Foreword xvii
Introduction 1
About This Book 1
Conventions Used in This Book 2
Foolish Assumptions 3
Icons Used in This Book 3
Accessing the Audio Tracks 3
Beyond the Book 4
Part 1: Being Bitten by the Mandolin Bug 5
Chapter 1: Becoming Acquainted with Your Mandolin 7
Riding the Mandolin Wave 7
Loving the mandolin sound 8
Joining a vibrant community 8
Enjoying a great choice of mandolins 9
Meeting the Mandolin Family 10
Reaching the highest notes: Mandolin 11
Playing with an alto voice: Mandola 11
Lowering the tone: Mando-cello 12
Spotting the rarely seen mando-bass 13
Accompanying the family: Octave mandolin 14
Getting to Know Your Mandolin’s Anatomy 15
Looking at the body 17
Introducing the neck 18
Using string vibrations to produce sound 20
Chapter 2: Getting to Grips with Tuning and Terminology 21
Coming to Terms with Musical Terminology 22
Identifying musical notes with letters 22
Sharpening up and flatting down your notes 23
Stepping up to the mark: Distances between notes 23
Scaling the heights with chords and scales 23
Grasping the Tuning Basics 24
Sounding Tuneful: Methods for Tuning Your Mandolin 25
Using an electronic tuner 25
Tuning your mandolin to itself 26
Tuning to another instrument 28
Chapter 3: Getting a Handle on Your Mandolin 29
Sitting Down on the Job 30
Playing While Standing Up 32
Strapping Yourself in to Play 34
Part 2: Starting to Play the Mandolin 37
Chapter 4: Making Music on the Mandolin 39
Playing without Having to Read Music 39
Understanding tablature 40
Reading chord diagrams 41
Developing a musical ear 42
Keeping the Musical Beat by Counting 43
Feeling the beat 43
Counting to four 43
Dividing up beats 44
Extending notes: Half notes and whole notes 45
Dotting and tying notes 46
Resting: Playing the silence 47
Repeating sections of a song 48
Simplifying time signatures 48
Introducing Your First Five Chords 51
Getting to grips with the G chord 51
Choosing the C chord 52
Discovering the D chord 53
Adding the A chord 54
Examining the E chord 55
Strumming chords: Getting some rhythm patterns together 56
Breaking Down the Parts of a Song 57
Finding the beat: Rhythm 57
Moving on to chord progressions 57
Strumming the chords 58
Performing the melody 59
Playing along with other people 59
Playing Your First Songs 60
“Ode to Joy” theme 61
“Down in the Valley” 62
“Go Tell Aunt Rhodie” 63
“Skip to My Lou” 63
“Red River Valley” 64
Chapter 5: Picking with the Right Hand 65
Holding the Pick 65
Supporting and Guiding Your Right Hand 66
Touching the bridge 66
Brushing the pinky 67
Resting on the rib 68
Arching your wrist while strumming 68
Picking Up and Down 69
Picking alternate strong and weak beats 69
Getting down with down-strokes 72
Visiting Ireland: Jig picking 72
Rolling out the notes: Cross picking 73
Developing Good Tone 74
Finding the sweet spot 75
Picking the right pick 76
Keeping a loose grip 76
Getting your pick angle right 77
Following through: The rest stroke 77
Keeping things loose: It’s all in the wrist 77
Playing Louder Isn’t Always Better 78
Understanding dynamics 78
Knowing when not to play loudly 79
Choosing when to play loudly 79
Balancing act: Four strings are louder than one 79
Sustaining a Note: Tremolo 80
Staying in time: Measured tremolo 80
Varying the pace: Free tremolo 82
Playing melody with slow tremolo 83
Practicing Your Skills 83
Trying out alternate-picking exercises 83
Keeping-time exercises 86
Chilling out with rest exercises 88
Becoming dynamic with volume exercises 88
Stretching out with tremolo exercises 90
Chapter 6: Fretting Notes and Chords with the Left Hand 93
Positioning and Working with Your Left Hand 94
Positioning your left hand 94
Tying your fingers to the frets 96
Exercising the left hand 97
Creating effects with your left hand 97
Discovering More Essential Chords 103
Trying out a few major chords 103
Becoming sadder with some minor chords 104
Opening up to seventh chords 106
Focusing on barre chords 106
Trying out Left-Hand Techniques 110
Changing your left-hand position 110
Moving up the mandolin’s neck 110
Playing two notes simultaneously: Double stops 112
Chapter 7: Playing “Jethro”-Style Three-String Chords 117
Introducing Jethro Burns’s Three-String Chord Style 118
Perfecting Three-String Major Chords 119
