Play Like A Legend - Bill Monroe Tunes & Songs for Mandolin

[NewsFetcher]

The Mandolin Cafe has posted the following news release:
Play Like A Legend - Bill Monroe Tunes & Songs for Mandolin

Commemorating his 100th birthday in 2011, Mel Bay Publications announces the release of a new instruction manual on the unique mandolin style of bluegrass music innovator Bill Monroe. Play Like a Legend: Bill Monroe Tunes and Songs for the Mandolin.



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[Cabbagehead]

Gimme,Gimme,Gimme

[d18daddy]

This is just what I've been looking for. Joe Carr always makes things easy to understand.

[Marty Henrickson]

Adding to my wish list!

[RB250]

Someone who is at the intermediate level and buys this book, please put up a review on whether this is worth the money. I have both Collins Monroe Tab books and found them great except for no CD. Also Tottle's books of mando Tab sold by Gryhon in Palo Alto, CA is a great resource. Is this Carr book more for beginners or is it a good resource for intermediates to extend their Monroe playing? I like the CD coming with it as long as the tab / CD are not just simple "lead sheets".

Thanks, RB250

[Joe Carr]

Here is an excerpt from my new Monroe book that may help folks decide if it
is for them. Although it is advertised as a Beginning to Intermediate level book, rank beginners would have trouble jumping in as these are real transcriptions of Monroe's playing. The most valuable material in my opinion is the discussion and demo of "playable phrases" that allowed Monroe to play fast. Also his use of doubled notes worked to his advantage. Here is the excerpt:

How Does He Play So Fast?
Monroe was reportedly once asked this question. “I’m not fast, I’m quick” was his response. I have given this seemingly inscrutable response some thought since, although it was confusing to me, it apparently had meaning for him. After careful consideration, here are my thoughts: If fast means running a 100-yard dash and quick means catching a fly, Monroe may be saying that when he plays, producing each note is a short event done quickly like catching a fly. While others may look at the total 64 or so notes of the solo and try to play the entire series fast, Monroe may see the solo as a series of discreet events – each executed quickly. But how does all of this help a student play faster?
While there is no substitute for being innately talented or for having 60 plus years of experience, Monroe has several learnable techniques that allow him to play quickly. First (1), his right hand and wrist stay very relaxed even when playing at fast tempos. Watch internet videos of the master until you can readily “see” an image of his hand. Strive to emulate that relaxed position. Realize that your volume may be reduced when you first experiment with a loose wrist. Second (2), his tune arrangements are designed for speed. Look at the transcription of Turkey in the Straw. Note the repeated notes throughout the A section. AND note that this entire section is played with the powerful 1, 2 and 3 fingers. Practice the G arpeggio/scale shape produced by the notes in the A section until they are second nature and your fingers move effortlessly to the frets. The fingers almost form the familiar G “chop”, chord position as they hover over the fingerboard. By the time you have repeated this pattern 100,000 times, your hand will begin to recognize it as Monroe must have. See the notes for Katy Hill for a detailed explanation and practice examples.
Monroe, very likely, did not work out solos like this slowly. They were improvised at speed on stage. The patterns were so familiar that all the sounds were expected. There were no surprises in that G position. In your practice, strive for that familiarity. Third (3), there are a number of common fiddle tune phrases that are difficult to play well on the mandolin at fast tempos. Monroe invente alterations of these phrases to create similar but vastly more playable licks. Examples are shown in the tune notes as they appear. Fourth (4), his unique note doubling technique allowed him to keep the eighth note feel while slowing the speed of the left hand. Examples appear in the tunes.
Joe Carr

[Joe Carr]

To sum up, I personally avoided the Monroe style for many years partially because there was no book explaining the style. I tried to write the book I wanted. The process allowed me to discover several secrets that served Monroe well into his 80s! Many of his treatments of common licks slow left hand movement by as much as half. In one example I show in the book, Monroe takes a common 9 move fiddle phrase and re-states it in a 4 note move. This "slow hand" approach allowed him to play with incredible speed. While great modern players are able to play very notey phrases at interstellar speeds, many of us mere human mando players are left standing in the dust. Monroe's approach offers us all a chance to speed up with the appearance of playing all the notes. When I discovered this, I was amazed. It was there all the time! My appreciation for Monroe's genius grew as a result.

[almeriastrings]

Interesting. Looking forward to the e-book download version being available.

[RB250]

Joe Carr,

Thanks for the feedback. What I love about this website and the internet in general is (for instance) you can ask a question about a book and what happens..... the author answers your question as well as otheres in the know. Your example about speed from the book told me this is a book/CD to own on Monroe Style. I'll be ordering a copy. And FYI, Don Stiernberg told me some years ago in one of his Chicago area seminars to buy anything Joe Carr has out there. Thanks again for input "from the horses mouth".

RB250

[BradKlein]

+1 - It's a tribute to the high level of chat here at the Cafe, that authors and musicians feel welcome to engage directly, and I'm grateful for that. Looking forward to buying the book!

[tr6drvr]

After attending the Monroe style mandolin camp I must have this manual. I see Mel Bay site is offering a 20% discount and free shipping until the end of September.

