ISBN 9781619115453. 8.75 x 11.75 inches. If you've heard jazz guitarists like Joe Pass play chord melody, you may think that the style requires an encyclopedic knowledge of music theory, musical super-powers, or making a deal with the devil. But fear not! This book will show you how to create your own satisfying chord melody arrangements on the mandolin...and will do so in a practical, applicable, non stroke-inducing way. "Aaron Weinstein has many musical accomplishments. I am very proud to have played a small part with some of them. When he was only 12 he made his first recordings and asked me to play mandolin on them. I was knocked out to encounter someone that young that was conversant in both old-time or contest fiddling and Joe Venuti style jazz. Not long after that Aaron became interested in the mandolin and chords and he came by every so often to play and discuss voicings, improvisation and the like. I showed him some of the Jethro Burns chord melody arrangements that Jethro showed me. I've been teaching those for decades in hopes of one day playing them smoothly myself! Fast forward a few more years and Aaron has a Berklee degree, traveled the world playing hot violin music and is hobnobbing with the greatest NYC jazz stars. And oh yeah, one other thing: he took the art of chord-melody mandolin style to an entirely new level! The rich harmonies of the standard jazz and show tune repertoire, the swinging bass lines and connecting chords and independent voice movements (doing more than one thing at a time) are all present in Aaron's style, thanks to his great ear, open mind and gift at locating things on the fretboard. And now Aaron has documented, explained and shared his discoveries and approach with all of us in this book. Thank you Aaron! This is truly a step-by-step method that you will enjoy. You'll find yourself saying 'oh, of course!' as the author gets you playing and understanding things that sound very detailed and complex. The first section I would call the mandolinistic stuff: the how-to on getting things moving and connected on the fretboard. This part is laid out in a very logical manner with clear explanations and fun activities. After working through these etudes you will know the fretboard better and be a better mandolin playing musician regardless of what style of music is your favorite. As I looked this part over I recalled the parable about 'give someone a fish and he will have a meal. Teach him to fish and he'll eat the rest of his life..' The second part puts your new-found chops to work playing some great solo chord melody tunes Weinstein style. Again the author walks us gently into the material by providing two versions of each piece, the basic structure followed by a more developed version. In the history of mandolin playing there have been many examples of techniques, arrangements and music that might be thought of as 'chord-melody' style. Consider works by Raffaele Calace, or 'Duo' style from the early twentieth century American stylists and then again as modernized by Evan Marshall in the current era. Bach on the mandolin, as played by virtuosi such as Caterina Lichtenberg, Mike Marshall, Carlo Aonzo, Chris Thile and others also illustrates harmony and melody simultaneously. And of course Jethro Burns did so much in the way of bringing jazz and standards to life with chord-melody mandolin that it is often referred to as 'Jethro Style'. The book you have in your hand presents a unique and accessible route to these types of techniques and sounds. Bravo, Aaron! And thank you, my friend." Don Stiernberg.

ISBN 9781610658430. First Lessons Mandolin teaches the absolute basics of learning to play mandolin from holding the pick to performing easy mandolin tunes. It doesn't get any easier than this! Students learn how to hold the mandolin correctly, how to read mandolin tablature, basic note reading, the most popular mandolin chords, how to play easy melodies in several musical styles, basic picking technique, how to tune the mandolin, and much more. Along the way students will learn about the greatest mandolin players and their music. The main emphasis of First Lessons Mandolin is to get the student up and playing immediately and to have fun doing it! A companion online audio and video are available online. Online video 139:00 minutes. Includes access to online audio/video.

Take your blues playing to the next level with the MandolinBlues Book. A collection of 101blues riffs and solos ideal for all mandolinists looking to get a good grasp ofjamming the blues.

The book covers all the essential tools needed to playblues mandolin. Start by learning the 40stylistic riffs, then the 25 one and two bar blues riffs in multiple keys, andmove on to the longer 12 bar blues rhythm riffs and extended solos.

