THE

MANDOLIN PICKER'S

GUIDE TO

BLUEGRASS IMPROVISATION

Mandolin TAB Book with MP3 CD

A new book on improvisation is now available for bluegrass mandolin players. Based on the concept of learning by playing, this 200 page book covers a wide range of improvisation tools and how to implement them in your playing. A large number of examples are presented in both tablature and standard notation, so that a theoretical background is not required. The small amount of theory needed is simply presented and easily learned step by step.

A series of exercises designed to help the player develop improvisational skills are included in the book. As an instruction tool, the book can easily be combined with the instructor’s individual philosophy or by a student wishing to study alone. The subject matter is varied in difficulty and can be used by both the beginner and more advanced player as an instructional guide and reference book. The major-themes in the book are: The pentatonic sound, scale and major-chord based improvising with any Bluegrass-Tune, Double-stop improvisation, Minor chords and Keys, The blues sound, Melody oriented improvisation, How to use: Monroe Style, Cross picking, Hot licks, how to simplify a lick, and more. MP3 CD accompanies book featuring all examples.

About the Author/Credits

Introduction

Chapter 1 Theory

• The major scale
• Intervals

Chapter 2 Chord Tones

Chapter 3 For the Beginner

• The double-stop shuffle

Chapter 4 The Pentatonic Sound

• The major pentatonic scale

Chapter 5 Let's Play Bluegrass

Chapter 6 Slow Improvising

Chapter 7 Stationary Improvising

Chapter 8 Let's Improvise

• Troubleshooting
• Easy playing

Chapter 9 The Spices

• The minor 3rd
• The minor 7th
• The perfect 4th
• The major 7th
• Connection lines

Chapter 10 Mixing the Ideas

Chapter 11 One-Bar Licks

Chapter 12 "Last Line" Licks

Chapter 13 The G Chord

Chapter 14 The C Chord

Chapter 15 The F Chord

Chapter 16 Other Major Chords

• The Bf chord
• The B chord
• Transposing "up the neck"

Chapter 17 Double-stops

• The structures

Chapter 18 "Playing Around" with Double-stops

• The movements
• The picked slide
• Ghost notes

Chapter 19 Other Double-Stops Ideas

• Connecting the structures
• Other double-stops shapes
• Chord numbers
• Harmonizing the major-scale
• Major-scale movements
• Chord related movements
• The minor 7th sound

Chapter 20 Minor Chords

• The dorian scale
• The minor scale
• The minor (no 6th) scale
• The phrygian scale
• The ( IV m ) chord

Chapter 21 Minor Keys

• The minor scale
• Horizontal playing
• Symmetrical sequences
• Adjustable playing
• Vertical playing
• The V chord in a minor key
• The harmonic minor scale
• The harmonic minor (no 6th) scale

Chapter 22 The Blues Sound

• The blues scale
• Mountain minor
• The extended blues scale

Chapter 23 Monroe Style

• "Anticipating the tonic"
• The f 7 as leading tone
• Down strokes

Chapter 24 Cross Picking

• The two-string cross picking technique
• The three-string cross picking technique

Chapter 25 The Melody

Chapter 26 Other Spices

• The major scale
• The mixolydian scale
• Neighbor tones
• Chromatic
• The minor-pentatonic scale
• The relative minor
• Chord substitutions

Chapter 27 Hot Licks

• Triplets
• Large movements
• Rhythmic displacement

Chapter 28 How to Simplify a Lick

• Skipping tones
• Staying on chord tones
• Limited improvisation
• Lick replacement

Conclusion

Appendix