[d18daddy]

I received a email today saying by order was delayed. Must be selling like hot cakes? It will be a tough wait for this book. Looking forward to it.

[Scott Tichenor]

I received a email today saying by order was delayed. Must be selling like hot cakes? It will be a tough wait for this book. Looking forward to it.

Elderly has posted this on their site and I assume they are who you are ordering from: on order, expected arrival date 09/26/11. Believe Mel Bay is shipping/delivering these already since they're the publisher.

[B. T. Walker]

This summer at Camp Bluegrass, Joe said that this was the book he was most proud of. He said he wanted it to be the Bible of Monroe-style playing, the definitive resource. If he had had any for sale at that time, he would have been wiped clean out.

[tr6drvr]

Elderly has posted this on their site and I assume they are who you are ordering from: on order, expected arrival date 09/26/11. Believe Mel Bay is shipping/delivering these already since they're the publisher.

Mel Bay sent me a note that it would be shipped in 2-4 weeks. Must be sellin' like hotcakes!

[Scott Tichenor]

Mel Bay sent me a note that it would be shipped in 2-4 weeks. Must be sellin' like hotcakes!

Wow, that's unfortunate.

[PsychoMando]

I met Joe Carr for the first time this summer at Camp Bluegrass. I learned a great deal and am regularly practicing from his book - "Rhythm Changes", which has helpful and practical insights I haven't seen in other resources. He told us about his forthcoming book on Monroe, and I have been regularly checking Mel Bay ever since. If this book is in keeping with his previous writings and what he described at Camp, this will be an important contribution to the bluegrass community and required reading for mandolinists who want to "play like the master."
Just Say'n

[Joe Carr]

Folks, although I'm totally out of the loop on this issue (I haven't seen a copy yet myself,) I'm embarrassed that this situation has developed. Hopefully, these problems are only going to be here at the first and things will work out soon. I hope you all think it is worth the wait.

Joe

[Kevin Stevens]

Joe, don't be embarrassed that the book is selling well. It will be worth the wait I am sure. I just ordered in from Mel Bay today and am looking forward to it, no matter when it gets here.

[d18daddy]

Yep, no worries Joe.

[swampstomper]

Joe, congratulations on this project. But I do have a doubt about your inference on why Monroe didn't play "all the notes" in fiddle tunes (that was also a criticism from Bobby Osborne, repeated I think in the Tottle book years ago). To my ear, Monroe *could* have played note-for-note if he wished, but he didn't want to -- he wanted a *mandolinistic* approach to a fiddle tune, *not* a fiddle approach. It just sounded better to him the way he played it, implying notes, keeping a strong mandolin rhythm rather than a stream of different notes. I really hear this in his "syncopated ladder" scales (downstroke on first note, then two notes beginning with the upstroke on the others). I believe he's hearing Uncle Pen's fiddling ("he had the finest double shuffle...") and cares to emulate that on the mandolin for the drive and power -- which is what characterizes Blue Grass music since Monroe Brother days.

[Joe Carr]

I agree with last comments. To quote myself from the book:

Many mandolin players before and after Monroe looked with good reason to the fiddle for inspiration with satisfactory if uninspiring results. Monroe, however, realized
that while the two instruments are tuned the same, many fiddle ideas simply do not translate well to the mandolin. The mandolin player uses a pick rather than a bow to produce notes. Players who view the mandolin as a “poor man’s” fiddle were apt to see the pick as a serious limitation. Monroe used the pick to create new powerful ideas that did work well on the mandolin and were not native to the fiddle. Indeed, if Monroe
had only followed the fiddle approach to mandolin playing, he likely would not have been notable as a mandolin player. By embracing the mandolin on its own terms and not simply as an extension of the fiddle, he was able to take advantage of many elements that make the mandolin unique

[biologyprof]

This isn't meant to be a review. Just to let you know that the book is making it to us consumers the USPS delivered my copy about 30 minutes ago. I placed my order with Mel Bay on the 21st by following the link above in the original post. I haven't had time to do more than a quick browse through the 80 pages, 16 of which contain some fine photos of Mr. Monroe mostly from the 60's and 70's. All but just a few of the tunes/songs give its recorded source along with the author's comments on points or techniques of interest such as "The descending line in measures 5-6 over the G chord makes good use of open strings to produce a lick playable at high speed." It looks like there's plenty to keep one busy in studying and learning Monroe's style. I haven't listened to the CD yet. I plan to do that right now then spend the rest of the day with the book and CD, the new Mini Headstock Tuner (also delivered today), and my new (used) Gibson A5G. Right now I'm a happy guy!

[Terry W. Harvey]

I downloaded the e-book yesterday morning. Since I spend more time playing mp3's through my macbook this is a perfect medium for me. I like having the pdf sheet music in front of me while practicing and if I need to I just print out the individual page. I was curious about this book and how accurate it would be since my Bill Monroe experience has been through taking lessons from Mike Compton and his presentations/interpretations of the Monroe style. Bottom line it's definitely worth the purchase and a great overview.

[Kevin Stevens]

I ordered the book on Saturday, just got the e-mail today that it would be 2-4 weeks from Mel Bay. Still deciding if the e-book is the way to go.