(Part 2) Best books about musical string instruments according to redditors
We found 426 Reddit comments discussing the best books about musical string instruments. We ranked the 241 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the products ranked 21-40. You can also go back to the previous section.
Love this arrangement! It’s included in his duets for one book just FYI.
I'll also second the Suzuki books - while the pieces are short, they are still good for getting the basics down, and you'll get through them more quickly than a child would. It's helpful to practice tunes that you're already familiar with. I also recommend the String Builder books - the short exercises promote repetition and muscle-memory learning and help to get the basics firmly entrenched.
I took a free ukulele class at the local Guitar Center that they have once a month. It was just me and one other guy. In just an hour, the teacher had tuning the ukulele, playing a few simple songs, understanding how to read ukulele music from a page, and pointing us to tons of other resources for learning. If you can find anything like that, it'll save you a ton of time. The teacher answered a hundred questions and helped me pick an instrument to buy. I also bought a clip-on Snark tuner which essentially do what many ukulele phone apps also do. I bought a few beginner books, including this Hal Leonard Ukulele Method Book 1, which was helpful, and a 4-chord songbook to practice with.
Don't miss the "Related Links" at the right side of this page.
A few pieces of advice.
Octave double stops like this are among the more difficult to master. My advice is to pick one line and make it sound good in first position. Play the other. Start mapping out the positions you're going to need for this piece and playing all the bottom notes as first finger moving from position to position, super in tune.
I would practice Sevcik Preparatory Exercises in Double Stopping op 9 or Trott double stops has a bit more melody, less octaves though. Scales with double stops are always great, though they can be tough, motivation wise.
One by Metallica
These are all great suggestions. These were all some of the songs I learned to play guitar to as well. May I suggest these songs as well;
"Sitting On Top Of The World", "Whiskey Before Breakfast", "High on the Mountain", "Old Home Place", "Whitehouse Blues", "Me and My Uncle". Or better yet, just buy the Bluegrass Fakebook. (http://www.amazon.com/Bluegrass-Fakebook-Favorites-Gospel-Mandolin/dp/1893907376)
If you can read music then this is a great start. It starts off pretty easy but quickly challenges you in sight reading. Other than that there are plenty fiddle tune fake books around.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0871667630
Fake book suggestion-
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0825602394/ref=mw_dp_img?is=l
I'm just a hobbist. Having said that, you could look into this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Basics-Simon-Fischer/dp/1901507009
Fisher breaks down violin playing into the smallest technical components and gives you methods how to improve. It's a bit overwhelming, especially when you're on your own, but it has helped me a lot. I do some exercises as warm up, then focus on some areas where I feel I'm lacking.
I posted this recommendation quite recently, but this book (includes tab) by the late John King is fantastic when it comes to classical ukulele. Here's a video of John performing one of the arrangements (the Prelude from Bach's cello suite no. 1), it sounds incredible.
One of Julie Lieberman's books has a good discusion of RH technique used by jazz, bluegrass and folk fiddlers, I think it's this one: https://www.amazon.com/Improvising-Violin-Julie-Lyonn-Lieberman/dp/1879730103. It's been a while since i read it but I think she notes that a lot of folk fiddlers are playing just the middle of the bow, one stroke per note, and you see all kinds of up the bow holds and low speed/high pressure technique.
Yup! Here's an Amazon link for you: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1491041900/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1376338926&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX110_SY190
Sorry if formatting is bad, I'm on my phone
You’ll get good advice from others- probably lift your elbow round etc etc.
But, this book is excellent- https://www.amazon.com/Bach-Cello-Suite-Study-Book/dp/1635230187
and, look into low tension strings. Holy shit I wish someone had told me that at uni. Life saver for people with little fingers.
And finally, think about the melodic contour/timbre you want; should it be a brighter sound, so A string, or do you need a mellow warmer D string tone? Are you breaking up the phrasing by changing strings or shifting?
Edit: nycellist to the rescue (that happens often on this sub!)- perhaps low gauge strings rather than low tension. I love my low tension strings but it might actually be the gauge rather than the tension that makes the playing easier.
