Irish Mandolin Playing: A Complete Guide

by Philip John Berthoud

This is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in Irish mandolin playing. As well as being a complete guide for the absolute beginner, this book also contains a mine of information, useful tips and ideas for the experienced player. The book takes the reader from the basics of the mandolin right through to more advanced topics such as creating variations, emphasis, improvisation, playing with other musicians, practicing effectively and much more. All the tunes and key exercises in the book are included on the accompanying 63 track audio recording. There is no need to read conventional music notation as all the music is written in easy-to-read mandolin tablature. However, for those interested in learning about music notation there is a handy section on this subject tailored specifically to the mandolinist as well as a chapter on modes. Includes access to online video.

Genres: Music

129 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 22, 2015

Reviews

[Altivo Overo · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent introduction to the mandolin for those interested in an Irish-flavored approach. One caveat is that the photos showing hand positions are not the best, and in fact sometimes appear to contradict the verbal instructions. That said, Philip John Berthoud is an experienced mandolin performer and teacher. His stepwise introduction to playing the instrument and the musical selections and exercises he offers are well thought out and effective. The book connects fingerings on the fretboard to notes in printed music, but does not require you to read music because it also supplies accepted tablature that provides direct mapping of the printed page to the finger positions for each note of every tune. Older editions include a CD with recordings of all the exercises and tunes, while newer editions instead offer links to online audio from the internet.

This book is a bit pricier than some, and though it is of high quality and certainly an appropriate choice, you may prefer to borrow it from a library if possible. Musicians who are already familiar with standard printed music may prefer Pádraig Carroll's A Complete Guide to Learning the Irish Mandolin.