Del grosso blues book

[Pete Braccio]

Hi all,

I Just got this from Amazon this morning:


As someone who has expressed interest in books by Rich Del Grosso, you might like to know that Mandolin Blues: From Memphis to Maxwell Street will be released on January 12, 2007. You can pre-order your copy by following the link below.

Cool! This will give me something to do while I recover from surgery. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

Pete

[MikeB]

Could you shoot us the 'link below'? Thanks.... http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

[Pete Braccio]

$19.95 At Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Mandolin-Blues-Memphis-Maxwell-Street/dp/0634072498/sr=8-1/qid=1167460788/ref=sr_1_1/002-2451144-8626401?ie=UTF8&s=books)

[bluesmandolinman]

Now this is good news http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

thanks Pete for posting it


http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/blues.gif

[Daniel Nestlerode]

Rich Del Grosso will be teaching at the Mandolin Symposium (http://www.mandolinsymposium.com/) too. If you feel like springing for the tuition and travel expenses and then waiting until June, you could buy the book from the author in the splendor of the Redwoods at UC Canta Cruz. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

Daniel

[arbarnhart]

I just got notice from Amazon that mine shipped today, "earlier than expected". A little under $18 with shipping.

[Amandalyn]

How about some reviews on the book when you guys get a chance?

[a12]

I got mine yesterday.
Good historical information.
Tunes are in tab, notation and on a CD.
Its title is Mandolin Blues, so I don't know why
a chapter was devoted to rags( Dallas, State St.) and stomps(Jackson, Knox County )and Vine Street Drag.

I would have perferred more blues tunes.

Still it is a good book to include in your library with
his Jug Band publication.

[JVESEY]

I received mine yesterday. I'd venture to say this is the best instructional material I've even seen on the subject. Granted, there isn't much on the subject, but Rich is a real scholar. One of the few musicians alive who had the opportunity to meet and play with Yank Rachell and Howard Armstrong. All the major contribuors to the "Blues Mandolin" idium are covered. The Tab all appears to be pretty accurate (although I contend the Jackson Stomp was played out of the C position). The accompanying CD is a very good study tool although you really need to go out and get the original recordings to understand the feel. Many tunes are recorded at half the speed of the originals for study purposes.

A12 makes an interesting comment about the inclusion of the Rags and Stomps. I believe that "Blues" really refers to any music that makes use of a blues scale or notes. Many of the greatest blues mandolin players (as well as guitarists) regularly included rags and Stomps in their repertoire. However, I've played with many a musician who argue that if there's anything more than the I IV or V, it ain't blues. Whichever side of that debate you fall on, Charlie McCoy, Coley Jones and Vol Stevens where inspirational players who helped define the use of the mandolin in the blues realm.

Try it . . . . . . you'll like it! Ragtime and Stomps are a lot of fun and will definitely make you a better blues player.

Nice work Rich! A very deep book with a lot of great info and instruction. I wish I'd gotten this book when I started out. This is a masters class in the history and style of Blues Mandolin. Highly recommended.

[Cedartop]

Got my copy of the book from Elderly yesterday. Took it to the gym with me and rode the Nordic track twice as long as I normally do. Very enjoyable read and fun material. A lot of this is stuff that I have seen Mike Compton and Steve James cover at workshops but it is nice to have it in printed format.

In my not very expert onpinion rags and stomps are closely related enough to blues to be in the book. I agree about Jackson Stomp being played out of the C position. For me this book was money well spent in my music and mandolin education and this is not always the case with things I buy.

P.S. One of the things I liked about this book and blues on the mandolin are the rhythm oppurtunities provided.

[a12]

Jackson Stomp was originally recorded in A
by the Mississippi Mud Steppers
and the New Lost City Ramblers also recorded it in
A on their all instrumental album. I play it in A.
It's good to have a tune like this in A rather than C.

[JVESEY]

Jackson Stomp was originally recorded in A
by the Mississippi Mud Steppers
and the New Lost City Ramblers also recorded it in
A on their all instrumental album. I play it in A.
It's good to have a tune like this in A rather than C.
I beg to differ. It was recorded in Bb and as I stated in the Jackson Stomp thread, the turnaround seems to play off of the sixth's at the 5th and seventh fret. However, it also lays out well in G ande A. Great tune, no matter how you play it.

[arbarnhart]

My initial impressions are also positive. There is a short section at the beginning that is an intro to blues. If you frequent this section of the board, you probably don't need that, but I did pick up a couple of licks and the duet used is a nice little blues tune. I do get the tie in for rags and stomps, but it does seem to get more prominance than necessary. I think the order is chronological and you can certainly skip around, but I would have preferred it go from the basics to Rich's section (which is at the end). There are a lot of songs where he has one or more excerpts pulled out before the song to help you get a particular lick out of context first. I like that. There is a lot of history and some photos, but this is primarily instruction (I was concerned from some of his early descriptions that it might be mostly history with a little playing). I am glad I bought it.

[ald]

arbarnhart, when you say Rich's section, do you mean a section containing tunes Rich plays on his CD? How advanced are the tunes? On the same level as his lessons in Mandolin Magazine #or more like the tunes he performs on the CD? How many advanced tunes are there?

