2 comments about Mel Bay A Treasury of Favorite Songs for Autoharp: Guitar, Ukulele, Mandolin, Banjo, and Keyboard.

1. I received this book today. I am very disappointed in it. There is NO music, melody lines, or distinction between the chording on the various instruments listed on the cover: autoharp, guitar, ukelel, mandolin, banjo and keyboard.
   The entire book is merely song lyrics with chord symbols above the words. There is no way to know the melodies of the songs included.
   Don't waste your money on this book.



2. I bought this as a beginner book for my new autoharp, so I think it's a perfect learning tool for me at least. If more words are needed, a simple search on the internet will find them usually. The chords are pretty much universal.

1 comments about Teach Yourself to Play Mandolin (Ultimate Beginner).

1. This is a great book and incredible series by Alfred Publishing (I buy mostly Alfred book as they are the best for your money). This one is specifically for Mandolin but there is a corresponding book for Banjo and Guitar and a corresponding DVD for each. I recommend the DVD if you are new to the Mandolin and need a quickstart guide to Mandolin technique and chording Ultimate Beginner: Bluegrass Mandolin Basics and Beyond. Dennis Caplinger is one of the best Multi-instrumentalists out there in the Bluegrass genre. Everything in the book and CD is detailed in Mandolin TAB so note reading isn't required. There are Bluegrass standards like Blackberry Blossom, Black Mountain Rag, Dixie, and John Hardy all recorded on the CD so you can really hear the Mandolin in the mix. Both single note lines and chords are presented separately and are extensively broken down into small parts, then all put together in the last part of the book so you can play the songs solo on your shiny new Mandolin. If you want to be a Bluegrass multi-instrumentalist get all three books in the series.

No comments about Mandolin Scale Finder: Easy-to-Use Guide to Over 1,300 Mandolin Scales, 6 inch. x 9 inch. Edition.

5 comments about The Mandolin Picker's Fakebook (Mandolin).

1. "The Mandolin Picker's Fakebook" contains a nice collection of pieces notated in tablature and it contains indeed an extensive discography.
   However, the only things specific to mandolin seem to be: the tablature notation, a list of eight recordings which are of specific interest to mandolinists (half a page, while all the rest seems to be folk fiddle) and some extremely thin introductory material which seems to be mostly copy-and-paste from the same author's "Fiddler's Fakebook", no information on picking-technique at all etc. When copy-and-pasting, they didn't even bother to change the word "fiddling" into "picking" or similar.
   All in all: a nice collection of tunes. Good discography. Just be aware of its limitations for mandolinists.



2. I bought this and returned it. I can't read mandolin tab. If you're like me and need standard notation for your mandolin music, buy the fiddler's fakebook. Same songs, similar introductory material, and it's in standard notation. That's where I'm going now, to order the fiddle book. But if you read tab, this book will suit you fine.



3. As noted, this is a colleciton of mandolin tab, not standard music notation. If you can read standard notation, you're better off with any number of fiddle books (including the Fiddle Player's Fakebook from the same publisher) but if not, this is a great reference. I read for guitar and bass, but not mandolin, so I've gotten a lot out of this book.
   
   This series concentrates on traditional and old time music, which suits me perfectly as that's what I play on mandolin and banjo. (I also have the Banjo Player's Fakebook, which has most of the same songs- though not all- in frailing and clawhammer styles.) Just about every classic old time song, and a lot of the popular Celtic songs can be found here- Shady Grove, Little Beggerman, Joe Clark, Sleepy Maggy, etc. If you're an ear player or tab player just starting out, this book is a great place to learn a lot of the tunes played by string bands.



4. This is a good resource to learn the essence of a tune and supply your own embelishments and style. If you get easily bored like me, its a good source to skip around



5. If you can't read music, this is great-- any idiot can read tab-- and it's a musical smorgasbord of Euro and N.American trad so you can learn a variety of things.
   
   However, some of the arrangements (esp. for the non-improvisational genres, like Irish and Scottish) are way off. Bluegrass and country are open forms, where the musician improvises withon a framework, and the tunes are "outlines" of chord progressions. Irish and Socttish, ont he other hand, are closed forms, where the tunes are played straight up, no improv. You can go anywhere int eh world and hear irish trad an play along...and Brody's book has some of these arrangements wrong enough to jar the ear.
   
   The Irish musician should get O'Neill's Dance Music of Ireland if s/he wants to be serious; this book is useful, but only as an intro. And if you read music and don't want to bother with tab, get the fiddler's verion. Same tunes etc just written in standard notation.

5 comments about Selections From O Brother, Where Art Thou: Mandolin.

1. Does this book have the tab for the instrumental version of "A Man of Constant Sorrow"?



2. True... it's only some of the songs, but it has the two main ones that I,and I'm sure, many were hoping it would. Namely, "Killing floor blues", and for the guy who asked below, the fingerstyle version of "Man of constant sorrow".
   It appears to be a little advanced for real beginners (everything is advanced for us) , but those who really want to learn these songs will have everything that they need to give it a go.



3. I notice that the guitar edition's reviews are placed under the mandolin and banjo tab editions as well, so I would just like to say that they are much like the guitar edition. All instrument formats feature exact transcriptions for the songs that feature that instrument (i.e. "man of constant sorrow" and "hard time killing floor blues" are transcribed note for note in the guitar version) often including arrangements of the melody for other songs that may not actually be heard on the soundtrack (i.e. there is no mandolin heard on "big rock candy mountain", but the mandolin book includes an arrangement that sounds nice anyway. Also, many times the mandolin or dobro parts are arranged for guitar in the guitar edition on songs like "you are my sunshine"). btw-For the reviewer who asked, yes Norman Blake's instrumental version of "man of constant sorrow" is transcribed in full in the guitar edition, but Blake plays it with a flatpick, not fingerstyle. It is very hard to tell the difference by ear, but amazon offers many bluegrass guitar instructional books that cover this method, known as "cross picking".



