Mandolin instruction books?

**Steve Stroot** · Mar-11-2009, 5:19pm

I just got an F style mandolin and am anxious to start pickin'. Does anyone have a suggestion for an instruction book? I don't read standard music notation so the book's got to have tablature. Also, I'm thinking that a companion CD might be helpful. Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

**desaljs** · Mar-11-2009, 5:55pm

Steve,

If you want to start with some bluegrass type of music, check this out:

http://www.cvls.com/mandolin.html

All of the stuff by Bert Casey is great starter material. Tabs, DVD's, practice CD's. If you can do all of what he teaches, it would be a great start.

Good luck!

Jim D

**Pete Braccio** · Mar-11-2009, 5:56pm

I think that the Sam Bush or Butch Baldassari books would be good for you.

Pete

**AW Meyer** · Mar-12-2009, 11:14am

I think that you should check out Beginning Mandolin, by Greg Horne. It's the first of a three-part series that includes Intermediate and Mastering Mandolin. It's well-thought-out and logical, in my opinion.
http://www.amazon.com/Beginning-Mand...6874347&sr=1-3

**Rick Schmidlin** · Mar-12-2009, 11:52am

I really like Roland Whites "Approach to Bluegrass Mandolin", it how I started over four and half yearsand helped me all the way.I have used other books,DVD's and lessons but I still use this book.

**bgjunkie** · Mar-12-2009, 12:07pm

The Greg Horne books are good too. Beginning and Intermediate mandolin. A little more on the lesson side, along with learning tunes.

**Alex Orr** · Mar-12-2009, 12:40pm

Originally Posted by bgjunkie

The Greg Horne books are good too. Beginning and Intermediate mandolin. A little more on the lesson side, along with learning tunes.

Agreed. I haven't seen the Casey book, but I feel like I got a LOT out of the Horne books. The intermediate one is especially good.

**clem** · Mar-12-2009, 1:32pm

Get the Cafe's own Ted Eschliman's Getting into Jazz Mandolin...even if you never want to play jazz (but that's impossible, right?!!). Ted's book and approach to closed forms, and his discussion of chords and playing across changes is THE BEST, CLEAREST and MOST COGENT mandolin instruction out there. Comes with a CD (so you'll know how things are supposed to sound) and is notated in tab and standard music. Invaluable, really.

Kudos to Ted.