Your Desert Island Blues Mandolin Instruction Book.

  1. Ed Goist
    Ed Goist
    If you were stranded on a desert island, and wanted to really learn blues mandolin from the ground-up, and you could only have access to one book on blues mandolin instruction, what book would you select?

    Also, we'll assume that you would have the technology to play any CD or DVD that comes with the book, but you would not have access to the internet (so you can't choose a YouTube option).

    Would you Pick:
    * School of Mandolin - Blues, by Joe Carr
    * Mandolin Blues: From Memphis to Maxwell Street, by Rich DelGrosso.
    * Roots and Blues Mandolin, by Steve James

    Or something else entirely?

    Thanks much.

    -Ed

    (My instructor has me working through Tottle [which is a great book for general mandolin instruction], but I'm not a BG guy and I have a real hankerin' to work on some mando blues on my own...On my own private desert island, so to speak! )
  2. matthew71
    matthew71
    Hi Ed
    I have only just ordered Steve James' "Roots..." so I have not yet had a chance to review it. But I do own the other two instruction books you mentioned, and there is no doubt that you should start with DelGrosso's "Mandolin Blues". Not only does this book include some great blues songs, but it also includes a lot of information about the origins of blues and biographical details about some of the early blues mandolin players. You should also check out DelGrosso's column in the Mandolin Magazine.

    Matt
  3. bmac
    bmac
    My guess is that you are already way too advanced for Joe Carr's School of Mandolin Blues publication. And it is the least interesting of all your choices.

    James and Delgrosso both have excellent instructional stuff. I don't have the recent James video "Roots..." either, but suspect there are good things in it. I don't think you can go far wrong with either james or Delgrosso. As Matt mentions there is a lot of historical stimulation in Delgrosso's publication.

    Bart
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