4. I was very happy with my purchasing experience. The item was in the condition indicated. Very good price, arrived in a timely fashion. I would definitely do business with this merchant again.



5. The book is great for having the lyrics, melody notation, and chords. However, for tablature for banjo, it rates a 'one' on SIX of the 12 songs in the book. Of the 12 songs in the book, three are in standard banjo G tuning, three in D tuning (retuning the banjo), which is do-able if you're not in a performance. But, SIX of the song tablatures are written in ridiculous tunings for a banjo that can't be accomplished easily or quickly or by using a capo. Oddly, though, THREE of these songs have guitar chords and music notation written in the key of 'C' and one in the key of 'G' which SHOULD have had the SAME key signature for the banjo tablature but were not. I don't understand what the author's reason was for doing this, but I think this book is a disservice to it's buyers. I bought the book because I wanted usable tablature for banjo...you'll get 6 USABLE songs in reasonable/common banjo tablature...the other SIX songs you'll have to retune your banjo all over the board. If that's you're thing, and you like replacing broken strings, go for it.

3 comments about Mel Bay J. S. Bach for Mandolin.

1. Surprisingly disappointing considering the usual high standard of Mel Bay publications.
   Of the 26 pieces included only 13 are to be heard on the cd. There are few of the more well-known or popular pieces from the Bach canon.The tracks on the cd do not follow the page numbers in the book - for instance the first item in the book is track 12 on the cd.
   It would have been helpful if the pieces had been arranged from easiest to more difficult. There is nothing written to guide players who may be new to the music of Bach and certain effects such as trills can be heard but not really understood from the tab as there is no guide to the notation. This book could do with a complete revision.



2. If you are just looking for something specific to the mandolin to play other than Bluegrass this book will provide it.
   On the plus side the book and notes are easy to read and it provides tab as well as notation for all songs. The songs seem to progress in difficulty as you go through the book, so the songs at the end are more difficult than the ones at the front.
   On the Down Side there is no indication why the author chose these particular songs out of Bach's entire repertoire to include in the book. Don't be surprised if you don't recognize any of the pieces in the book. Personally I would have preferred the book be spiral bound so it stays open when I am attempting to play directly from the book.
   Finally I really have to wonder why they chose to put the tracks on the CD in a different order than they are found in the book. The track name are all in CDDB so when you put it in iTunes you get the names of the songs, but it's still confusing.
   In summary this is a perfectly serviceable book for a novice to intermediate mandolin player to play through to help break out of the Bluegrass box, but the over all package is not particularly spectacular.



3. I have rather enjoyed this book. While it does not present the material in a graded fashion, this is not required. All is self explanatory. As for the tracks not avaialable on the included CD they are easily accessed practically anywhere. This is a very strong study in it's choice of pieces. The work is up to you.
   
   The highlight of the entire book is the wonderful transcription of Ciaccaona. The author claims this piece is from "Sonata no. 4 in D minor"
   This can be misleading. This is from Partita No. 2 in D Minor for solo violin. Most Bach Heads will know this.
   
   I am much pleased to see the entire Suite III from the Cello Suites on board. It is readily available by great celloists for your listening pleasure here on Amazon.
   
   Anyone truly interested in Bach for mandolin should look for Schmuel Elbaz here on Amazon. He is an Israeli mandolinist with a CD of Sonatas and Partitas for solo Violin played on mandolin. Also look for Robert Bancalari's "Mandolin Classics" book. Very cool.
   
   "J. S. Bach for Mandolin" is not a book for beginners, but meant for those who wish to expand they're horizons.

3 comments about Mel Bay Mandolin Crosspicking Techniques.

1. Despite its claim of being for intermediate and advanced players, the first 17 pages provide what you would find in any beginner's mandoling book: How to tune, how to read tablature, and simple advice like "practice regularly" and "the metronome is a useful tool". It's obviously a way to get the page count up. In this whole section, there are only a few sentences about crosspicking, and these just tell you how great you'll sound when you master the technique.
   
   Section 2, consisting of 10 pages, provides the core technique through excercises that demonstrate forward and reverse rolls, alternating bass, and a tremolo variation or two. The content is almost entirely tablature without commentary.
   
   Section 3, "Crosspicking Bluegrass style", provides excercises meant to prepare you for the upcoming full song, and then the song itself. The excercises are accompanied by illustrations of suggested fingering. Unfortunately, the song itself will require fingering and techniques that were not covered by the excercises.
   
   If you want to get an idea of what is crosspicking, this book could help, but overall I find it very disappointing.



2. I have been a mandolin builder and player for over 40 years. This book really helped improve my crosspicking techniques. It was easy to understand and very well written. I am very proud to have this man's book in my library. My 10 year grandson is now studying this book and is doing great with it. Jerry Tekell, Italy,Texas



3. Mickey's Crosspicking guide gives excellent exercises to enable you to become a better picker.
   Effective, and useful, arpeggios used to improve skills were immediately put into my repetoire
   and included in my jamming. My fingers hurt but I'm a better mandolin player for it!
   I particularly like how Mickey previews what will be the main skill and gives practice for it before he lets you
   loose on the songs. I highly recommend Mickey's book for the serious mandolin player who wants to get the basics down tight.

No comments about Mel Bay Mandolin Chord Chart.

No comments about Mel Bay Mandolin Christmas Songbook.

1 comments about Mel Bay Shady Grove Mandolin Solos.

1. This is a great method book if one wants to play the music from Shady Grove. I am not quite that advanced at this time. Will love it more later.