Product Description
A collection of over 225 great Bluegrass, Old Time, Country and Gospel standards; Melodies are presented with standard notation and Tablature, together with lyrics and chords. Learn to play songs written and recorded by the giants of traditional American music: Bill Monroe, The Stanley Brothers, Flatt & Scruggs, Ralph Stanley, The Osborne Brothers, Jimmy Martin, Doc Watson and many others. Also: "Step-by-step instructions on how to transpose and song to any key! Both CDs contain recordings of all the songs in this book.
Product Features
Great reference book for Mandolin, especially for beginners. Tabs get you going quickly. It covers the structure of the song, the “bones” of it. As you get better on the instrument, you can embellish as desired. I’m having great fun with it, wondering if the guitar version is the same set of songs or a different set.
The tireless labor Dix Bruce put into this book shines through every aspect of this work. The breadth and scope is bested only by the sheer utility of this impressive tome.
The included audio CD is more than just a sales angle. Unlike most music books with a boring, poorly-produced audio portion, this music is a joy to listen to. The value of having an audio for all these old tunes collected in one place is worth hundreds of dollars alone. (200 hundred songs on “i Tunes”?)
I use this book for teaching, playing, jamming, practicing and learning new material. If you only had one book on any related subject (mandolin, bluegrass, songbooks) it should be this one. I use it for guitar, mandolin, fiddle, banjo and voice.
Never mind the complaint on double stops that another reviewer made. It is up to the musician to arrange these songs. Anything about technique and arrangement is beyond the scope of a fake book, which is what this is. Get a book on mandolin technique if that is what you want to know.
As to that end, this is not a “first” book for aspiring musicians. However, I would easily call it a second book. You’ll be pleased to find the lyrics and an audio of all the songs you will have learned in your method book. And if you could only have one book, get this one and find someone to teach you how to use it to play your selected instrument.
You’ll be glad you did.
This book has a great collection of songs. But this is too simple. I've been playing Mandolin less than a month and I am out of most songs. I wanted a book with great songs, which was slightly more challenging to encourage me to keep playing. This book is just too darn easy. Many tracks are just a few between the C, G and D strings. I must find a way to make this the more challenging. Make sure the "look inside" for a few more songs, or to check whether this is an appropriate level for you. Do not forget that a week does the book may also be beyond him.
This is a very good book for learning to play the mandolin. It is easy to read and a great selection of old Bluegrass and gospel songs. I can also use the book to learn the rhythm chords on my guitar. Also, the type is large, so you can easily see the tabs and words.
This is really a great book for beginners like me. It has a large number of works which are well-known standards. There are companion recordings of each song. Lyrics, music, and the card are printed. Also noted are common alternate keys and any recommendations for songs by artists who have recorded versions of good songs. This is an excellent book for beginners and I recommend it highly. The findings are not chock full of notes, which allows too much space. This makes them easy to learn for beginners and is a good starting point for learning how to improvise on the songs.