Indeed
If you can find a used copy of Dave Peters Masters of Mandolin, I'd recommend getting it. It has a ton of breaks tabbed out from several genres (from Grisman and Burns to Monroe and Lawson). I'd also recommend the Mandolin Picker's Fakebook. It has 250 fiddle tunes ranging from well known to obscure.
I really liked 21 Songs in 6 Days as a starter book. It builds up from the most basic chords, uses familiar children's songs and folk songs, and has a companion website with videos. It's pretty cheap to boot.
In my opinion, it's better to spend your money on music rather than books.
There are some banjo books that are important. I used to own these. I really should build my library back up. Currently I only have the "Hot Licks," "Banjo Styles by Bela Fleck" and "Masters of the Five String" as I've leant out the other ones and never got them back.
Earl Scruggs and the 5-string banjo has already been mentioned. I would recommend trying to find an older version, simply because I'm a nerd.
Masters of the Five String Banjo. A very cool, very informative piece on bluegrass banjo players, their set-up, and some tablature. Obviously dated, but an incredibly insightful book.
Melodic Banjo: by Tony Trishka. Again, I like the older cover
Hot Licks for Bluegrass Banjo, another book by Tony Trishka, is pretty good.
Banjo Picking Styles: Bela Fleck is also a pretty interesting book. And not just for the 80s shirt that Bela is wearing on the front.
If you're looking for specific bluegrass songbooks.
Bluegrass Songbook, by Pete Wernick. Seriously, this is a great book.
Bluegrass Fakebook. This covers most of the standards.
And though you didn't ask, here are some other books that may be of interest to bluegrass/banjo nerds:
Bluegrass: A History Neil Rosenberg's very thorough history of Bluegrass music
Spann's Guide to Gibson 1902-1941. If you're interested in prewar Gibson banjo, this is an incredible resource.
Gibson Mastertone: Flathead Five-string Banjos of the 1930s and 40s. For the prewar nuts.
Can't You Hear Me Calling: The Life of Bill Monroe Father of Bluegrass Music. An interested read.
What I Know 'Bout What I Know: The Musical Life of An Itinerant Banjo Player. This is an autobiography of Butch Robins. It's... interesting.
In addition to the Suzuki repertoire, I had these books when I first started:
String Builder, Intro to the Positions, and Practical Methods all have several books in the series, and I went through quite a few of them. If I recall correctly, they're filled with fairly simple etudes that aid in building fundamental techniques. I wonder if a teacher would recommend other progression books for adults, however?
You could also use that extra time to practice one octave scales for intonation, finger positioning, and bow variations (whole notes, quarter, eighths, then different slurs such as 2 notes in one bow, 4 notes, 6...). Not only do scales help in solidifying fundamentals, but just knowing how to play/identify different scales, as well as it's minor, harmonic, and melodic counterparts goes a long way when playing more complex music.
I learned starting at age 5 without the Suzuki method, though my teacher did use some of the Suzuki books for repertoire. I believe the books she used were "String Builder."
It's historically accurate if you're talking about the late nineteenth-century German way of analyzing it, associated with Hugo Riemann.
Incidentally, if you're interested in the Neapolitan sixth, I highly recommend Max Reger's modulation manual (which you can get in translation as a cheap Dover reprint). Reger loved this construct (it appears constantly in his music), and the book is basically a bunch of examples showing its use -- in particular, how it can quickly get you to very remote keys (as Reger is of course well known for doing).
In it, he analyzes it more or less exactly as you say (minor subdominant with "unresolved suspension" of the minor sixth), and attributes the analysis to Riemann (with whom he had studied).
For books, I have this Ukulele Chord Melody Solos
book that you might be interested in. The first few songs are pretty easy, and then there are some trickier ones near the end. It has some explanatory text in there too that walks you through each arrangement and gives you tips for writing your own arrangements of songs someday. But there are lots of excellent online resources too of course that people can point you to.
Here is the desktop version of your link
https://www.amazon.com/Bach-Cello-Suite-Study-Book/dp/1635230187
Both paperback and kindle formats available.
