(Part 2) Top products from r/mandolin

Okay, so...

Watching the clip /u/TheJiggersUp posted below, I don't see him playing his mandolin, so I don't have much to offer on style... I would presume he's going to play in a more classical/European style, as opposed to an American, bluegrass-oriented style. He has a bowlback mandolin rather than a flat-back or carved-top style instrument, but I don't know of any playable bowlback models that cost ~$100.

What does exist is the Rogue RM-100A which is a not-great but more-or-less playable mandolin for under $100. (Some individual instruments seem to be better than others, but it's just a luck-of-the-draw thing.) If you were to get one, you'd also do well to get some different strings for it, get a decent pick designed for mandolin (a guitar pick won't work well for this instrument), and maybe consider having it professionally set up (or possibly even trying to do the work yourself... perhaps someone else can point me to the book available on setting up a Rogue to be less awful.) I would also highly recommend getting a chromatic tuner; you spend quite a bit of time tuning this instrument, and as a beginner, it's really helpful to have one of these. If you have a smartphone, a metronome app would also be a good thing to get; otherwise, there are a million cheap, electronic metronomes on the market.

So the Rogue is a cheap, low-quality instrument -- NOT a good instrument, just the least-bad at the sub-$100 price range -- but it can get you started. I know, because that's how I started. It's designed for bluegrass more than traditional mandolin music, but you can learn the rudiments of any/every style on it.

After that, to just start learning how to play, I recommend Don Julin's book. Yes, it's "for Dummies." It's still an excellent beginner's book. He focuses primarily on American styles, but he also covers other mandolin traditions, and when you're first starting out you really just need to learn the basics no matter what style you favor. He also does some nice intro-level youtube lesson videos. There are lots and lots of other mandolin lessons available on youtube, too, and are a decent way to start out if you can't afford private lessons.

Finally, start saving up some money for a better instrument. Sooner than you can imagine, you will reach the point where the Rogue can no longer keep up with you, and begins to hinder your progress, so you need the upgrade to keep learning. The most common recommendations I see are the Eastman 304 or 305 and the Kentucky KM-140. Both are solid student instruments that will serve you well for a long time, and both can be had with professional set-up and a hard case for ~$450. I have an Eastman 305 myself and I adore it. Or perhaps there's a more traditional bowlback model out there that you'd like better, if you aim to play that way. I know very little about those.

It's a great instrument, and fun to learn. And it's entirely possible to come from zero background with stringed instruments and still make good progress. Good luck!

Edit: Oh, also... certainly it would be a good thing to learn (or re-learn) how to read standard musical notation, but a lot of mandolin music is available in tablature (or tab), which is a much easier system to use and doesn't require the ability to read music. The Julin book I linked to above uses both.

Edit 2: Also, here's a recent thread on the Rogue, just so you can see some other people's opinions.

It's sort of a combination of simple note reading, experimentation, and adaption to the instrument. Process:

1. The key is key. Figure out the key. With the sheet music in front of you this is really a matter of reading the staff notation and then figuring out whether your piece is major or minor (C and Am have the same key signature, G and Em have the same key signature, etc.). You can usually figure this out by listening to the last measure of the piece for its flavor, major or minor (usually).
   
   
2. In each measure, read the notes in each voice and write them down. The notes will tell you which chords are likely.
   
   
3. Now a little guesswork. You need to figure out which chord is appropriate to each measure. Usually this involves knowing a bit about chord progressions and phrasing (generally simple in hymns). If you can sing the melody, guess the chords and sing while playing them. Let your ear be the guide; if it sounds right, you are good to go. Also, it is not necessarily the case that only one chord will work with a given measure (if this was a functional relationship, someone would have written a computer program to deduce the chords for each measure).
   
   
4. Chord voicing. You will want to find the best way to play the chord on the mando. This gets into questions of voice leading, maintaining a good bass line, etc. Often your ear will be a good guide here.
   
   Step 3 can involve adapting your chord to your instrument. For hymns, you probably won't have to worry about this a huge amount except for seventh chords, and there are pretty extensive charts available for mando seventh chords.
   
   But really, after all is said and done: This is a pretty easy thing to do, if you know some basic music theory. If not, I think the closest I can get to ELI5 is (a) go read this and this, then (b) go arrange the hymns for mandolin.
   
   I'll try to post an example later this week (arrgh, not on vacation anymore, so much less reddit) for a simple hymn. Or PM me with a scan of a hymn and I'll try to mark it up and show you what I am talking about in steps 1-4 in the context of an example.
   
