How to Play Mandolin

I bought a family member a surprise gift, the  black Rogue mandolin , and one of the first requests was for a beginner's book. I chose Jack Tottle's book because it's been in print for some time and has a good reputation. I definitely don't regret the purchase as the book is excellent, but I still think that private lessons will still be needed as this instrument is a bit more complicated that we realized. This book, however, is a perfect introduction to playing the mandolin.The main premise of the book is to teach to student "the fundamentals of mandolin technique through familiar tunes which are enjoyable to play." In the front there is a photograph of a mandolin with lines pointing to all the parts so the beginner will know what is being discussed in the text. For example, if you've never held a mandolin in your hands it is handy to know what a fret is when you're asked to place a finger behind a particular fret. A line drawing indicates the numbers or names of the strings.Things you'll learn about:* The pick* How to hold the mandolin* How to use the brush stroke* You'll learn the basics of tabulature* You'll learn some basic chords and how to play them* You'll learn about playing in rhythm and why it is important to playing well* You'll learn how to play melodies* You'll learn how to play using down-up strokes* You'll learn about the slide* You'll learn about double string melodies, mixed single and double stringsIn the back of the book is a section on how to tune from a pitch pipe, a piano, a tuning fork, or the mandolin to itself. There is a brief section on "standard music notation on the mandolin," and a chord dictionary. There are numerous photographs and a few line drawings that are very helpful. One small caveat is that this book comes with the assumption that you can read basic music, but most people who will be buying this book probably already know how.SONGS:Hush Little BabyWildwood FlowerWoody's RagBlow Ye Winds In The MorningOn Top Of Old SmokeyWhen I Was SingleRed Apple JuiceNew River TrainCindyBoil `Em Cabbage DownGive me That Old Time ReligionDeep Blue SeaBlack-Eyed SusieBill Bailey Won't You Please Come HomeLonesome FugitiveRocky TopMake Me a Pallet On Your FloorMama Don't AllowWalk Right InI'm Looking Through YouGet Back

I see this as a starter book. It gets you going with basic techniques and playable songs. If you like where you're going, you will soon need a more advanced book, my preference being Mel Bay's Complete Mandolin Method.

I just keep trying to practice, but am a bit lazy. A good book on the subject.

Easy to understand; good directions and pictures. I think this will be a really good beginners book.

great starter book

I'm disappointed as Tottle's book, after reading its glowing reviews, is not what I expected or needed.. One must go in 33 pages* before chords are introduced. The first section shows one in great detail how to read music; how to read tablature and then there are charts showing beginners how to pick using "picking symbols". I believe chords are where most teachers,after introductions of mandolin parts etcetera, would begin. In my opinion, this is a book for intermediate players who want to fine-tune beginner techniques. The aforementioned page 33 has 3 photographs of four note chords and one of three note chords.The first page designed to teach beginners would benefit by some simple two note major chords and songs;then some three note chords, and and then some more difficult 4 notes keys. I shall return this book, and am confident a better,beginner book will be obtained from Amazon.

While this is a decent book for a beginner, there is one major flaw, that being the fact that you have to be able to read music! Unfortunately I dont. Most beginners books are based on tablature, a method that is very easy to master and it allows you to play without knowing how to read music. I did learn a few things from this book and if you're interested in learning how to read music while you learn the basics of the mandolin, then you'll probably enjoy this publication.

I never played anything. With this book, it took only some days to start to play. It's excellent for the beginner.

We bought this book for my 11 year old grandson, and he and his teacher were very happy with the book as it fit with what he needed at this time as starting out.

Looks okay to me, we will see when I start to use it. Looks like clear instructions.

This book took 7days to arrive, it's o.k. But doesn't show a lot in the way of tuition, finishes with Get back by the Beatles which I had already learned by taking chords from Mel Ray,s chord book.