Grab
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bach-Cello-Suites-Mandolin-Unaccompanied/dp/1494347377/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1522833361&sr=8-3&keywords=bach+mandolin
and maybe this would be good too
https://www.elderly.com/two-book-set-the-raffaele-calace-method-for-mandolin-volumes-i-ii-english-edition.htm
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0634079794/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
What Every Violinist Needs To Know About the Body
After you have been playing a while, Simon Fischer's Basics is a keeper.
Get a ukulele method book to learn to read music.
http://www.amazon.com/Hal-Leonard-Ukulele-Method-Book/dp/B000RQA1EW/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1459110437&sr=1-8&keywords=ukulele+method
http://www.amazon.com/Hal-Leonard-Ukulele-Method-Book/dp/0634079867
I liked this book to help teach me to the picking notes on the ukulele, if you are interested.
"In the Pines" arranged by Alistair Wood is my favorite picking/strumming combo song:
tabs here. It was covered by Nirvana, though it's an old folk song.
If you really enjoy picking and don't mind not singing, my favorite picking "licks" are in this Barry Sholder book. Every one from that book I've enjoyed.
all the standards of most styles can be found in this book
TL;DR use parentheses to mark off harder sections. (This is a bit long... Took me all of 5 mins you know?)
7/8 and 31/32 are definitely one of the hardest ones, tied with 18, 28, and 43 for me. What my teacher helped me with is marking the toughest sections and only practicing those for about 2 weeks. Now, she made me do torturous exercises which I will not mention here, but all in all, RHYTHM practice is key (LONG-short, LONG-short/short-LONG, short-LONG, etc). This rewired my brain to think in smaller sections and more patterns. I would listen to more recordings (Menuhin, Kreisler himself, Perlman, Elman) and maybe that will solve your problem with pulse and rhythm.
The shifting really is a tough thing to "handel" (so punny) in the latter half. Which measure numbers are you exactly having trouble with? I can certainly help! I find that the rhythm exercises that I mentioned before help me, but definitely find other methods if it doesn't work for you. Measure 43 took me about 2 days to finally get all the positions of my finger down, and measure 28 took me about 3 days. Get this book. Since you say that you can shift (just not well), this should help you in conquering the second half.
Sorry there wasn't much that I could offer, except an Amazon link... Wish you all the best in SICILAYING this piece :D
=https://www.amazon.com/Introducing-Positions-Violin-Seventh-Educational/dp/1423444884
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amazon.co.jp
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The Hal Leonard book is pretty good.
It looks like a used copy is less than $2.
Thanks! For anybody else on computer, here is your link: http://www.amazon.com/Changes-Position-Cello-Op-8/dp/1491041900/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1376339135&sr=8-2-fkmr0&keywords=Amazon.comChanges+of+Position+for+Cello%3A+Op.+8+%28Paperback%29
I bought this book, it has a cd you can play along with.
J. S. Bach The Cello Suites for Mandolin: the complete Suites for Unaccompanied Cello transposed and transcribed for mandolin in staff notation and tablature https://www.amazon.com/dp/1494347377/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_1yzwDbAEGHEP2
Just glancing at the piece, it looks like you should start in third or fourth position. I personally would start in fourth, so that high E can be played without an extension.
I would highly suggest getting the two Whistler positions books, which will help you get your fingers placed properly in the positions, and help you shift to them properly as well.
Book 1.
Book 2.
It's absolutely possible, and a lot of fun. You'll find it hard to get up to 'session tempo' on jigs and reels, and you'll never get quite the same feeling as a tenor banjo, but if you're playing on your own, that hardly matters.
Here are some books of Celtic music for fingerstyle and clawhammer 5-string banjo playing.
Some people seem to think it's virtually impossible to play Irish tunes on a five string. I don't find it so, and I'd say I know as many Irish tunes as I do bluegrass tunes.
Scruggs style rolls won't work with Irish tunes so you have to develop a more melodic style, and some techniques that you wouldn't see in Scruggs style playing ( learning to play upstrokes with your thumb for example).
