Mel Bay A Guide to Octave Mandolin & Bouzouki [Paperback]

John McGann (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 24, 2003

Twenty tunes in styles from Irish to American, in a variety of tunings, melody and accompaniment, presented in standard notation and tablature, with a stereo CD (left channel melody, right channel accompaniment). Left and right hand techniques and chord voicings are thoroughly discussed. For the first time, the Celtic style "woven texture" accompaniment unique to the instrument is fully notated. Unique to the book are melodic Irish ornamentation, blues, jazz, American fiddle tunes with variations and improvisations (all fully notated), and a chapter "Breaking Away From Block Chords" extending knowledge of the fingerboard.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John McGann is a Boston-based internationally renown mandolinist and guitarist, composer, arranger, and transcriber; Professor of Strings at Berklee College of Music and New England Conservatory; and is a founding member of The Wayfaring Strangers, Celtic Fiddle Festival, The Boston Edge, Classical Tangent and other groups . He won 1st Place at the National Mandolin Championship, Winfield Kansas (1985). John writes for Flatpicking Guitar Magazine, Mandolin Magazine, and Acoustic Guitar Magazine as well as Mel Bay Publications. He is the staff transcriber for David Grisman's Acoustic Disc website

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Mel Bay Publications, Inc. (September 24, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786666056
• ISBN-13: 978-0786666058
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #742,659 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, but Challenging, September 5, 2007

By 

Robert M. Ey "Old Folkie" (Central New Jersey) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mel Bay A Guide to Octave Mandolin & Bouzouki (Paperback)

I'd recommend this book highly for the more advanced player. I've been working on "Hickey's Reel" (possibly the easiest piece in the book) and I'm finding the melody portion to be a real boot camp for learning ornamentation. The accompaniment is somewhat easier and offers some much more interesting alternatives to just strumming or playing arpeggios. The arrangements sometimes call for very wide stretches or other fingerings that are physically more difficult than seems necessary, so I've found myself rewriting some of them into something that's musically similar, but easier on the hand. This probably would be less of an issue for someone with larger hands or a smaller instrument.
The accompanying CD is enjoyable for listening, but not as friendly as a learning tool as it might be. The tunes are played a bit too fast for anyone who's still learning to play them, and there's no slowed down version. Also, there's no count-off, so you'll just have to jump in as best you can if you want to play along.
Although most of the tunes are Celtic, McGann gives very short shrift to the GDAD tuning, explaining that he prefers the GDAE tuning. While he presents valid arguments for this choice (and it probably makes sense for the less traditional pieces), it may be a bit of a disappointment for traditional Celtic players who think of GDAD as the standard tuning.
"A Guide to the Octave Mandolin & Bouzouki" is a good choice for someone who wants to learn advanced techniques or nontraditional uses of the instrument. Less advanced players or those who want a more traditional Celtic perspective might do better to start with Zan McLeod's "How to Play the Irish Bouzouki" from Homespun Tapes.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Intro to Octave Mandolin, September 23, 2005

By 

Mark Druziak (western ny) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mel Bay A Guide to Octave Mandolin & Bouzouki (Paperback)

This book is great if you have picked up an octave mandolin as a 2nd or 3rd instrument.

It helps you explore OM techniques (accompaniment especially) thru songs. This is not a lesson book, it is a song book that explores different OM playing styles.

The CD is well recorded and good to listen to on its own. The only instrument on the CD is an OM. Melody in the left channel, accompaniment in the right.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars has good info, but is for really advanced players, November 15, 2010

By 

steve - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mel Bay A Guide to Octave Mandolin & Bouzouki (Paperback)

its a nice book and has lots of great info about an instrument that most people have no idea about. has great alt tunings, rhythm patterns, and picking patterns. the problem with it is it is for really advanced players. the tabs and songs are intense, to say the least