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.

No comments about Mel Bay Kaufman's Favorite 50 Ce Reels for Mandolin, Tunes A-L.

2 comments about Mel Bay Master Anthology of Mandolin Solos, Vol. 1.

1. This book/CD delivers exactly what it says: a huge variety of mandolin stylings and stylists, all on the CD and written out in notes and tab. The great majority of tunes are not standards (so this won't help you directly in your next bluegrass jam session), but interesting pieces which illustrate the range of the mandolin and the various approaches to it.



2. This book/CD (2 CDs) set would best be described as an introduction to various American and international mandolinists, their artistic styles, and the range of music that can be expressed with a mandolin.
   
   As a practice/training tool, the book can be difficult as it contains very few "basics" and staples of typical mandolin repertoire. In addition, the works highlight the craft of various mandolin artists and masters, and as such can sometimes be rather complex or difficult for a novice or intermediate player to achieve ... though there's certainly no harm in pushing your limits.
   
   If you are looking for a collection of music that covers the "basics" or roots music, this is not the book for you. If you are looking to develop a solid foundation of basic skills, techniques, and compositions this is also not the book for you. But if you are curious or excited about the variety of music that can feature the mandolin, this is the collection to get. If you are fan of listening to music featuring mandolin, this book can serve as a great springboard to discovering the work of talented musicians. Although the songs will not likely become a part of your regular repertoire, they serve a great role in inspiring you to explore your own sounds and push the limits of how expressive the mandolin can be.

No comments about Mandolin Christmas.

1 comments about Ernesto Nazareth Songbook 1 (Classics of the Brazilian Choro) (Play along songbook and cds with music scores and complete solos) (2 CD set) (Spiral bound).

1. I am not usually a fan of play-a-long CD's, but this music really works. You get the choice of playing along with a professional Choro player or with the fun, kicking accompaniment by yourself. The nice thing is these are real musicians who don't necessarily play just what is written, especially on the repeats, so you get the feel of playing something real. The book is nicely printed and is spiral bound so the pages lay flat. This is not for beginners, but if you are a pretty good intermediate player and can play the full range of your instrument, you can get around on these pieces.

2 comments about Mel Bay's Anthology of Mandolin Music.

1. It's terrific book, but it's almost unusable because it isn't spiral bound. Give me an edition with a spiral binding and the rating goes to 5, regardless of price. Instrumental music books that have to be held open with two hands should be outlawed.



2. Mel Bay's Anthology of Mandolin might be a misnomer. While it does contain a wide array of mandolin music in both tablature and notation and a discography, it also contains instruction on chords, improvisation, reading music, scales, tremelo, and fills. It's really an introduction to mandolin for people who already have some experience with music, or are particularly motivated to learn the instrument quickly.
   
   The most useful aspect of the book, however, probably inspired the title -- a wide variety of song styles including bluegrass, jazz, blues, international, folk, gospel, rock.... The book does a good job of showing how versatile the mandolin can be.
   
   The songs are pretty standard, and few of them will knock your socks off, but they are presented in a way to accent mandolin styles, including lots of double stops and tremelo. "When the Saints Come Marching in" provides a good example of an otherwise lame textbook song presented as a worthy mandolin party song.
   
   Some mild criticisms of the book are its stiff binding and lack of a table of contents and song index. Also, the book could be much improved with an supplemental CD.

1 comments about Mel Bay FAMOUS MANDOLIN PICKIN' TUNES QWIKGUIDE.

1. Although this booklet and CD will not "teach" you how to play mandolin, it is a great way for a novice-to-intermediate player to expand their repertoire and get some practice. The pieces are usually fairly simple and straightforward, though many of them are fast-paced when played at full speed. To help with this, the CD includes "slow" and "full speed" versions of the audio examples.
   
   One great feature of this booklet are the fact that it contains a variety of music genres - old-time traditional, fiddle tunes, bluegrass, gospel, jazzy, Italian, Welsh, Jewish... quite a variety.
   
   An even better feature - and what really makes this stand out as a great value for the money - is that the songs on the CD are quite listenable on their own (not just as training material); the pieces feature full band accompaniment and the CD alone is more than worth the price of the total package. Each song is played at "slow" and "full" speeds to help you perfect them, and many of the songs feature segments of isolated backup band accompaniment for you to play along with your own solo practice.
   
   Overall: Not a useful way to learn mandolin, and not a comprehensive collection of music, but it is a wonderful way to get some practice with a variety of styles, expand your horizons, and hear some great music (with high-quality production) on the CD. Unless you are already a mandolin pro, this is well worth the price.

No comments about The Larsons' Creations - Centennial Edition: Guitars and Mandolins.

2 comments about Mel Bay You Can Teach Yourself Mandolin.

1. I found this book easy and informitive. The DVD is very helpful along with the book. The songs are well known which made it easyer to playalong and do the cords.
   The one thing I thought they should have done was introduce single note playing sooner. All in all it is a great beginners book. I'm a self tought player and found the book easy to learn from. I highly reconmed it



2. I found that the book contents were applicable to what I needed, but the CD supplied with the Mel Bay, " You can teach yourself Mandolin", did not work in either of my CD players. Subsequently, the book and CD was of no use to me, I'm sorry to say.

1 comments about Making Stringed Instruments: A Workshop Guide.

1. This is a marvelous, nuts-and-bolts guide to building stringed musical instruments. It starts, and goes into great detail, with a violin and then proceeds to cello, mandolin, classical guitar and finally arch-top or jazz guitar. Most of the shaping and assembly processes are covered in the violin section and then the following sections are shorter, dealing only with techniques specific to that instrument. The first section of the book, called The Workshop, covers selection, care and maintenance of common intrument making tools. It also outlines making some useful and reasonably easy tools. This is great if you are handy, resourceful and feel like saving a few dollars. It ends with a very important part on wood selection. Read the section on making a violin no matter which instrument you are interested in! It also covers, in detail, how to perform some of the techniques that are only covered glancingly in the following instruments. These might be useful hints for using this book: - Look for the scale for the instrument drawings along the edge of each picture! - After you've done all the reading about your intrument, look at the Construction Sequence to figure out what to do, and in what order! - Figure that how ever long it looks like each step will take, it will probably take twice as long. Enjoy the process of building because you will be doing it for a while! - When you are ready to build, look back at the wood types for your chosen instrument. Then go back to Part 1: The Workshop and re-read the part called Wood. Then go to Part 11: The Violin and read the section on Choosing The Wood. The part about listening to your wood as you tap on it may sound like hocus-pocus but it is vital to building a good instrument! You want clear, solid, sound wood to build with or all your work will be wasted! Use your imagination while you read this book. Musical instrument building is only partly a science; the rest of the process involves artistry. Many small errors can be corrected or simply incorporated into the final instrument. No great instrument makers made all of their instruments exactly the same. Their mistakes where called personalizing each instrument! This book will guide you comfortably through the process of building your own instrument.