looking to buy a GREAT beginners book

[themattman]

Can anyone suggest a great begginners book for the mandolin. I just bought my first mandolin and can not wait to start playing notes.

Thanks
Matt

[Jonathan James]

I think the Roland White Beginner Bluegrass book/CD is a great starting point!

[John Flynn]

Well, it depends somewhat on the kind of music you want to play and if you have any prior musical experience. The book I would recommend is Andy Statman's "You Can Teach Yourself Bluegrass Mandolin." It is a book/CD set. I recommend book/CD sets, because I think it is very helpful to hear what the book is teaching you play.

[Wadefox]

The best I've seen is Beginning Mandolin, by Greg Horne. It is the first of a three-part series. I'm not a beginner, and I'm working my way through it. It's great.

[gnelson651]

The best I've seen is Beginning Mandolin, by Greg Horne. It is the first of a three-part series. I'm not a beginner, and I'm working my way through it. It's great.

I started playing mandolin almost 3 years now. I'm completing Horne's book and I have to say I wished I started with this book. It would have saved me some money buying other so-called instruction books which were nothing more than songbooks.

"Beginning Mandolin" uses songs to teach the concepts of that lesson. I believe Horne takes the right approach in introducing different styles to the new mandolinist, in the right progression.

I just got the second intermediate book of the series and have been reading through it. I'm equally impress with his second book as his first.

If you don't have the benefit of a teacher, this is the book that will give you a good foundation in mandolin playing.

[Joe Dodson]

I'm new to mandolin too (about a month). I've really been enjoying Sam Bush's Bluegrass Mandolin (http://www.homespuntapes.com/prodpg/prodpg.asp?prodID=823&prodType=). I've got the Statman book and a few others, but I find myself playing out of Sam Bush's book 90% of the time right now.

[Nick Royal]

Rich del Grosso, the blues mandolin player, has a very good book out published by Hal
Leonard. It has some good tunes, and aims on getting the new player to move from tablature to sight reading, which over the long haul is very useful.
Nick Royal

[mandochic]

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

The best beginners book will depend on you. #If you are fairly new to reading music by note and/or playing the mandolin, "Mandolin Primer for Beginners, by Bert Casey will get you started quickly. #There is also a related video, "60 Minute Introduction to Mandolin." #I bought both at a music store about 8 years ago. #I don't know where the book is, because I have lent it out so many times to different people. #Per the back of the video though, both are put out by Cassette & Video Learning Systems. #Both the book and the video proceed step by step, and are very clear.