A "hidden" instrument in the classical music world, the mandolin's repertoire of original music remains largely unknown. This book examines the lives and works of the mandolin's great composers and, together with Sparks's earlier The Early Mandolin (Oxford 1989), provides the firstcomprehensive survey of the instrument's history. The book also explores aspects of technique and looks at present-day orchestras and soloists.
Twenty tunes in styles from Irish to American, in a variety of tunings, melody and accompaniment, presented in standard notation and tablature, with a stereo CD (left channel melody, right channel accompaniment). Left and right hand techniques and chord voicings are thoroughly discussed. for the first time, the Celtic style woven texture accompaniment unique to the instrument is fully notated. Unique to the book are melodic Irish ornamentation, blues, jazz, American fiddle tunes with variations and improvisations (all fully notated), and a chapter Breaking Away from Block Chords extending knowledge of the fingerboard.
No longer confined to basic folk genres, any mandolinist aspiring to a broader comprehension of music, including swing, blues, pop, choro, broadway, and even classical can expand his/her playing and through a working knowledge of jazz fundamentals. This breakthrough approach in mandolin pedagogy takes four uncomplicated fretboard patterns (FFcP) and drills a physical familiarity into the player's fingers, softening the fear of upper frets and prepares for the harmonic alterations necessary for effective and intuitive playing of more complex contemporary music.A brief introduction into modes, the player is eased into jamming with audio accompaniment (CD), and eventually an initiation into the most fundamental jazz chord progression of all, the 'ii V7 I' pattern. from the horizontal (melody) to the vertical (chords) and back, the results are a both instinctive and physical grasp of tonal centers and the improvisational fodder of effective performing. an emphasis on pinky strength, finger control and sustain, the book's exercises also develop the player's concepts of tone and melody. Further supportive resources including MP3 audio tracks are also available on the internet. http://www.jazzmando.com/webtracks.shtml
Take your blues mandolin playing to the next level with the Mandolin Blues Book. A collection of 101 blues riffs and solos ideal for all mandolinists looking to get a good grasp of jamming the blues. The book covers all the essential tools needed to play blues mandolin. Start by learning the 40 stylistic riffs and 25 one and two bar blues riffs in multiple keys, then move on to the longer 12 bar blues rhythm riffs and extended solos. Most of the longer rhythm riffs and solos follow the standard 12 bar blues form, so they are readily applicable to the many mandolin playing styles, including country, rock, jazz, and bluegrass, to name a few. To further deepen your mandolin skills, study the major, minor and blues scales and arpeggios as well as the library of mandolin chords and blues chord progressions in all 12 keys. No book covers everything, but with some practice, you will be ready to take your mandolin, jam the blues with confidence, and show off your new skills. Audio and Video online: https://brentrobitaille.com/product/mandolin-blues-book/
It all starts with the release of fidgety, suspicious Percy Talbott from state prison after serving a five-year sentence. We don't know why, only that she's released and on her way to Gilead and its "colors of paradise." But when she arrives it is February and bitter cold, and the only one around to meet her is restless Sheriff Joe Turner, who takes her to the Spitfire Grill to help the aging Hannah Ferguson run the diner. All is gray, dismal and listless around them, and the characters are in the "winter of their lives" emotionally and spiritually.
The fun and easy way to learn to play the mandolin The newest addition to the highly successful Dummies instrument-instruction line, Mandolin For Dummies gives you easy-to-follow, step-by-step instruction on learning to play the mandolin. Following the time-tested Dummies format, Mandolin For Dummies provides a level of content and instruction greater than anything currently available. Mandolin For Dummies breaks down the fundamentals of this instrument and provides the resources you need to practice and improve your ability over time. Packed with individualized instruction on key mandolin-friendly musical styles, including Irish and Celtic, "old time" American music, blues, bluegrass, swing, and jazz Files available via download provide audio tracks from the book and exercises so you can play along and build your skills -- almost 2 hours of music! Clear and useful photos and diagrams ensure you fret, strum, and pick with precision Includes a mandolin buying guide to help ensure you make the right purchases Tips on restringing mandolins and other DIY care and maintenance topics If you're an aspiring mandolin player, don't fret! Mandolin For Dummies has you covered.