Root-on-top major chords 119
Third-on-top major chords 119
Fifth-on-top major chords 120
Mastering Three-String Minor Chords 120
Root-on-top minor chords 121
Third-on-top minor chords 121
Fifth-on-top minor chords 122
Trying on a Few Seventh Chords for Size 122
Root-on-top seventh chords 123
Third-on-top seventh chords 124
Fifth-on-top seventh chords 124
Seventh-on-top seventh chords 125
Revving up for Jazzy Chords: Nice! 126
Sounding unresolved with diminished chords 126
Adding augmented chords to your mandolin armory 127
Dressing up some minor chords: Minor sevenths 128
Chapter 8: Playing Mandolin Music: Scales and Melody 133
Understanding How to Play Melody 134
Listening to the great players 134
Speaking a tune 135
Rising to the challenge of scales 135
Exploring Some Major Scales 136
Discovering the D major scale 136
Accessing the A major scale 139
Getting to grips with the G major scale 142
Avoiding sharps and flats with the C major scale 144
Trying Out Minor Scales 146
Mining the A minor scale for two different approaches 147
Playing solo with chord melodies 149
Experiencing the Power of the Pentatonic 152
Taking five with the major pentatonic scale 152
Moving on to the minor pentatonic scale 154
Part 3: Putting Playing Styles into Practice 157
Chapter 9: Playing Music from Yesteryear: Old Time, Rags and Blues 159
Searching out the Past: Old-Time Music 160
Strumming for old-time fiddle tunes 161
Waltzing on the mandolin 164
Playing All Raggedy on Purpose: Ragtime 168
Syncopating your mandolin melodies 169
Practicing ragtime chord progressions and patterns 169
Playing away Your Sorrows: The Blues 174
Introducing the blues rhythm 174
Chording up for the blues 176
Playin’ the blues: Some tips and techniques 179
Influencing other genres 183
Chapter 10: Giving Your Mandolin a Speedy Workout: Bluegrass 191
Getting a Grip on That Bluegrass Rhythm 192
Gathering Together the Bluegrass Elements: An Original Mandolin Style 194
Fiddling about with fiddle tunes 195
Adding the blues style 197
Using tremolo 197
Adding extra bars: Irregular time 197
Picking up Bluegrass Melodic Techniques 198
Using the right hand 198
Playing out-of-chord positions: The left hand 201
Exploring other left-hand ornamentations 205
Building Bluegrass Instrumental Breaks 208
Learning the song 209
Making your break sound like bluegrass 209
Chapter 11: Travelling to the Emerald Isle: Irish Mandolin 213
Following the Melody One Note at a Time 214
Listening to learn Irish tunes 214
Swinging with triplets and the lilt 215
Discovering the Irish Music Modes 217
Using a standard major scale (Ionian mode) 217
Tackling a standard minor scale (Dorian mode) 217
Meeting the other major scale (Mixolydian mode) 218
Encountering the relative minor scale (Aeolian mode) 219
Playing Irish Rhythms and Tunes 219
“Reeling in the Years” 220
Jigging around the dance floor 222
Slipping in a jig 224
Being all at sea in a good way: The hornpipe 226
Playing Irish Tunes with Other Musicians 228
Chapter 12: Taking a Quick World Tour 229
Returning to the Mandolin’s Birthplace: Italy 229
Strolling to play 230
Making great use of tremolo 230
Varying the tremolo speed 233
Visiting the Concert Hall: Classical Mandolin 233
Gliding towards acquiring a classical mandolin technique 233
Exploring arpeggio uses in classical music 234
Introducing mandolin orchestras 238
Heading to Brazil 238
Getting hold of some basic choro rhythms 239
Trying out some choro chord progressions 241
Considering choro melody 241
Chapter 13: Swinging to Those Jazzy Rhythms 245
“It Don’t Mean a Thing .”: Swingin’ the Melody 246
Introducing swing 246
Respecting the mighty eighth note 247
Using syncopated rhythms 247
Playing in all 12 keys 249
Simplifying Jazz Chords 250
Working with Jazzy Chord Progressions 253
Keeping it moving: The 1-6-2-5 progression 253
Getting the blues, jazz style 254
Achieving a good swing feel 257
Swingin’ with rhythm changes 258
Changing keys with the 2-5-1 progression 261
Accompanying yourself: Chord melody 261
Mixing Things up: Jazz with Other Styles 264
Heading down to Texas: Western swing 264
Waltzing with the Muppets 266
Blending jazz with other genres 267
Chapter 14: Blending Styles: Dawg Music 271
Meeting David Grisman 272
Groovin’ to Some Dawg Music 272
