Good first Bach for mandolin book...recommendations ?

[rgp]

I'm an advanced mandolin player with limited knowledge of the classical genre. Can anyone recommend a good first book/collection of Bach pieces. Thanks

[bobby bill]

I would think the solo violin works would be the way to go.

[rgp]

Is there a specific publication ?

[Scott Tichenor]

From Elderly: MIKE MARSHALL'S MANDOLIN METHOD - SONATAS AND PARTITAS FOR UNACCOMPANIED VIOLIN BY J.S. BACH



Deborah Chen's Bach books - Deborah does a fair amount of music transcription work for some top names in the mandolin world and really knows her business. Some of these are pretty basic-- a good choice.

Mel Bay Publications has a book but I'm not familiar with it. It'd guess it'd be pretty basic.

The Works for Violin: The Complete Sonatas and Partitas for Unaccompanied Violin and the Six Sonatas for Violin and Clavier I love but they're definitely not beginner material.

I also have a PDF of the complete solo cello suites I'll post in a separate note. Mike Marshall sent these to me and I believe they're completely free of any copyright issues, one would think.

[Scott Tichenor]

The solo cello suites (PDF format), in treble clef. The first suite in particular is familiar to many and those are fairly accessible.

[coletrickle]

I started with the Mel Bay book. I like it because it offers a number of pieces of varying difficulty. Some are fairly easy and attainable for beginners and early intermediate players. Others are more complex. It is not all encompassing and the CD does not include recordings of all of the pieces. Still, having a few pieces to start with is nice and they are fairly short and not overwhelming.

[wildpikr]

I'll second Deborah Chen's books.

[Jim Garber]

I also have a PDF of the complete solo cello suites I'll post in a separate note. Mike Marshall sent these to me and I believe they're completely free of any copyright issues, one would think.

I think those are from the Icking site. Here is the complete urtext S&Ps for violin. Lots of other good Bach there.

Lately I have just been working on the Courante from the first Cello Suite transposed for violin and the Gavotte from the Partita in E (3rd). Those two are plenty to work on for me right now.

[rgp]

Thanks Guys, All good info...rgp

[John Craton]

Being the editor of this edition I suppose I'm a bit biased, but don't overlook Wolfhead Music's MandoBach.

[Ken_P]

I think those are from the Icking site. Here is the complete urtext S&Ps for violin. Lots of other good Bach there.

I find the icking site hard to use and much of the music there (including the sonatas and partitas that you linked to) incredibly hard to read. This was typeset by computer and nobody seemed to put much effort into fixing it. Stem directions are all wrong, there are double sharps and flats everywhere - just a mess. Check the IMSLP, it's a tremendous archive not just for Bach, but pretty much any composer you can imagine (as long as it's public domain, so not much help for the 20th Century). Check here for much more usable editions of the sonatas and partitas. These are the exact same settings as the wonderful Dover copy (you have to go to each individual piece to get these, they're not included grouped together for some reason).

[Jim Garber]

Thanks for the heads up on IMSLP. I was aware of that and there are some wonderful versions there. However even with that site, i think there are some low quality works, after all these are still user uploads.

In any case, Icking will be merging with IMSLP (as noted on the Icking homepage). . I did find some decent versions -- one version of the Cello Sonatas is quite usable, but yet you are better with real edited versions.

In general, tho, I prefer the urtext versions since many of the edited versions have the egos of the editor in tow. I prefer my own fingering (however odd it may be) rather than some guy in the 19th century who thought his was the better way -- and besides he was annotating for violin or even other instruments.

[Perry]

Probably worth to have it in book form. Even though I can't play it it looks great lying around the house.

Barenreiter Urtext versions are nice and clean

http://www.musicroom.com/se/ID_No/096149/details.html

Also as an introduction (and way beyond) Mike Marshall's book is great. I use MM's TAB when I'm stumbling on the sheet music which is quite often when it comes to Bach!

[billkilpatrick]

not bach but beethoven - "ode to joy" - almost what you might call a folk song

[Lost Souls]

Hello,

Bach for Mandolin by Oliver Waitze (www.oliver-waitze.de).

New Acoustic Gallery
www.n-a-g.net

[Scott Tichenor]

Appear to be some good recommendations I've probably seen at some point but didn't remember. Here's a link to Oliver's book on amazon for those in the U.S. John, your publication I was unfamiliar with. Only one left there. Any chance you can restock or are these available elsewhere? Possibly this could become one of the de-facto threads for folks looking for Bach resources.

[JeffD]

My front door was a book called Bach, A Glimpse of Genius. Excerpts and Transcriptions for Two Instruments from the Works of J.S.Bach, edited by Marshall Barron. The music is perhaps a little less challenging that diving right in to the violin music, but its challenging enough, and the result is real good music. One advantage of duets is that a teacher can sit with you and you can trade off lead and harmony parts. Also, its nice to have a harmony available because much of this music in the original is polyphonic.

The only place I have ever seen this book available is the Boulder Early Music Shop.

Real good music.

I want to add that these versions, while perhaps simplified, are not at all simple. If and when you want to jump into some of the violin or cello suites in their original, the work done out of this book will not have been wasted. You will be further ahead.

[Scott Tichenor]

Here's another Bach resource (not solo though) that's created by a mandolin player: J.S. Bach: Two Part Inventions for Two Mandolins In Notation and Tablature. Found reference to that in This Day in History.

[Jim Garber]

When i played more mandola, I used to play duets with a friend of mine. We had a book of the 2 part inventions transcribed for violin and viola. Those are quite satisfying and relatively simple.

15 Inventions for Violin Duet

Direct pdf is here.

[fatt-dad]

I'd be interested in anything that has tab and audio CD (or MP3) of the transcriptions being performed. I just really learn by ear and use the music for support in troublesome passages.

I should learn notation though. . .

f-d

[John Craton]

John, your publication I was unfamiliar with. Only one left there. Any chance you can restock or are these available elsewhere?

Scott, if you're ordering the book from Amazon, it always says "1 new from..." It says that even if there are 200 in stock. Don't know why. But if someone orders that "1 new," it will continue showing it as available. Guess it's just an Amazon thing. The book is indeed readily available and is one of Wolfhead's best sellers.

[lukmanohnz]

Being the editor of this edition I suppose I'm a bit biased, but don't overlook Wolfhead Music's MandoBach.

John - does your Bach collection include tab? (I'm guessing no, but one can hope.).

Do you (or anyone else out there) have opinions about Waitze's book? My preference is tab+notation scores since I get timing info from the notation but rely on tab for fingering. Wish I had learned to read standard notation, but that ship has sailed...

[John Craton]

[QUOTE=lukmanohnz;1030720]John - does your Bach collection include tab? (I'm guessing no, but one can hope.).

Sorry, no, it's strictly notation.

[Jim Garber]

My preference is tab+notation scores since I get timing info from the notation but rely on tab for fingering.

I would think that tab doesn't really tell you what fingering to use just what fret on what string to note. I find that if you are looking for fingerings and can't figure out your own, std notation with numbered notes where necessary is quite satisfactory. of course, if you can't read those notes at all then it is is a different story.

[lukmanohnz]

I would think that tab doesn't really tell you what fingering to use just what fret on what string to note. I find that if you are looking for fingerings and can't figure out your own, std notation with numbered notes where necessary is quite satisfactory. of course, if you can't read those notes at all then it is is a different story.

. Of course you're correct. I try to stick with the two frets per finger rule. But no - I can't read standard notation except at a snail's pace. Tab is a godsend for me.