With You Can Teach Yourself Fiddling, veteran Mel Bay author, Craig Duncan, has produced an excellent book for the beginning fiddler. Its 36 lessons teach basic techniques through specific exercises and traditional fiddle tunes. from holding the fiddle and bow correctly to playing moderately advanced tunes in double stops, Craig will guide you through each progressive step. Although it is not necessary to be able to read music at the start of this book, the author gradually introduces principles of effective note reading throughout. A unique feature of this book is that the same tune may appear in more than one lesson, increasing in difficulty with each recurrence. Each variation builds on the previous one and assists students in learning how to create their own arrangements. Even with some repetitions of the same tune, you'll find more than 50 popular fiddle tunes in the book's 80 pages. Check points and reviews keep you on track from cover to cover. the companion DVD/video covers the first 17 lessons from the book.
In the early years of the twentieth century, O.G. Sonneck, the father of American musicology, decried the state of musical bibliography in this country, encouraging musical scholars to dedicate themselves to preserving, cataloging, and promoting the use of America’s musical ephemera, especially newspapers and magazines. Despite his century-old calls, much work in this area remains undone. This volume responds to Sonneck’s call for action by creating a bibliography of periodicals that document the use and place of the guitar in a little-known segment of America’s musical culture in the final decades of the nineteenth century through the first third of the twentieth century. Between 1880 and the mid-1930s, a unique musical movement grew and flourished in this country. Focused on the promotion of so-called “plectral instruments,” this movement promoted the banjo, the mandolin, and the guitar as cultivated instruments on a par with the classical violin or piano. The Banjo, Mandolin and Guitar (BMG) community consisted of instrument manufacturers, music publishers, professional teachers and composers, and amateur students. While some professional soloists achieved national recognition, the performing focus of the movement was ensemble work, with bands of banjos, mandolins and guitars ranging from quartets and quintets (modeled on the violin-family string ensembles) to festival orchestras of up to 400 players (mimicking the late romantic symphony orchestra). The repertoire of most ensembles included popular dances of the day as well as light classics, but more ambitious ensembles tackled Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, and even Wagner. Although this movement straddled both popular and cultivated (classical) music-making, its elitist pretensions contributed to its demise in the wake of the explosive growth of modern American popular music linked to Tin Pan Alley or the blues. While the movement’s heyday spanned the early years of audio recording, only a handful of active BMG performers made recordings. As a result few musical scholars are aware of the BMG movement and its contribution to American musical culture, especially its influence on the physical and technical development of America’s instrument, the guitar The movement did, however, leave extensive traces of itself in periodicals produced by manufacturing and publishing concerns. Beginning in 1882, the leadership of the BMG movement fell to the publishers, editors, and contributors from these promotional journals, which were dedicated to the “interests of Banjoists, Mandolinists and Guitarists” While advertising dominated the pages of most of these periodicals, nearly all offered product and publication reviews, historical surveys, biographical sketches, and technical advice. In addition, the BMG magazines not only documented performances with reviews and program lists but also contained musical scores for solo instruments and plucked-string ensembles. These magazines are the primary sources which document this vibrant expression of America’s musical life. While one or two of the BMG magazines have been known by guitar scholars, most have not seen the light of day in decades. Similarly, a few of the leading guitar figures of the BMG movement—principally William Foden, Vahdah Olcott-Bickford, and George C. Krick—have been acknowledged and documented but many more remain completely anonymous. This bibliography offers access to the periodicals which help document the story of the guitar in America’s progressive era—a story of tradition and transformation—as lived and told by the guitar’s players, teachers, manufacturers, composers, and fans in the BMG movement. The bibliography consists of two large sections. The first contains a chronological list of articles, news items, advertisements, illustrations, and photographs as well as a list of musical works for guitar published in the BMG magazines. The second section of the bibliography is a series of indices which link names and subjects to the lists. With nearly 5500 entries and over 100 pages of indices, this bibliography offers researchers access to a musical world that has been locked away on library shelves for the past century.
(Book). The Ultimate Bluegrass Mandolin Construction Manual is the most complete step-by-step treatise ever written on building an acoustical string instrument. Siminoff, a renowned author and luthier, applies over four decades of experience to guide beginners to pros through detailed chapters on wood selection, cutting, carving, shaping, assembly, inlays, fretting, binding and assembly of an F-style mandolin. A special highlight is an in-depth chapter on the art of tap tuning. This fully-illustrated manual boasts more than 250 photos, a full-color section on the staining and finishing processes, numerous detailed illustrations, and a bonus set of 20 full-size blueprints. Spiral bound.
