Mandolin For Dummies

Foreword xvii Introduction 1 About This Book 1 Conventions Used in This Book 2 Foolish Assumptions 3 Icons Used in This Book 3 Accessing the Audio Tracks 3 Beyond the Book 4 Part 1: Being Bitten by the Mandolin Bug 5 Chapter 1: Becoming Acquainted with Your Mandolin 7 Riding the Mandolin Wave 7 Loving the mandolin sound 8 Joining a vibrant community 8 Enjoying a great choice of mandolins 9 Meeting the Mandolin Family 10 Reaching the highest notes: Mandolin 11 Playing with an alto voice: Mandola 11 Lowering the tone: Mando-cello 12 Spotting the rarely seen mando-bass 13 Accompanying the family: Octave mandolin 14 Getting to Know Your Mandolin’s Anatomy 15 Looking at the body 17 Introducing the neck 18 Using string vibrations to produce sound 20 Chapter 2: Getting to Grips with Tuning and Terminology 21 Coming to Terms with Musical Terminology 22 Identifying musical notes with letters 22 Sharpening up and flatting down your notes 23 Stepping up to the mark: Distances between notes 23 Scaling the heights with chords and scales 23 Grasping the Tuning Basics 24 Sounding Tuneful: Methods for Tuning Your Mandolin 25 Using an electronic tuner 25 Tuning your mandolin to itself 26 Tuning to another instrument 28 Chapter 3: Getting a Handle on Your Mandolin 29 Sitting Down on the Job 30 Playing While Standing Up 32 Strapping Yourself in to Play 34 Part 2: Starting to Play the Mandolin 37 Chapter 4: Making Music on the Mandolin 39 Playing without Having to Read Music 39 Understanding tablature 40 Reading chord diagrams 41 Developing a musical ear 42 Keeping the Musical Beat by Counting 43 Feeling the beat 43 Counting to four 43 Dividing up beats 44 Extending notes: Half notes and whole notes 45 Dotting and tying notes 46 Resting: Playing the silence 47 Repeating sections of a song 48 Simplifying time signatures 48 Introducing Your First Five Chords 51 Getting to grips with the G chord 51 Choosing the C chord 52 Discovering the D chord 53 Adding the A chord 54 Examining the E chord 55 Strumming chords: Getting some rhythm patterns together 56 Breaking Down the Parts of a Song 57 Finding the beat: Rhythm 57 Moving on to chord progressions 57 Strumming the chords 58 Performing the melody 59 Playing along with other people 59 Playing Your First Songs 60 “Ode to Joy” theme 61 “Down in the Valley” 62 “Go Tell Aunt Rhodie” 63 “Skip to My Lou” 63 “Red River Valley” 64 Chapter 5: Picking with the Right Hand 65 Holding the Pick 65 Supporting and Guiding Your Right Hand 66 Touching the bridge 66 Brushing the pinky 67 Resting on the rib 68 Arching your wrist while strumming 68 Picking Up and Down 69 Picking alternate strong and weak beats 69 Getting down with down-strokes 72 Visiting Ireland: Jig picking 72 Rolling out the notes: Cross picking 73 Developing Good Tone 74 Finding the sweet spot 75 Picking the right pick 76 Keeping a loose grip 76 Getting your pick angle right 77 Following through: The rest stroke 77 Keeping things loose: It’s all in the wrist 77 Playing Louder Isn’t Always Better 78 Understanding dynamics 78 Knowing when not to play loudly 79 Choosing when to play loudly 79 Balancing act: Four strings are louder than one 79 Sustaining a Note: Tremolo 80 Staying in time: Measured tremolo 80 Varying the pace: Free tremolo 82 Playing melody with slow tremolo 83 Practicing Your Skills 83 Trying out alternate-picking exercises 83 Keeping-time exercises 86 Chilling out with rest exercises 88 Becoming dynamic with volume exercises 88 Stretching out with tremolo exercises 90 Chapter 6: Fretting Notes and Chords with the Left Hand 93 Positioning and Working with Your Left Hand 94 Positioning your left hand 94 Tying your fingers to the frets 96 Exercising the left hand 97 Creating effects with your left hand 97 Discovering More Essential Chords 103 Trying out a few major chords 103 Becoming sadder with some minor chords 104 Opening up to seventh chords 106 Focusing on barré chords 106 Trying out Left-Hand Techniques 110 Changing your left-hand position 110 Moving up the mandolin’s neck 110 Playing two notes simultaneously: Double stops 112 Chapter 7: Playing “Jethro”-Style Three-String Chords 117 Introducing Jethro Burns’s Three-String Chord Style 118 Perfecting Three-String Major