Mandolin For Dummies

I have played bass and guitar for 20 years. At some point early in my playing I bought a mandolin. I never really learned how to play. I recently got it out of storage and decided to actually learn. After 20 years I now know something of music theory that I didn't in the beginning, but I still wanted some mandolin basics, chords, scales, techniques, etc so I would be learning proper and not just adapting guitar/bass technique to the mandolin .... it is NOT the same instrument, much in the same way that a guitar isn't automatically a great bassist. After hunting through amazon and some local music store I decided to go with this book as I've had Dummy books for astrology, language, etc and always been happy. Yet again, happy. If you know nothing about music this book is NOT scary. This book will give you the basics. It will also go far beyond and some things will be a bit overwhelming. I mean, you cannot go from learning how to strum to playing Irish jigs in a couple months, or most of us can't. But, when you are ready for the jig .... no need to buy another book. This book is easy to read, describes things well, is technical but written for "dummies" and I've learned a few things to help my bass playing. If you know something about music (like me), this book has parts you will skip, but if you want all the chords, different styles (including Dawg), some music theory to create context, then this is also a great book. It's that perfect middle ground as it's not too complicated and not to basic. If you want pages of sheet music and practice examples ... that's what this book is not. Its not lots of playing and lots of sheet music. If you want to dig into that you'll need another book.

This is the best mandolin book ever written. It starts right at the beginning and moves forwards to other styles, influences from other countries and players. It gives us tunes, chords, rhythms, different techniques, some theory about different modes all written in a step by step logical way, that is interesting and sometimes funny and, unlike some music books very easy to read. It talks about purchasing and caring for your instrument. The thing I really like is the tracks that are built into the book for kindle users. They are so valuable for practice and you can listen to them while you read. I love my mandolin with a passion and found it so easy to play. This book has given me the materials to advance what I am doing. Don I know you will read this so I want to ask you for more. I've got your exercise book but really would like some songs to sing to, perhaps from popular artist with some of their history. All with built in kindle tracks. I'll keep my eye open for that. Let me know when you have written it. Fiona@centurylink.net. Also Don Thank you. Now I'm off to practice. Fiona

After I had been playing mandolin for a little over a year, I had bought a number of mandolin "how to" texts. I was looking for something beyond the basic beginner level to push me to that next step, but that was not too difficult. At the same time, I had been watching mandolin Youtube videos, and had discovered several videos by a guy named Don Julin. I liked Don's online lessons so much that I contacted him directly to buy his introductory mandolin primer, and wrote him an email suggesting I thought it would be great if he were to write a follow-up book at an intermediate level. This book appeared a few months later, and it is the book I was looking for. In my opinion, Mandolin for Dummies simply is the best overall instruction book for mandolin available today. It goes beyond the beginner level to provide a general introduction to numerous styles of mandolin playing. I love that it is not just one more bluegrass book, but introduces the player to ragtime, jazz, Irish, Brazilian, and Dawg music as well. Chapter 7 on playing "Jethro Burns"-style 3 finger chords takes the mystery (and the misery) out of learning a gazillion different chord shapes. There is also great material on rhythm, theory, scales, right hand techniques like tremolo, advice on mandolin purchase and care, etc. This is just a great book at a great price. At almost 400 pages, I have been working through it for several months now, and have still not made it to the end. Two bits of practical advice: If you're a complete novice to the mandolin, you might want to start with a very basic primer first. If you can get hold of it, I think that Don Julin's Mandolin Method Book 1 would be a great book to work through before beginning this book. This no longer seems available on Don's website, so perhaps he no longer sells it, but there are others. Like all Dummies books, this book has a perfect binding, which is not ideal for reading and playing simultaneously. I used a blow dryer on the spine to melt the glue, removed the cover, used a 3 hole punch on the pages, and put the text in a 3 ring binder. The results are not pretty, but make for easier playing. Thank you, Don Julin. I await eagerly your next book -- something along the lines of Mandolin Old Time, Ragtime, and Jazz Improvization would be great!