   EDIT: Another way to practice this chord writing skill: Get a book of hymns with guitar/piano chords already marked, and try out the process I outlined above. This way you can check your answers. This is not a bad start. Heck, it may have everything in it you want already.

Don Stiernberg is the man! Thanks for posting this, I didn’t realize he did lessons like these. I’d also recommend anyone interested in jazz on the mandolin pick up his book Jazz Mandolin Appetizers. It assumes you’re starting with an intermediate understanding of the mandolin, but it has some great bits of wisdom in it, especially the section on chord melodies.

There's not as formal of a progression with mandolin as there are with more established jazz/classical instruments. I think the closest that you're going to find would be a book like The Complete Mandolinist. It has a decidedly classical bent to it, but it's a single book but it was created to be used progressively rather than a random selection of tunes.

I've also heard good things about Horne's series. but they are well reviewed. More folk/bluegrassy oriented.

It doesn't answer your question, but depending on your level and what you're looking for, there are two books that I have that are more exercise oriented that focus on a progressive approach to learning imrpovisation and the fretboard-- Esichman's getting into Jazz Mandolin has years worth of exercises to develop a Jazz vocabulary and fretboard knowledge.

And Petersen's Guide to Bluegrass Improvisation focuses on building a bluegrass improv vocabulary.

Sorry I don't have much more help, but I don't know if there is a correct answer to this one.

https://www.amazon.com/Mandolin-Pickers-Guide-Bluegrass-Improvisation/dp/078668237X

Do you want a theory book, go over pentatonics/3 minor scales, chords to learn after major/minor triads? The above is really good, but you can learn that from a lot of books in yoru library, this is another https://www.amazon.com/Guitar-Theory-Dummies-Online-Instruction/dp/1118646770/

The other, non theory way to go is to listen to lots of version of, say, Whiskey before breakfast, hear all the melody, harmonic and rhythmic variations and incorporate that into your playing without thinking "oh year, this picker really like mixolydian"

https://www.amazon.com/Kenny-Halls-Music-Book-Old-Time/dp/0786632593/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1550106264&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=kenny+hall

Not modern tunes, but a great “fake book” that covers abroad range of tunes and gives personal stories about a very interesting fiddler/mandolinist.

My instructor started me out on "Folksongs and Ballads Popular in Ireland" for exactly that purpose. There are four volumes and I bought the first two: https://www.amazon.com/Folksongs-Ballads-Popular-Ireland-Vol/dp/0946005001 They've been useful to me.

Additionally, there's an app I found on iTunes store you might find helpful as you learn notes on the mando fretboard: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fret-trainer-learn-fretboard/id1279576225?mt=8

Finally, just remember lines: E-G-B-D-F, spaces F-A-C-E.

In my blueglass ensemble class we used 50 Tunes for Mandolin, Vol. 1: Traditional, Old Time, Bluegrass & Celtic Solos by Mark Geslison. Here's the Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Mel-Bay-Tunes-Mandolin-Vol/dp/0786664649/ . Looks like there's a newer version here: https://www.amazon.com/50-Tunes-Mandolin-Traditional-Bluegrass/dp/0786687487 . Includes staff notation, tablature, and audio. Has a nice variety of tunes.

That's not the sort of progressive I'm talking about. More like this:

• Guitar Repertoire and Etudes Level 1
  
• Guitar Repertoire and Etudes Level 2
  
• Guitar Repertoire and Etudes Level 3
  
• Guitar Repertoire and Etudes Level 4
  
• Guitar Repertoire and Etudes Level 5
  
• Guitar Repertoire and Etudes Level 6
  
• Guitar Repertoire and Etudes Level 7
  
• Guitar Repertoire and Etudes Level 8

Came to recommend this and "The Complete Mandolinist" by Marilynn Mair -> https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0786687630/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0


Classical mandolin is the only time I suggest learning to read music. It will open up the world of cello and violin music to you.

I play mandolin and use The Fiddler's Fakebook

Nice because it catalogs who has recorded it along with the music. There is no tablature, only standard notation. I don't like tabs anyhow.

Also, Carpilation

This is an assembly of fiddle tunes from an annual gathering in Kansas. It is also standard notation only. I uploaded the PDF file to Kinko's and had them print and spiral bind it for me.

Not all of the tunes are Irish tunes, but they are the majority.

Buy this

https://www.amazon.com/Deluxe-Bluegrass-Mandolin-Method-Valla/dp/0786657782

Learn every melody