Chords 119 Root-on-top major chords 119 Third-on-top major chords 119 Fifth-on-top major chords 120 Mastering Three-String Minor Chords 120 Root-on-top minor chords 121 Third-on-top minor chords 121 Fifth-on-top minor chords 122 Trying on a Few Seventh Chords for Size 122 Root-on-top seventh chords 123 Third-on-top seventh chords 124 Fifth-on-top seventh chords 124 Seventh-on-top seventh chords 125 Revving up for Jazzy Chords: Nice! 126 Sounding unresolved with diminished chords 126 Adding augmented chords to your mandolin armory 127 Dressing up some minor chords: Minor sevenths 128 Chapter 8: Playing Mandolin Music: Scales and Melody 133 Understanding How to Play Melody 134 Listening to the great players 134 Speaking a tune 135 Rising to the challenge of scales 135 Exploring Some Major Scales 136 Discovering the D major scale 136 Accessing the A major scale 139 Getting to grips with the G major scale 142 Avoiding sharps and flats with the C major scale 144 Trying Out Minor Scales 146 Mining the A minor scale for two different approaches 147 Playing solo with chord melodies 149 Experiencing the Power of the Pentatonic 152 Taking five with the major pentatonic scale 152 Moving on to the minor pentatonic scale 154 Part 3: Putting Playing Styles into Practice 157 Chapter 9: Playing Music from Yesteryear: Old Time, Rags and Blues 159 Searching out the Past: Old-Time Music 160 Strumming for old-time fiddle tunes 161 Waltzing on the mandolin 164 Playing All Raggedy on Purpose: Ragtime 168 Syncopating your mandolin melodies 169 Practicing ragtime chord progressions and patterns 169 Playing away Your Sorrows: The Blues 174 Introducing the blues rhythm 174 Chording up for the blues 176 Playin’ the blues: Some tips and techniques 179 Influencing other genres 183 Chapter 10: Giving Your Mandolin a Speedy Workout: Bluegrass 191 Getting a Grip on That Bluegrass Rhythm 192 Gathering Together the Bluegrass Elements: An Original Mandolin Style 194 Fiddling about with fiddle tunes 195 Adding the blues style 197 Using tremolo 197 Adding extra bars: Irregular time 197 Picking up Bluegrass Melodic Techniques 198 Using the right hand 198 Playing out-of-chord positions: The left hand 201 Exploring other left-hand ornamentations 205 Building Bluegrass Instrumental Breaks 208 Learning the song 209 Making your break sound like bluegrass 209 Chapter 11: Travelling to the Emerald Isle: Irish Mandolin 213 Following the Melody One Note at a Time 214 Listening to learn Irish tunes 214 Swinging with triplets and the lilt 215 Discovering the Irish Music Modes 217 Using a standard major scale (Ionian mode) 217 Tackling a standard minor scale (Dorian mode) 217 Meeting the other major scale (Mixolydian mode) 218 Encountering the relative minor scale (Aeolian mode) 219 Playing Irish Rhythms and Tunes 219 “Reeling in the Years” 220 Jigging around the dance floor 222 Slipping in a jig 224 Being all at sea in a good way: The hornpipe 226 Playing Irish Tunes with Other Musicians 228 Chapter 12: Taking a Quick World Tour 229 Returning to the Mandolin’s Birthplace: Italy 229 Strolling to play 230 Making great use of tremolo 230 Varying the tremolo speed 233 Visiting the Concert Hall: Classical Mandolin 233 Gliding towards acquiring a classical mandolin technique 233 Exploring arpeggio uses in classical music 234 Introducing mandolin orchestras 238 Heading to Brazil 238 Getting hold of some basic choro rhythms 239 Trying out some choro chord progressions 241 Considering choro melody 241 Chapter 13: Swinging to Those Jazzy Rhythms 245 “It Don’t Mean a Thing .”: Swingin’ the Melody 246 Introducing swing 246 Respecting the mighty eighth note 247 Using syncopated rhythms 247 Playing in all 12 keys 249 Simplifying Jazz Chords 250 Working with Jazzy Chord Progressions 253 Keeping it moving: The 1-6-2-5 progression 253 Getting the blues, jazz style 254 Achieving a good swing feel 257 Swingin’ with rhythm changes 258 Changing keys with the 2-5-1 progression 261 Accompanying yourself: Chord melody 261 Mixing Things up: Jazz with Other Styles 264 Heading down to Texas: Western swing 264 Waltzing with the Muppets 266 Blending jazz with other genres 267 Chapter 14: Blending Styles: Dawg Music 271 Meeting David Grisman 272 Groovin’ to Some