in music, just the way it did for its author. (Joe Ross, staff writer, Bluegrass Now)



2. I love this book. Not only is it outstanding music instruction, it's also a great (and interesting) history lesson. The book is short on theory and technique, focusing instead on teaching by example, which suits me just fine. The transcribed tunes are stylistically comprehensive and run the spectrum from easy to fairly challenging (I would say this is an intermediate level book). I particularly liked the author's funky-blues composition at the end. Very cool.
   
   The mandolin has its place in so many styles of music and it's a real pleasure to see an instruction book that focuses on something other than bluegrass or celtic music (not that there's anything wrong with bluegrass or celtic, but I think the market's a bit saturated!). If you like blues, this is a very fun book.



3. This is a really great piece of writing. It starts out teaching you how to play 12-bar blues in the keys of C and G (there are two nice duets in the key of G). Next comes sixteen beautiful blues songs written in traditional music and tablature.
   Everything is played nicely in the accompanying CD.
   The book also contains some interesting information about mandolins and about the composers of the songs used in the book -- and a list of blues mandolin recordings that are (hopefully) available.
   I am VERY happy with this book.



4. You have to hand it to Rich Delgrosso- he's written a well thought out book on the history of the blues **as played on mandolin** and goes in-depth with historical blues mando players (who knew there were any?), the evolution of the genre, and the application of the blues basics to a more contemporary context. I've seen him on stage and met him at a mando workshop- great guy- and you can tell he strives to carry on the mando blues tradition as seriously as Eric Clapton does for guitar- paying full homage to all of those who came before him (Yank Rochelle is the mando equivalent to Robert Johnson). It's probably safe to say that guitar will always be the dominating instrument of choice for the blues-- and I think it may have an edge over mando because it just sounds better on guitar-- but if you want to expand your mando horizons and be a well rounded player who understands the mandolin in a blues context, you would be hard pressed to find a better book--



5. This is a wonderful book on the blues never mind being one of the best resources for mando blues. The back story to the history and development of the mando blues is very well done. However in my mind it is the tunes tabbed out and well performed on the CD that make this book shine. They are fun to listen to and fun to play.
   
   I am relatively new to the mandolin but as I have several years of guitar behind me, it is coming quickly, but it is certainly not for beginners to stringed instruments. There is enough here for months of learning pleasure.

5 comments about The Mandolin Chord Book (Mandolin).

1. As the others have said this is a good book to keep handy for your practice sessions. The only gripe I have is that if I want to learn how to play an Am7b5 I want to look in the key of A section. But that chord is the 7th chord in a harmonized B scale so it's in the "Key of B" section. If I want to find a G anything chord I expect it to be in a section on G chords, not in G for some chords and C for others and in A minor for others. This means that quite often you have to search the book to find the one you're looking for.

   Lots of good chords here. They're just organized oddly.




2. As you've most likely read in other reviews on this product, chords in this book are organized by key and not alphabetically. I really hated the organization of the chords at first. However, after some amount of initial frustration the more I used the book, the more I appreciated it. I would never have thought to order a chord reference in this fashion. It's turned out to be quite a useful reference tool.



3. Simple and good for a beginner like me. A good tool.



4. The booklet is very handy and the way the chords are arranged (by key) is good.



5. "Get you a chord book," said the crusty old guy who restrung my mandolin. As a beginner, this book is top-notch, presenting the chords in their keys.

5 comments about Beginning Mandolin (Book & Cd).

1. This book gave me a good kick-start. I had played around on the mandolin a little in the past, but not for 10 years or more. The book really paced me through some exercises and helped me build skills starting with simple scales and ending up with full-fledged songs and solos.
   
   Most songs and exercises in the book include both musical notation and tablature, to help you see how to play the song (which frets, which fingers to use).
   
   The accompanying CD has audio that lets you hear how the scales or songs are supposed to sound, which can be helpful.
   
   I found the book so useful that I've bought the same author's intermediate-level book.



