ISBN 9781619113251. This book explores Celtic styles for the mandolin. It is a great addition for musicians looking to begin learning Celtic music or expand their repertoire. Traditional Irish and Scottish music as well as contemporary Celtic compositions are presented. The book includes standard notation and tablature, with play-along tracks in the accompanying audio download online.

ISBN 9781619112728. Italian Folk Music for Mandolin is an enjoyable collection of pieces from various parts of northern, central and southern Italy. This anthology includes complete texts and translations of the songs with accurate accompanying arrangements for two mandolins, or violin and guitar. The selections include medieval and Renaissance instrumental folk dances, sixteenth-century Neapolitan Villanelle, work songs, lullabies, narrative ballads, prisoner songs, and popular dances including tarantellas, pizzica, Sardinian ballo tondo, quadrille, waltz and saltarello. The book includes an accompanying online audio of all the pieces presented.

ISBN 9781610659406. By Carlo Aonzo, with Clara Ponzoni and Giorgio Borsani. Ticino is a small area at the southernmost tip of Switzerland on the border with Italy. The Ticino region was actually part of Italy until a few centuries ago. The mandolin arrived in Ticino through immigrants and their music, and put down important cultural roots there. The mandolin style in Ticino is a link to the old Italian folk music tradition, which has been largely lost in Italy and throughout other parts of the world. This book is a collection of some of the most famous pieces from this vast historical repertoire. The collection includes lots of popular folk songs, virtuosic pieces by original mandolin composers, as well as an original Aonzo composition. The book is presented in English and in Italian while the music is in standard notation and mandolin tablature. Audio available for download online.

ISBN 9781610652674. Steve Kaufman takes his favorite American fiddle tunes for the mandolin and puts them alphabetically in four volumes. Steve plays the mandolin exactly as it is written so the student can hear the melody and dynamics just as he would play it. Accompanying the large set of books is online audio with guitar rhythm accompaniment included. Build your repertoire, right and left hand skills and have fun playing at jam sessions with your friends. This 4 volume set written specifically for the mandolin also has a sister series for guitar. Includes access to online audio.

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.

ISBN 9781619113435. This book is designed for mandolinists seeking to develop their left and right-hand technique. The exercises included help reinforce fundamental actions of playing, and challenge the player to master the various permutations and combinations of these fundamentals. Each hand is given primary focus, working across all four strings or up and down the fretboard before both hands are challenged simultaneously. Through these exercises, a player can improve their functioning abilities and facilitate better control over the instrument. Practicing these workouts can help with the mechanics of playing as well, helping a player improve accuracy, speed, and agility in both hands.