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Thread: Annotated list of mandolin method books & songbooks

  1. #1
    small instrument, big fun Dan in NH's Avatar
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    Default Annotated list of mandolin method books & songbooks

    Mandolin Method Books

    Except where noted in the descriptions, all of these are available from Amazon.

    MANDOLIN PRIMER
    By Bert Casey. I don't own this book so I can't make a comment, but it comes up at the top of most Amazon searches.

    MANDOLIN FROM SCRATCH
    By Bruce Emory. If I could only have one mandolin method book, it would be this one. It is a brief but complete overview of mandolin technique, explained so that a beginner can understand it. Highly recommended.

    AMERICAN MANDOLIN METHOD VOL 1
    It teaches technique by introducing tunes that use that technique. A decent collection of tunes to build your repertoire. Along with Mandolin From Scratch this one is highly recommended.

    AMERICAN MANDOLIN METHOD VOL 2
    Builds on Vol 1.

    JACK TOTTLE BLUEGRASS MANDOLIN
    Another "teaches technique by teaching the tunes," this one is specifically bluegrass. Been around since the '70s. It assumes you can already play the mandolin at least a little. A decent collection of tunes for repertoire. This book gets a lot of love from mandolincafe.com members. Highly recommended.

    JACK TUTTLE MANDOLIN PRIMER
    Very similar last name to the author above, this guy is Molly Tuttle's father. Same idea, too - Teach bluegrass technique by teaching the tunes. A LOT of tunes. This is only available from the author's web site, either hard copy or a pdf.

    JACK TUTTLE COMPLETE MANDOLIN
    This book builds on his Mandolin Primer. Lots of Bill Monroe tunes. Some of them are NOT easy.

    COMPLETE MANDOLIN METHOD
    By Greg Horne. Three volumes available individually, or all-in-one. Teaches a lot of technique from the ground up, but doesn't contain a lot of tunes. My mandolin instructor uses this as his textbook. Recommended.

    MANDOLIN FOR DUMMIES
    Very complete, lots of different techniques & styles, but more of a reference book than a method book. Not many tunes at all. As a reference book, this is recommended.

    MANDOLIN EXERCISES FOR DUMMIES
    Not a beginner book, but by the time you are at the level where this book might be useful, most of the exercises will have already occurred to most players.

    THE COMPLETE MANDOLONIST VOL I
    This is another "teach technique by teaching the tunes." The two differences between these books and the others are that most of the tunes are classical, and they are all in standard notation only. Great if you can read music, less great otherwise.

    THE COMPLETE MANDOLONIST VOL II
    Builds on Vol 1.

    BICKFORD METHOD IN 4 VOLUMES
    Another book that is standard notation only. Mostly classical tunes because it was written before bluegrass was invented. In the public domain, the pdf is available for free on the Internet. Hard copies are available on Amazon, but all they are is prints of the Internet pdf. And while the method is in four volumes, only the first volume can be found. As far as I can tell vols 2-4 are lost to time.

    CHORD MELODY MANDOLIN
    This is a jazz chord melody book. I haven't really delved into it because I'm not that advanced, although I notice that many arrangements of songs in other method books contain elements of chord melody already.


    Mandolin Song Books

    FIRST 50 SONGS YOU SHOULD PLAY ON THE MANDOLIN
    Presents songs using rhythm notation. Most new players struggle with tab if they're never played before. Not a lot of new players are going to understand rhythm notation. Then they present a solo in tab. Worth it if you're looking to learn song solos, or if you can read rhythm notation.

    MANDOLIN SONGBOOK
    By Bradley Laird. I don't own this book so I can't make a comment, but it comes up at the top of most Amazon searches. Bradley Laird is a very well respected mandolin teacher, but this is a songbook not a method book.

    PARKING LOT PICKER'S SONGBOOK
    Arrangements for a couple of hundred old time, folk, gospel, and bluegrass standards.

    PARKING LOT PICKER'S SOLOS - MANDO
    Solos from about 35 mandolin tunes, with doubles of many so all together 40+.
    Eastman MD-514 (F body, Sitka & maple, oval hole)
    Klos Carbon Fiber (on order)

    And still saving my nickels & dimes & bottle caps & breakfast cereal box tops for my lifetime mandolin.

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  3. #2
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    Default Re: Annotated list of mandolin method books & songbooks

    Thank you for compiling this list. The later volumes of the Bickford method are around and available – this outfit, for instance, sells volume 2 for $10. And there are countless other older mandolin methods available through the Internet Archive, Google Books, and other sources.

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  5. #3
    Mando-Accumulator Jim Garber's Avatar
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    Default Re: Annotated list of mandolin method books & songbooks

    Quote Originally Posted by jelhai View Post
    Thank you for compiling this list. The later volumes of the Bickford method are around and available – this outfit, for instance, sells volume 2 for $10. And there are countless other older mandolin methods available through the Internet Archive, Google Books, and other sources.
    Yeah, Mike at Djangobooks ordered my volume 4 a few years ago so he could scan it and sell it. Prior to that I sold copies of the rare volumes (2-4) printed on quality paper and comb-bound. They are a very extensive method.

    Actually, there are a few old method books missing from the list. The first is the Ranieri Method still being published in two volumes though somewhat truncated from the orginal (I think) 4 volumes.

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    And another is the Pettine Method by Giuseppe Pettine who was a performer, teacher, and publisher of music in Rhode Island, US. His method is 6 parts (plus one for children). The last time I checked there were still copies avaiable through the Providence Mandolin Orchestra.
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    For other Method books check out Michael Reichenbach's in-depth site: https://www.mandoisland.de/eng_index.html
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  6. #4
    small instrument, big fun Dan in NH's Avatar
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    Default Re: Annotated list of mandolin method books & songbooks

    I also just ran across Complete Jethro Burns Mandolin. I’ll be getting that one soon.

  7. #5
    Mando-Accumulator Jim Garber's Avatar
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    Default Re: Annotated list of mandolin method books & songbooks

    Quote Originally Posted by Dan in NH View Post
    I also just ran across Complete Jethro Burns Mandolin. I’ll be getting that one soon.
    One of my favorites and I even spent a week with him back in the eighties in a group class at Augusta in WV. That book is not for the faint of heart. Those are not beginner tunes. Jethro was a virtuoso at both mandolin and telling great jokes and stories.
    Jim

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    Oval holes are cool David Lewis's Avatar
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    Default Re: Annotated list of mandolin method books & songbooks

    Eschliman - getting into jazz mandolin
    Mel bays mandolin roadmap
    Stiernberg, D - jazz mandolin appetisers
    Joe carr - several great books.
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  10. #7

    Default Re: Annotated list of mandolin method books & songbooks

    I just downloaded The Bickford Method. Have a special fondness for the older methods.
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    Registered User Simon DS's Avatar
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    Default Re: Annotated list of mandolin method books & songbooks

    ……. edited made new thread.

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    Default Re: Annotated list of mandolin method books & songbooks

    …. new thread with different title.

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