2. If you already have played guitar for awhile, or you are comfortable with any stringed instrument, I recommend a more advanced book. I was through this one within a couple weeks.



3. Great produt for learning mandolin. Seperated in such a way that notation readers can skip that portion of the book without missing any important technique instructions on learning mandolin. technique instuction very clear and detailed.



4. This is excellent guide for beginners, because one can hear the piece played and then attempt to play along. Great for timing.
   However, it moves along quite rapidly without enough quality practice pieces to reinforce fingering, simple cords and music reading. The CD moves from one piece to the next without much hesitation and without introduction...often before I am quite ready. This requires stopping and starting the CD frequently.(am using a tascam) I practice a lot and use the first half constantly and definitely recommend it.



5. As a frustrated guitar player, I ended up with a mandolin. I bought this book because of the reviews here. It is clear. Concise and gives you a solid understanding of not only the instrument, but the way music works. Bravo Mr. Horne!

5 comments about Teach Yourself to Play Mandolin.

1. I purchased this book on ratings and found it to be very in depth. This is a good book if you have a good background in music, but if you do not it may be over your head. I use this book very little as I have found much better in depth books available.
   Bill
   N.C.



2. This is an excellent book for learning mandolin except it does not come with a CD. At first I was discouraged but then used another mandolin book that included a CD and then went back to learn from this one, which worked out great. Great excercises for learning the fret board.



3. My husband has played guitar for many years & just bought a mandolin. He was unsure how to tune it and this book showed him how to tune it, the notes, etc. He was very pleased with the book and told me it taught him everything he needed.



4. It's been 20 years since I read sheet music; this book has a terrific introduction to reading music and some fun practice songs to play. I highly recommend it.



5. This is a good general introduction to the mandolin, suitable for those with no background in string instruments.
   
   A previous reviewer stated that the book included standard notation and tablature. That is incorrect. There is no tablature for the musical selections in this book.

5 comments about Corelli's Mandolin: A Novel.

1. I guess when we open a book we're all trying to recapture those halcyon days when we brought a flashlight to bed so we could continue or finish a favorite book, when we cried at the end, too. That doesn't happen much for me anymore, but when reading this book, I was actually crying in the middle and getting up at 3 a.m. to see how it ended. Besides the author's wonderful prose style, I enjoyed the portrayal of the Greek culture, so aptly portrayed as "the past in the present."



2. This is a great book. I highly recommend it. It's a well written love story, similar to Love in the Time of Cholera.



3. I truly enjoyed this book. For me, it was a welcome foray into a semi-alternate universe, and truly worth the trip. My only qualm was the fact that Pelagia's reaction at the end was, in my opinion, just as a man would write it, not quite as a woman would actually live it. I was unconvinced, and ended up feeling like I had to compensate for her incomplete reaction by engaging in my own...if that makes any sense at all. Anyway, nuff said, don't wanna spoil it. Highly recommended it regardless.



4. An unique love/war story.
   
   This is my favorite of the two De Bernieres' novels I own; the other being 'Birds without Wings', which is excellent, but just not my first choice.
   
   The novel is set in Greece during the Nazi/Italian occupation during WW II . It's a tale of the hardships during occupation, the Greek resistance and an developing relationship that begins between one of the Italian officers and Greek girl.
   
   I simply loved this story. The prose is exquisite; it just makes you want to read on and on. And, despite the fact there was a war going on, there is an atmosphere of high romance and intrigue through out this novel, associated with not only the war, but the developing love story as well.
   
   Conclusion:
   Louis De Bernieres' very best work. Superb, skillful writing that has resulted in a tale well told and beautifully presented.
   5 Stars, more if I could
   
   R.Nicholson



5. I thought this was one of the best books I ever read until the last 100 pages. Then it felt like the author just ran out of steam and tried to quickly rush through and tie everything up, covering many years in the process. It just didn't work given the beauty and complexity of the story up to that point. If not for that, I would have given it five stars easily.