[arbarnhart]

He actually only has one of his songs, but he breaks out 4 parts of it to explain individually. I recognize it from the Bizness CD, but I am not sure of the title; in the book it is just "DelGrosso's Blues (It's Funk)" without the words. But it is a good tune that goes back and forth between rhythm and melody. Part of the reason I wish it came earlier is that given more prominance, it might have included more. But you have to remember that a lot of the songs he does are in the style of the other artists he features in the book (Yank, Johny Young, Howard Armstrong, Charlie McCoy and others). It's hard to say what is advanced; I can play just about anything in the book, but whether or not I play it well (my tremolo stinks, for example) is another matter.

I forgot to mention he does split tracks on ones that have backing, so the mandolin is in one channel and the guitar or other instruments in the other, so you can isolate the mandolin to hear it better and mute it to play along with the backing. I was listening to it in the car (it isn't really a CD you would listen to much, but you want to play it through a couple of times to pick songs to work on) and the kids said it sounded like me and "Mr Ferdy" (neighbor who plays guitar) playing out in the garage with "Mr Ferdy on this side of the car and you on that side of the car", correctly identifying the guitar and mandolin.

http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif # http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

[ald]

Thanks a lot for the information, arbarnhart.

[arbarnhart]

Back to note the answer to the question about which "Bizness" song is in it. It is not attributed as such, but the song he demonstrates of his own is pretty much the #3 track "Can't Be Satisfied". There is a smokin' Yank solo transcribed that is full of great licks also. By my count, there are roughly 16 "songs". I quoted "songs" because they mostly are without vocals and shorter than the actual song would be, but have all the parts you need to play the whole song. My satisfaction with the book continues to climb as I listen to and play more pieces.

<EDIT> It occurs to me that it could give you the wrong impression by saying there are roughly 16 songs. If you pay attention to the key and chords, the melodies are usually based on a scale related to the key and the licks are usually based on the root of the current chord. Anytime more than one string is played, it is usually a fragment or all of the current chord. The chords are generally related (I-IV-V and/or their corresponding 7ths). The licks and chord forms transpose and work at different tempos to be a blues construction kit that would let you play along with just about any blues tune.

[bluesmandolinman]

I received my copy yesterday and I think its great.

Mandolins & Blues is a mixture existing for +80 years so I feel this book was really OVERDUE !

Rich did a good job with providing examples of the different playing styles of the few known blues mandolin players. I am also glad he did one of his own songs as well. I will learn this one first !

I can´t really remember how many different instructions books I bought in the last years just to pick up that little bit of blues mandolin content and later sell the book on ebay.... I wished I would have had this new blues mandolin book as a start some years ago...

The only minus I personally found is that no examples of Carl Martin are given. He is mentioned but no music. But this is my personal preference and therefore maybe not objective.

If you love the blues and mandolins then Go for it you will love it

[devilstone_the_bard]

This book is definitely the dog's bollocks! I wish I could lock myself away in a quiet room with a CD player, a cranky sounding Eastman, and this book for a month or so. I loved the history and photos as much as the CD and sheet music. Great stuff. I also ended up buying Bizness too after getting this book.

Anyone know off the top of your head, Rich talks about Yank alt tuning in E, is the tab for the songs written in normal tuning or Yank's alt tuning? I dont really get tab still (I know, lame) so I can't answer my buddy as to how to tune to use the tab stuff on that song, thought I'd ask.

Way to go Rich on an awesome book. [I]

[mounmon]

devilstone:
I think (and the cognizati will surely correct me if I'm wrong) that Yank just tuned his mando down 1 1/2 steps, still playing in the standard fifths configuration. Therefore it would just be a matter of playing the same thing in standard tuning (played in G) vs his low tuning which would make it in E. Gotta get that book.

[Jeff Hoelter]

Mine shipped from Amazon yesterday and arrived today! Too bad I'm in Dallas for work....I'll check it out on Friday when I get home. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[arbarnhart]

Anyone know off the top of your head, Rich talks about Yank alt tuning in E, is the tab for the songs written in normal tuning or Yank's alt tuning? #
The answer is "yes" - tab is written for either tuning because as the mounmon said, you transpose 1 & 1/2 steps down by detuning all the strings and playing the same strings and frets. You would have to change the standard notation, but not the tab. The tab matches the notation in standard tuning. From playing a lot of blues with guitarists, and often being on bass myself, the favored keys seem to be E and A. The keys used in the book aren't always the ones used by the artist/song that inspired the song in the book and on the CD.

I love the book! I also have Bizness and even a couple of old articles Rich did for the Mandocrucian Digest.

[ShaneJ]

I just got my book an hour ago. I havn't been through it all yet, but I'm lovin' it so far. Rich is THE MAN. One thing I'd LOVE to see is an hour-long Woodsongs program with Rich and friends.

[mounmon]

Yeehaw! Wandered into a music store in downtown Portland OR yesterday and there was a single copy just waiting for me! Instant gratification! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[Patrick Killeen]

In case anyone is interested in getting this in the UK, I received my copy yesterday from amazon.com, it came to £12 ($22.55) with delivery and took 10 days to cross the pond. It's well worth it.

Patrick