newbie

[timmy]

Hi there. Mando newbie here. I'm going to a mando workshop in the fall. One of the requirements is to learn about ten or so tunes. They don't say which ones. What are some good ones for a beginner mando picker to learn.

Thanks,

Tim

[Bobby Brite]

Red Haired Boy
Old Joe Clark
Boil them Cabbage

I'll let some others put there advice in.

[stinsc]

I suggest you purchase Steve Kaufman's 4 Hour Bluegrass Workout. You can purchase it on Steve's website (www.flatpik.com), it is $45. It has a songbook of about 50 bluegrass songs, with tabs for both mando and quitar. Practically all of the songs are bluegrass favorites and are widely played. Each song is recorded twice, once slow and then up to speed, which is pretty fast but with a lot of practice it is workable. The CDs are engineered so that you can exclude the lead to hear the background chops, and vice versa, by adjusting your speaker controls, which simulates playing with a band, and lets you hear how chords and chops are stuctured behind the lead.
I have had it for two weeks now, and highly recommend it, it is well worth the money.

[davestem]

Alternatively (if you don't want to spend the $45), you can download a program called TablEdit Viewer (TEFView) for free, and get tablature from www.mandozine.com. #Also, the better part of a plethora of tabs are available here on Mandolin Cafe.
Ten that are available here at Mandolin Cafe, in the Tablature section (accessible from a button at the top of the Mandolin Cafe homepage) are:

Devil's Dream
Fisher's Hornpipe
Red Haired Boy
Soldier's Joy
Liberty
Bill Cheathem
Whiskey Before Breakfast
St. Ann's Reel
Forked Deer
Blackberry Blossom

# These vary in difficulty, but none of the arrangements I looked at seemed too intense. #Of course, this requires that you be able to read tablature. #Are you familiar with reading tablature?

[davestem]

addendum: the tunes above are chosen because they are pretty widely known, and though some may be harder than others, none are exceedingly difficult.

[duuuude]

Just a tip about the TablEdit tunes from co-mando: try to find the easiest version you can, usually in the old-time listings. Some will have fewer notes & geared toward beginners. Red Haired Boy is an excellent starter, and there's a Tim O'Brien version of Soldier's Joy that uses the pentatonic scale that's good for practice.
http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/cool.gif

[timmy]

Thanks for the help folks! I've downloaded all the tabledit stuff and reserve the Steve Kaufman book from the library.

The help is greatly appreciated http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif!

Tim