I have to agree with StevieK on the book size. I have some other For Dummies books, most have larger type and clearer pictures for the page size. The paper is also darker, like it was printed on recycled newspaper stock. This might do alright if you're young and have good vision, but when (like me) you're in your mid-50's and find it a struggle even with good light and glasses, it's a bit off-putting. That said, the contents are awfully good, and there's a lot to learn and listen to in the book and downloadable sound files. Nothing worth criticizing about the read, and it's full of good instruction and advice. Just wish two things: larger type on whiter paper, and that a CD had been included. Would give 5 stars purely for the content, but I have to take away a half star each for the two quibbles. Sorry Don, you wrote a great book, but trying to read it is maker me blinder than I already am.

I have not normally been a fan of the ".. Dummies" series (I have generally found them to be verbose but not containing a lot of information), but I love this book. I first got turned onto it after watching some of the author's instructional videos on YouTube. I've been playing the mandolin for about 9 months now and have limited musical background. There is a lot of material in this book, but it is presented in pieces small enough that you can absorb. Sections will contain some instructional material along with exercises and demo audio tracks. There are also lots of reference to other resources where you can learn more about a given topic. Perhaps one of the best thing about the book is how it covers a wide variety of musical genres and how they apply to the mandolin. From my experience I have found that the old time fiddle tunes are easiest to learn and the book discusses those as well as how you can expand on the basic tunes to play bluegrass style. Once you get more comfortable with improvising on tones and rhythms you will perhaps be ready to experiment with jazz or blues. It seems that I could spend years improving my playing with the book and going through all the styles and techniques that are covered, so it's well worth the $18 I spent.

Julin is witty and gives very clear, concise instructions. This was a great book for both honing my (meager) skills and for helping me teach my husband the basics. My only problem was that I purchased the kindle version (enhanced edition) that I thought was supposed to have the tracks embedded in it, but I had to download them. The instructions on how to do this were very clear and noted in the table of contents, so it was really not a problem. I'm not sure if that was an Amazon boo-boo or simply my misconception, or what, but it was easily remedied, and only slowed me down a little bit, as I live in the boonies and have horrible internet service, so I had to go to town hunting for free WiFi to download the tracks. (So I was forced to go drink coffee and eat scones! NOT A PROBLEM after all!)

This volume does not have a CD with it, so if that's important to you don't buy this edition. This book is okay, but I think Violin for Dummies is better. It's enough to get you started on mandolin, but some of the explanations are not written well for someone who is just starting to learn music. There is a nice variety of topics and good advice on buying instruments, as well as maintenance instruction that is very helpful.

The provided internet link to the 91 audio tracks is great. I have just picked up the mandolin in past 3 or 4 weeks after playing guitar for years. Track 69 is a full demo of the chords and melody for "O Sole Mio" Italian Love Song and Track 70 is "Come Back to Sorrento" which gets you thinking of a fine Italian restaurant. Best part I could play all the mandolin chords and melody lines after about 2 hrs of practicing along with the tracks! I also really liked the full tab and chords for "Wayfarin' Stranger" on Track 40. I struggled for 3 weeks to try to figure out this tune by watching Youtube lessons but could not capture the nice double stops used. My wife even said I sounded pretty good on that mandolin. Thanks for very useful instruction book. Highly recommended. Ed C in Fort Worth, TX

Don't get fooled by the Dummies title. Though this book starts from what mandolin is, it goes to some very advanced topics! Make sure you buy the paperback version and not the electronic version. Download the sample tracks from Dummies website and transfer them to your smart phone. Part III of this book is most important (assuming you know bit of mandolin basics already - if not part II covers that too). This book contains enough stuff to keep you busy for couple of years I would say. Don't try to read this whole book in one sitting, proceed slowly, understand, listen and practice. Use it as reference book, often you need to refer back to previous chapters. This book covers classical, bluegrass, jazz and many more styles and techniques. If you buy one one book on mandolin, let this be that one. I often searched for mandolin answers on internet but later discovered the answer myself inside this book! I bought many books on mandolin and none is as this good and comprehensive.