Most of the longer rhythm riffs and solos follow thestandard 12 bar blues form, so they are readily applicable to many genres,including country, rock, jazz, folk and bluegrass, to name a few.

To further deepen your mandolin skills, study themajor, minor, blues scales and arpeggios, as well as the library of mandolin chordsand blues chord progressions in all 12 keys.

No book covers everything, but with some practice, youwill be ready to take your mandolin, jam the blues with confidence, and showoff your new skills.

For free mandolin lessons, audio tracks and videos, pleasevisit my website:

http://www.brentrobitaille.com

or

Mandolin BluesBook - Kalymi Music (brentrobitaille.com)

ISBN 9781619118430.

Theory and Improvisation for the Modern Mandolinist is a two book series that teaches improvisation in many musical styles along with theory concepts and how they apply to the mandolin. Each book provides access to different backing tracks and solo examples to help you learn. Every chapter includes scales presented in a variety of common formats: standard notation, tablature and fretboard charts. Volume 2, Jazz and Beyond will expand your knowledge of theory by teaching you advanced chords, scales, and progressions. Sample solos and progressions are included at the end of each chapter to practice with the recordings. When finished with this book, you should feel confident improvising over any chord progression, and have a great understanding of jazz theory and how it applies to the mandolin. Includes access to online audio.

ISBN 9781619117785.

Theory and Improvisation for the Modern Mandolinist is a two book series that teaches improvisation in many musical styles along with theory concepts and how they apply to the mandolin. Each book provides access to different backing tracks and solo examples to help you learn. Every chapter includes scales presented in a variety of common formats: standard notation, tablature and fretboard charts.A Volume 1, Building a Foundation, only requires that the reader can play notes and simple chords. It presents basic skills necessary for improvising over chord progressions found in all types of music. Sample solos and progressions are included at the end of each chapter to practice. Whether you play bluegrass, rock, pop or jazz, this book will take your solos to the next level.A Includes access to online audio.

ISBN 9781609749989. You Can Teach Yourself Mandolin is written as a teach-yourself text with play-along examples and tunes on the companion recording. In the author's word, "It is aimed at helping you get started immediately on your way to mandolinhood by giving you the basics of the mandolin and mandolin playing." With this informal, often humorous text, Dix Bruce will guide you step-by-step through the basics of learning this versatile instrument. Learn all about accompanying yourself and others, common chords and useful strums, reading simple melodies, playing a colorful assortment of mandolin folk songs, and more. All musical examples and tunes are written in bothstandard notation and tablature. Diagrams of all the principal chords used on the mandolin are shown in the Chord Appendix, making this book a particularly useful study aid for the beginning mandolinist. Illustrated with drawings and photographs of vintage instruments. This book has accompanying audio and video.

ISBN 9781609742959. Most of the music in this book comes from editions or manuscripts from England in the late 1500ICOs. There are also a few French pieces. The cittern was popular in Italy, England and France. Aside from various tunings, there were two main kinds of instruments being played during the 16th and 17th centuries: the 4 course (four sets of doubled strings), and the 6 course cittern with several editions of music to go along with both. The pieces I have chosen for this book were all written for the 4 course instrument and fall into three main categories: dance music, song arrangements and free pieces. The free pieces are basically preludes that explore the melodic range of the instrument. As the title suggests these pieces can be played very freely and need not have a very strict tempo. The dance pieces are not really meant to be danced to, but rather take their form and rhythm from the popular court dances of the time. These can be played with a wide range of overall tempo, but once a tempo is chosen, should be strictly adhered to. The song arrangements are settings of popular songs of the time as well as more formal vocal settings. Care should be taken in making the melody clear and singing. Since the range of the cittern and mandolin are the same, John Holenko has kept the melodies intact. Because of the difference in tuning however, the voicing of the harmonies have been changed so as to fit on the mandolin.