Tom Hanaway has a book on Celtic tunes for the five string that's available on Amazon. I'm on mobile now, but I'll link it later.
Edit: Complete Book of Irish & Celtic 5-String Banjo
Also, his name is Hanway, not Hanaway, and he's got a couple other books of Irish/Celtic tunes now.
https://www.amazon.com/Modulation-Dover-Books-Music-Reger/dp/048645732X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498497160&sr=8-1&keywords=reger+modulation
By Celtic, do you mean Celtic folk music in general (which is really broad, kind of like saying American music when you actually mean Country or something), or do you mean a specific fiddle style that incorporates Celtic folk music? Anything that originated among people with Celtic ancestry is considered Celtic, but Irish, Scottish, English, and Welsh styles are actually distinct from each other, and there are regional styles that can fall under one of those headings. So is this just a Celtic festival, or is it specifically, for example, an Irish festival?
If it's possible between now and then, you should take lessons with someone who plays in the relevant style, or maybe find a local session (I would think one would be available if your town has a festival, but maybe not).
In general, this book can be helpful with the concept of improvising for someone who came from a classical tradition, but it isn't style-specific. Also, it's weird that the print version costs less than the ebook. I don't own the book. They have it my local library, and after I had it for about a month, I was done with it and felt no need to purchase it. It's not really something you are going to need to consult multiple times, so if your library happens to have it, I recommend getting it there, instead.
https://www.amazon.com/Improvising-Violin-Julie-Lyonn-Lieberman/dp/1879730103/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1496711311&sr=1-1&keywords=improvising+violin
Also, was this real Suzuki, as in you started as a child and had a parent who was involved in the process, or did you really go through the books when you were older? The books aren't the method, and it's relevant here, because the training in the real Suzuki method is different than if you just use the Suzuki books as a source of graded music. There are strengths and weaknesses with both approaches that are going to affect how you process music, and knowing how you were trained can help better advise you about how to approach the general concept of improvising.
I don't know that there's an easy way to transition from guitar to violin. It doesn't seem like there are a whole lot of commonalities between the two. Also I think it's easy to assume that "learning violin" means you want to become the next Heifetz or Perlman. But maybe it's safer to ask what you want to do with the violin? Any style you're interested in?
If it's bluegrass or folk, you might have to deal with a lot of doublestops (sort of like "chords" on a violin) and fast runs. Because of the hand position and lack of frets, doublestops are going to be weird to play at first.
If it's jazz (yes violin jazz exists), you'd probably learn best by just listening to lots of violin jazz.
If it's indeed classical, you just need to get a teacher from day 1. There are a lot of minute details in violin playing that are ostensibly meaningless initially but later essential to great playing.
In the meantime, you may want to invest in a scales book. One of the more famous ones is by Hrimaly. Don't cheat with the book by playing all the notes on one string. By crossing the strings, you'll get a better grasp of note relationships (kind of like what you would do in guitar). If you want to venture into doublestops you can start learning with this book.
If you're not going to get a teacher, I guess just watch videos. But do pay attention to proper form. Sometimes form is meant to improve tone. Other times proper form is to prevent injury. No i'm not joking.
I think the term you're looking for is fingerpicking. If you search for that, you should find stuff. However, some books that I either own or have seen people mention:
And plenty more are around. I think James Hill and rockclass101 are the only full systems I'm aware of, although I've never used either of them. But James Hill even does a teacher certification course, and is quite well respected.
You can also come up with your own, it's not too difficult. You can base it off of a book for a classical instrument for example. It's a great exercise to do that, since you already have a basis for music theory from the violin.
Max Reger wrote a short work on modulation.
http://www.amazon.com/Modulation-Dover-Books-Music-Reger/dp/048645732X/ref=pd_rhf_dp_s_cp_6_C8HY?ie=UTF8&refRID=1F3E9FDCWQSDH4MQ9Z6C
(The Reger modulation book contains examples only, so I suggest being well versed in tonal chromatic harmony before trying to make any sense of it).