Mandolin for complete beginners "Bluegrass music" :)

[indie rock]

Mandolin for complete beginners " Bluegrass music"

People like me who have just started their wonderful Mandolin journey, there's so much to learn and practice, but no proper guidance. Basics of Bluegrass music or Bluegrass style of playing is what I am looking for.
How to go about it????

Practice exercises or techniques explained systematically in the basic format would be of great help.

Spread Knowledge spread Mandolin
Thanks

[Pete Martin]

You can start with my basic ergonomic videos here

http://www.petimarpress.com/mandolin...%20videos.html

[9lbShellhamer]

I highly recommend the Matt Flinner BG101 courses. He holds classes on Tues or Weds in an online classroom, and then a review session every Saturday. He provides PDF material for each course and they are all taped in case you miss one. It's a great format for learning...

Good Luck!

I really like the Greg Horne mandolin books too.

As for repertoire, the Steve Kaufman books are good, specifically the 4 hour BG workout.

The above ergonomic vid listed is a must see. It ALL starts with ergonomics.

Have fun!

[Trav'linmando]

Indie rock, I am a newbie at this also. As mentioned above the Greg Horne book is very good. I also recommend 'American Mandolin Method' by Wicklund and Winship. Less theory and more solid music.

[Tobin]

Basics of Bluegrass music or Bluegrass style of playing is what I am looking for.

This link is specific to jamming and the "rules" associated with it. But it's a good introduction to bluegrass music in general. It explains the role of each instrument, the way bluegrass music works (i.e. the structure of the songs and tunes), and how to find your place within a jam circle or bluegrass band for that matter.

An Introduction to Bluegrass Jamming

[indie rock]

Hi Trav'linmando
Thanks will check this out.

[indie rock]

Indie rock, I am a newbie at this also. As mentioned above the Greg Horne book is very good. I also recommend 'American Mandolin Method' by Wicklund and Winship. Less theory and more solid music.

I was looking for Greg Horne book on Amazon.in. I came across 4 books:-

1. Mandolin Complete Edition: Beginning, Intermediate, Mastering (Complete Method)by Greg Horne and Wayne Fugate

2. Beginning Mandolin: The Complete Mandolin Method by Greg Horne ( all I get is a dvd version of the book)

3. Beginning Mandolin by Greg Horne (just the book)

4. Intermediate Mandolin: The Complete Mandolin Method by Greg Horne

For a beginner like me, these books, with no demo DVD will it be of any use? I need to see how they pluck, fingering and all other things.

One more thing the book "Complete Edition: Beginning, Intermediate, Mastering" will it cover whatever is there in other 3 books??? or I should just go for a ''Beginning Mandolin'' book

Thanks

[jfrebel]

you should check out This website

http://www.mandolessons.com/

lots of free lessons complete with video and tabs.

[Roger Moss]

A good way to gain an understanding of bluegrass music is to immerse yourself in it. Listen to every bg song and read up on it's artists. Instruction too yes but also get used to hearing it. Train your ear to recognize it. That way you will be more ready to see what you need to do to reproduce it on your instrument.

[tangleweeds]

I was looking for Greg Horne book on Amazon.in. I came across 4 books:-

1. Mandolin Complete Edition: Beginning, Intermediate, Mastering (Complete Method)by Greg Horne and Wayne Fugate

This is the most economical edition, all three volumes in one. It comes with an MP3 CD, not the ordinary music kind. The individual volumes come with ordinary CDs.

For a beginner like me, these books, with no demo DVD will it be of any use? I need to see how they pluck, fingering and all other things.

I got the DVD as a separate item. It basically shows you how to hold, pick, strum, etc. It only covers the first few chapapters of the book.

[Denny Gies]

After learning a couple of chord positions and some basic scales you should listen to some music you like and try to duplicate it. You won't always succeed but you will learn. Early on stick to the melody to some three chord classics. Good luck and remember, have fun.

[darylcrisp]

highly recommend mandolessons.com
lots of info there for you to work on.

d

[Paul Hird]

All of the sites mentioned are great tools and I use several myself (everyday). I started playing roughly 2.5 years ago and found sites on my own and also had people recommend various sites since I started playing. The one thing I find most valuable for me, is a weekly lesson. I have been taking a weekly lesson since I began playing. There is a huge value in having someone there with you to answer questions and explain things, face to face and point out the many nuances of the instrument and ask various questions that are not as readily available to ask on a website. My instructor has also pointed out various ways to simplify learning the fret board maneuvers, enabling me to understand the fret board at a quicker pace. My go to site for the past year or so has been mandolessons.com as well. Hope this helps.

[Trav'linmando]

As noted by Tangleweeds above you will save $ with the complete package. I have only purchased Greg ' s beginning book with the cd. Lots of good 'how to ' info for us beginners. Written in a clear easy to understand style. Because of my work constraints , and being old school , I always purchase a physical book. Good luck and keep picking.

[indie rock]

Thanks Trav'linmando, That's what I was looking for, a book for complete beginners. I'll order it now.

[lukmanohnz]

Some great suggestions already. I'd add a couple other good resources that helped me tremendously when I started learning mandolin in the bluegrass style:
Complete Idiot's Guide to Bluegrass Mandolin by Dennis Caplinger covers a lot of ground and includes many tunes that are staples of the jam scene. It moves from beginner into intermediate territory.
Bluegrass Mandolin Jam Tunes is chock full of great arrangements and the play-along CDs include slow and mid-tempo versions of every song. The song selection includes tunes you'll hear in most jams. I got a lot of mileage out of this collection.
Banjo Ben is a good online resource. Most of the material is behind a pay wall, but his excellent arrangements and tutorial videos are worth the price of admission.