Teach Yourself Bluegrass Mandolin

This Is A Great Book, But Not For Beginners. I Want To Be Able To Play At A Slow Tempo, Not At The Break Neck Speed Of This Stuff. A Beginner Will Struggle With This. Forget The Slow Tempo, Put On The Rockets And Hold On. I Think The Author Forgot What It Was Like To Start Out.

I bought this for my boyfriend for Valentine's Day and he says it's very helpful with figuring out particular tricks and techniques to get just the right sound. He also said the CD was nice because it allows you to hear how the song is supposed to be played.

Teach Yourself Bluegrass Mandolin is a great instructional guide for mandolin. It is clearly written and provides both melody and solo parts for a number of traditional bluegrass tunes. The CD that accompanies it is an added bonus for those that like to hear exactly how each tune is supposed to sound. However, if you are picking up a mandolin for the first time with no previous experience playing a stringed instrument this book may leave you frustrated. I had a few years of experince playing guitar so the switch wasn't too difficult. However, I know that I was starting for the first time I would be hard pressed to play many of the songs in this book. The tunes on the CD are played quite fast, especially for beginners. If you are looking for a beginners guide I would pick something a little easier. But once you've built up your dexerity and you're ready to move up I would recommend this book.

I had the privilege to study mandolin with Andy Statman back in the early 80's. His phrasing and harmonic sense was/is unlike anyone I'd ever heard play the instrument and owes as much to Coltrane and Albert Ayler as it does to Bill Monroe. To his credit as a teacher, Andy never erected walls between genres and always emphasized the blues as the "common thread" linking bluegrass, jazz and most American music. The tunes in the book are all bluegrass chestnuts you'll want to know to jam with others. If you're interested in improvisation, examine closely the solos printed below the melody lines. While sticking fairly close to the melody there's a subtle chromatic spice in there that will stretch your ears and encourage you to take chances. My only gripe: The original edition of this book had no recording - this revised edition does but, unfortunately, the band doesn't include Andy. The player is competent but I'd encourage anyone interested in great mandolin playing to seek out Statman on record.

THe songs in this book are a great collection of things that are great to learn. Each song has two ways to play it: the melody and a solo-type version. I have found that you can go through it and learn the melody parts then probably go back and be ready for the harder solo version. The reference CD has great playing on it, but it is a bit fast, and could be discouraging for the true beginner. Buy this book to learn with. Hold off on using the CD until you are really getting the stuff under your fingers.

This is a great book for anyone trying to learn how to play the mandolin. It contains several good songs, tons of good advice on technique, and a cd to refer to when written descriptions just won't get the job done (just try to describe "chunking" to someone who has never heard it before). The best part of this book is how it describes a technique and then immediately teaches you a song or two that use that technique. I find this helps to keep the learning process fun and exciting. It also give you a lot of material to show off to your friends.