After purchasing a mandolin and awaiting its arrival I bought Mandolin for Dummies and its companion Mandolin Exercises for Dummies. The book starts at the beginning walking the reader through the parts of the instrument, setting up and tuning the mandolin, and finally discussing the proper posture when playing seated or standing as well as an overview of the types of shoulder straps available. The fun comes quickly in the next four chapters which in my opinion is the meat and potatoes of the book. The author delves into various musical styles whetting the appetite of anyone seriously thinking about picking up this instrument. Within the first few pages of Chapter 4 you'll be playing 5 basic chords. Soon thereafter you're playing songs although practise is the only way to achieve the full richness of the mandolin. Throughout the book tab notation and standard musical notation are presented; if you are new to music theory take the time to learn to read standard notation which you can pick up in this book.

Bom. Fácil de entender e bem objetivo. Cumpre o que divulga. Agora vou poder progredir nos estudos mesmo sem professor.

Nach mehreren Jahrzehnten Gitarre wollte ich es mal mit der Mandoline versuchen. Akustische Saiteninstrumente liegen im Trend, Mandoline ist ein schönes Instrument, fein. Umso toller, dass es nun auch endlich ein wirklich gutes Lehrbuch für Mandoline gibt, das sich ganz genau an Hobbymusiker wie mich zu wenden scheint. Also an Leute, die vielleicht schon mal musiziert haben oder es noch tun, aber es auch mal mit einer Mando versuchen wollen. Der Autor, Don Julin, ist sicherlich vielen Mandolineninteressierten schon durch seine guten Mando-Lehrvideos auf YouTube bekannt. Wenn nicht - einfach mal suchen, es lohnt sich. Ähnlich sympathisch und gut verständlich wie seine Videos ist dieses Buch aufgebaut. Es beginnt mit extrem einfachen Sachen und widmet sich dann in etlichen Kapiteln bestimmten Aspekten des Mandolinenspielens. Die Musikbeispiele sind allesamt in Noten und in Tabs angegeben, dazu gehörige Soundfiles können über einen im Buch angegebenen Link heruntergeladen werden. Mir gefällt besonders, dass es keine "schrittweise Einführung in das Mandolinenspiel" ist, sondern eher eine Art musikalisches Lesebuch. Hat man erst mal die ersten paar Seiten durch, ist es nicht nötig (und vom Autor auch nicht gewollt), kapitelweise das Buch durchzuackern. Stattdessen schlägt man ein Thema auf, das einen gerade interessiert, und arbeitet dann zwei oder drei Seiten des Buches durch, lernt vielleicht auch dann und wann mal eines der vorgestellten Lieder. Stets macht es Spaß, es kommt kein Lernfrust auf. Zudem beschränkt das Buch sich nicht auf reines Lernen, man erfährt auch wichtige Dinge über die Mandoline, über Musikrichtungen und wichtige Musiker. Sinnvolle und gute Kauftipps finden sich, Hinweise auf diverse Online-Communities, es wird erklärt, wie man seine Mando einstellt, und und und. Stilistische Themen sind zB Bluegrass, Blues, Ragtime, Irish Folk, Jazz, Old Time Music u.m. Kurzum: "Mandolin for Dummies" von Don Julin ist der perfekte Einstieg in die Welt der Mandoline, stressfrei, locker und mit viel Spaß. Bereits jetzt dürfte "Mandolin for Dummies" DAS Standardbuch für Mandolineninteressenten sein. Unbedingte Kaufempfehlung, ohne jede Einschränkung!

it's an interesting book and i 'm going to make a good use of it! I have been playing th mando for over two years and it's likely that i'm going to need other publications and i will get more in touch with mandolin groups. By the way I am the husband of the lady who made the order and my e@mail is :hannjcq@gmail.com.