I have purchased a few things from Brad Laird - I really like his writing and speaking style in addition to valuing his instructional content. So I am on his email newsletter list. I just got an email with a link to download his new (thin) book, The Ten Jammandments, for free. I just now downloaded it and have skimmed through it. I will definitely read it more closely, but I can report that he had me smiling a lot in the bits and pieces I scanned. He invites folks to share the fact that it is available for free, so here is the link: https://bradleylaird.us15.list-manag...5&e=1314938ff1 The download includes a 25% off coupon for his other not-for-free coursework materials, so yes, I am sure he hopes you will become one of his students or customers. He's a good guy, though, so check it out. He even had his donkey thank me for one of my orders a while back, which is neither here nor there but it is certainly memorable. Brad checks in with us Newbies every now and then, too, so he is a Newbie too.
Thanks Hank, I'll check it out. "Neither here nor there"? We're doing Flop Eared Mule this month, it's perfect!!
I downloaded and read the book the other day, I thought it was great — but I have to admit I’m a bit of a Brad Laird fan.
He was the first person I started listening and watching how to play the mandolin. Just a FYI he also does a podcast about bluegrass and stuff. I enjoy listening to it and I think it's called Grass Talk Radio
Bump
Hunh ... I've probably seen these over the years but don't recall. https://hawthorne.fastie.com/banjo/jammandments.pdf They're all pretty obvious, though I disagree with #8, "Thou Shalt Not Steal Other Musicians... ~ ...from an active jam. With time, players move around anyway. ~" What is this stealing? You can't steal, assuming handcuffs aren't involved. You can introduce someone to a jam they may not know about, and then it's up to them to decide where to play. But maybe I need to read the book. If by "active" it means "during the jam, while folks are actually playing," well then duh.