Hi!
Just got my mandolin, complete beginner (never played any other instrument). I am primarily interested in playing classical, and would like to learn some fundamentals for reading music. What would be the best intro book?
Thanks!
Hi!
Just got my mandolin, complete beginner (never played any other instrument). I am primarily interested in playing classical, and would like to learn some fundamentals for reading music. What would be the best intro book?
Thanks!
Debora Chen's book, "Standard Notation for the Tab-Addicted Mandolinist". This is not a book of songs which may seem tough at first, but this book presents a great, easier way to learn to read music and find the notes on a mandolin. If you want to play classical and read off a sheet, this is a great method
"If you hit a wrong note, then make it right by what you play afterwards." - Joe Pass
Second what Mark said. This is a great book for learning how to read standard notation, regardless id you are addicted to tab notation or not.
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Ah thanks Mark and Gary! And is this a book that would be good for a complete novice such as myself?
The Mel Bay Complete Mandolin Method. No tablature, and good for beginners.
Exploring Classical Mandolin (Berklee Press, 2015)
Progressive Melodies for Mandocello (KDP, 2019) (2nd ed. 2022)
New Solos for Classical Mandolin (Hal Leonard Press, 2020)
2021 guest artist, mandocello: Classical Mandolin Society of America
Well ... a complete novice will have to understand tablature to use this book. That being said reading tablature is a straight forward process of matching up strings and fret numbers. Then you would be translating that information to notation. The process is possible for a novice. Take your time and this will work for you. Sight reading notation is a skill that requires serious practice just like reading words then on to sentences did. In notation you have symbols relating to pitch as well as time holding or repeating a pitch. Something else to think about would be a beginner violin book as the instruments are tuned the same. R/
I love hanging out with mandolin nerds . . . . . Thanks peeps ...
The open high string on a mandolin is E. The first fret is F. The second fret is F#. You're going to ask yourself, "Huh?? Why isn't the first fret E#? Where's the logic in that?"
Music notation is based on the layout of the piano keyboard (or vice-versa, a chicken/egg thing). If I were you, I'd buy Book One of the Leila Fletcher piano course, and work through that first. You'll intuitively absorb enough theory that you won't be frustrated later.
They're also fun, musical pieces, easy to read, easy to play. Learning to read on a difficult-to-play instrument like the mandolin is going to be much harder if you're a total mandolin-beginner – learning to read on the the piano will be a lot easier.
I agree with everyone else's suggestions – I'd just do this first.
I’ll second a method book a great way to start out. Mel Bay has a discount code available in the classifieds thru today. Or Hal Leonard is another good method beeok as well.
Northfield F5M #268, AT02 #7
Music tutor and MusicNotes for iphone are great apps to be used in conjunction with a theory book. They can really get the note you read immediately to your fingertips. One has a violin fretboard, but whatever, it works well and they are both free. The second is for quickly recognizing the name on the note. - you can get quite fast, quickly.
Good luck.
Now that you mention it, almost all of those older method books from the golden Age of Mandolin began with instructions on how to read music.
https://ia801400.us.archive.org/34/i...olin01bick.pdf
The old Bickford Book 1:
excerpt:
most of those PD books had sections on reading music
My point is that music theory isn't readily apparent on a string instrument. (Ya, I know that E# = F.) To a beginner, going from E to F to F# to G to G# to A doesn't make much sense – there's a sharp between every note, but not always? Why?
The way the system works is much more obvious to someone who's reading while playing the piano.
In my web search on educational material I came across an old post from John McGann (RiP) from 2007. He kindly offered the Free Tab Reader's Guide to Standard Notation
Unfortunately this link seems to be broken. Can anyone in this digital beehive point me to a working link or maybe send a copy of this guide?
Thanks a lot in advance...
pit
Looks like they have a copy here:
https://archives.berklee.edu/_archiv...ann.html#ref13
-but it’s a library (with all the restrictions that they have to endure). I’ve no idea how you could access it.
Shame about the site going down.
Boy, that was fast
You guys are the best!
Thanks again...
Pit
+1 for the Hal Leonard book. I came to the mandolin reading, but it looked to me like it was well presented.
You might also look at early method books for violin, as it is strung the same. The school music programs here use Essential Elements. I volunteered in a string program for several years, and thought the book was well laid out, and presented reading sensibly.
Cool--I may check some of these out ass I would like to get better at reading for mandolin--I haven't worked on that much--mostly have used tab or chords--so far--but I can read quite well for guitar & better than okay/decent for bass & would like to have that for mandolin as well
Would it save you a lot of time if I just gave up and went mad now?
From the book, Tab Reader's Guide to Standard Notation:
The Charlie Parker Omnibook
John Coltrane Plays Coltrane Changes
Coltrane Plays Standards
Great Tenor Sax Solos Tim Price
Bill Evans Trio (3 volumes)
Jazz Conception Jim Snidero
Reading Key Jazz Rhythms Fred Lipsius
'Hey, none of the above are available in tablature!’
-John McGann
My personal favorite book to teach notation is The Children's Fakebook (https://www.amazon.com/Easy-Children.../dp/1458411222). It's a bunch of easy songs that you probably already know by heart - all you really need to do is remember FACE is the Spaces and Every Good Boy Does Fine.
I find this is easier to teach to students and memorable. Nothing wrong with the books designed to teach you to read - I learned to read teaching kids to read with beginner books playing the practices slowly, multiple times a day, and singing the name of the note when I played. That was on guitar though
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For me (and I'm returning to reading after a few years of tabs) was to look back at my beginner violin books.
Pick up one at your local music store, they're cheap and very straight forward and of course, apply to mandolin.
Doc Ivory
-Play loud, live long..
Get a beginner fiddle book. It really does help.
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