Dawg Music 272 Heading down south: Dawg Latin 272 Get up, get on up: Dawg funk 274 Accenting Your Grooves, Dawg-Style 276 Scratching like the Dawg 276 Stretching out with one long chord 277 Part 4: Purchasing and Caring for Your Mandolin 281 Chapter 15: Selecting and Buying a Mandolin 283 Exploring the World of Mandolins 284 Finding out about F-style mandolins 284 Assessing A-style mandolins 285 Rounding out F- and A-style mandolins 286 Tossing around pancake and other flat-top mandolins 287 Plugging in with electric mandolins 287 Bandying about with a bandolim 288 Noticing Neapolitan mandolins 288 Spending the Right Amount 290 Discovering What Makes One Mandolin Better than Another 290 Barking up the right tree: Types of wood for mandolins 290 Polishing off the types of finish 291 Getting comfortable: Mandolin playability 291 Making it up: Types of mandolin manufacture 292 Aging well: New versus used mandolins 293 Locating Mandolins for Sale 293 Buying in bricks-and-mortar shops 293 Going online 294 Putting a Mandolin through Its Paces 295 Chapter 16: Building Your Accessories Kit 297 Gathering Together the Must-Haves 297 Picking extra picks 298 Clipping on an electronic tuner 298 Strapping on the mandolin 298 Protecting your mandolin 299 Stringing along your mandolin 300 Buying Extras That Improve Your Playing 301 Keeping steady with a metronome 301 Taking lessons from books, DVDs, and online courses 301 Leaning on a music stand 301 Recording made easy 302 Playing along with backing tracks 302 Slowing down the music 303 Using a webcam for online lessons 303 Bringing on the Bling 304 Attaching accessories to your mandolin 304 Making life easier in other ways 306 Chapter 17: All Change: Replacing Your Mandolin’s Strings 307 Preparing to Change Your Strings 307 Knowing when to change strings 308 Selecting the right strings 308 Removing the Old Strings 310 Re-stringing Your Mandolin 312 Chapter 18: Caring for and Repairing Your Mandolin 317 Maintaining Your Mandolin’s Health 317 Wiping down your mandolin 318 Controlling the climate 318 Getting a good case or bag 319 Keeping an instrument stand handy 319 Setting Up Your Mandolin Yourself: Only for the Brave 320 Adjusting the action 321 Tackling the truss-rod adjustment 322 Slotting the nut 323 Setting the bridge: Intonation 324 Turning to the Professionals 325 Dressing or replacing the frets 325 Repairing cracks 326 Part 5: The Part of Tens 327 Chapter 19: Ten (or So) Tips on Becoming a Good Mandolin Player 329 Listen to Mandolin Music 330 Get a Good Teacher 330 Keep Your Mandolin Nearby 330 Play Your Mandolin Every Day 331 Find People to Play Music With 331 Practice with a Metronome 332 Go to Mandolin Camps or Workshops 332 Practice Slowly Using Good Technique 332 Develop a Musical Ear 333 Acquire Some Music Theory 333 Record Yourself 334 Have Fun! 334 Chapter 20: Ten Mandolin Players You Need to Know 335 Bill Monroe (1911–1996) 335 Chris Thile (Born 1981) 336 Jethro Burns (1920–1989) 336 David Grisman (Born 1945) 337 Dave Apollon (1897–1972) 338 Jacob do Bandolim (1918–1969) 338 Yank Rachell (1910–1997) 338 Mike Marshall (Born 1957) 339 Caterina Lichtenberg (Born 1969) 340 Carlo Aonzo (Born 1967) 340 Chapter 21: Ten Ways of Tapping into the Mandolin Subculture 341 Attending Acoustic Music Concerts 341 Trying Out Mandolin Workshops 342 Visiting Mandolin Camps 342 Going to Acoustic Music Festivals 343 Checking Out a Jam Session or Orchestra 344 Joining the Online Mandolin Community 344 Finding Courses on the Internet 345 Joining a National Organization 346 Exploring Your Own Town 347 Spreading the News 347 Part 6: Appendixes 349 Appendix A: Chord Charts 351 Appendix B: Reading Standard Musical Notation 355 Meeting the Musical Staff 355 Starting at the beginning: Treble and bass clefs 356 Signing in with the key signature 356 Timing is everything: Time signatures 357 Getting the speed right: Tempo 357 Knowing the style 358 Following the Musical Directions 359 Noting the Musical Notes 361 Pitching in with high and low notes 361 Discovering note duration 362 Dotting and tying notes 363 Getting louder and quietening down: Dynamics 364 Articulating your playing 365 Appendix C: Audio Tracks 367 Discovering What’s on the Audio Tracks 367 Index 373