Heading down south: Dawg Latin 272
Get up, get on up: Dawg funk 274
Accenting Your Grooves, Dawg-Style 276
Scratching like the Dawg 276
Stretching out with one long chord 277
Part 4: Purchasing and Caring for Your Mandolin 281
Chapter 15: Selecting and Buying a Mandolin 283
Exploring the World of Mandolins 284
Finding out about F-style mandolins 284
Assessing A-style mandolins 285
Rounding out F- and A-style mandolins 286
Tossing around pancake and other flat-top mandolins 287
Plugging in with electric mandolins 287
Bandying about with a bandolim 288
Noticing Neapolitan mandolins 288
Spending the Right Amount 290
Discovering What Makes One Mandolin Better than Another 290
Barking up the right tree: Types of wood for mandolins 290
Polishing off the types of finish 291
Getting comfortable: Mandolin playability 291
Making it up: Types of mandolin manufacture 292
Aging well: New versus used mandolins 293
Locating Mandolins for Sale 293
Buying in bricks-and-mortar shops 293
Going online 294
Putting a Mandolin through Its Paces 295
Chapter 16: Building Your Accessories Kit 297
Gathering Together the Must-Haves 297
Picking extra picks 298
Clipping on an electronic tuner 298
Strapping on the mandolin 298
Protecting your mandolin 299
Stringing along your mandolin 300
Buying Extras That Improve Your Playing 301
Keeping steady with a metronome 301
Taking lessons from books, DVDs, and online courses 301
Leaning on a music stand 301
Recording made easy 302
Playing along with backing tracks 302
Slowing down the music 303
Using a webcam for online lessons 303
Bringing on the Bling 304
Attaching accessories to your mandolin 304
Making life easier in other ways 306
Chapter 17: All Change: Replacing Your Mandolin’s Strings 307
Preparing to Change Your Strings 307
Knowing when to change strings 308
Selecting the right strings 308
Removing the Old Strings 310
Re-stringing Your Mandolin 312
Chapter 18: Caring for and Repairing Your Mandolin 317
Maintaining Your Mandolin’s Health 317
Wiping down your mandolin 318
Controlling the climate 318
Getting a good case or bag 319
Keeping an instrument stand handy 319
Setting Up Your Mandolin Yourself: Only for the Brave 320
Adjusting the action 321
Tackling the truss-rod adjustment 322
Slotting the nut 323
Setting the bridge: Intonation 324
Turning to the Professionals 325
Dressing or replacing the frets 325
Repairing cracks 326
Part 5: The Part of Tens 327
Chapter 19: Ten (or So) Tips on Becoming a Good Mandolin Player 329
Listen to Mandolin Music 330
Get a Good Teacher 330
Keep Your Mandolin Nearby 330
Play Your Mandolin Every Day 331
Find People to Play Music With 331
Practice with a Metronome 332
Go to Mandolin Camps or Workshops 332
Practice Slowly Using Good Technique 332
Develop a Musical Ear 333
Acquire Some Music Theory 333
Record Yourself 334
Have Fun! 334
Chapter 20: Ten Mandolin Players You Need to Know 335
Bill Monroe (1911–1996) 335
Chris Thile (Born 1981) 336
Jethro Burns (1920–1989) 336
David Grisman (Born 1945) 337
Dave Apollon (1897–1972) 338
Jacob do Bandolim (1918–1969) 338
Yank Rachell (1910–1997) 338
Mike Marshall (Born 1957) 339
Caterina Lichtenberg (Born 1969) 340
Carlo Aonzo (Born 1967) 340
Chapter 21: Ten Ways of Tapping into the Mandolin Subculture 341
Attending Acoustic Music Concerts 341
Trying Out Mandolin Workshops 342
Visiting Mandolin Camps 342
Going to Acoustic Music Festivals 343
Checking Out a Jam Session or Orchestra 344
Joining the Online Mandolin Community 344
Finding Courses on the Internet 345
Joining a National Organization 346
Exploring Your Own Town 347
Spreading the News 347
Part 6: Appendixes 349
Appendix A: Chord Charts 351
Appendix B: Reading Standard Musical Notation 355
Meeting the Musical Staff 355
Starting at the beginning: Treble and bass clefs 356
Signing in with the key signature 356
Timing is everything: Time signatures 357
Getting the speed right: Tempo 357
Knowing the style 358
Following the Musical Directions 359
Noting the Musical Notes 361
Pitching in with high and low notes 361
Discovering note duration 362
Dotting and tying notes 363
Getting louder and quietening down: Dynamics 364
Articulating your playing 365
Appendix C: Audio Tracks 367
Discovering What’s on the Audio Tracks 367
Index 373
