Mandolin: The Essential Patterns That All the Pros Know and Use [With CD] (Fretboard Roadmaps)

The book focuses on playing out of the bluegrass chop style closed chord pattern and the 'k' position. The latter is a new way of thinking for me so of interest. If you don't want to do improvised playing, other books are better.

This is a really good book and it has helped me big time..

First off, let's make it clear that this book is not for the Celtic music specialist, unless he or she is looking to branch out a little; neither is it specifically aimed at the bluegrass player, though that style is touched on regularly. Rather it is a ragbag of licks, tune and solo arrangements and exercises, mainly scale-related, which are designed to lead the player to the point of being able to play in every key, whilst having the ability to pull out a range of styles including jazz and pop if need be.So does it actually succeed in doing all that? Well, partially. There's a lot of useful material contained in the pages of the book, but such a slim volume was never going to be comprehensive. On the one hand we do get some insight into navigating the fretboard, on the other minor scales are not properly addressed, with the emphasis being put on blues scales. Again, whilst we can pick up the odd useful lick or a different approach from the solo examples, there are some odd choices of melody notes which are rather irritating and unhelpful in getting a sense of the "shape" of a tune.The recordings on the CD are fine, and can really help the listener to understand the nuances of the examples. In response to another review, I have to say that even Sam Bush fudges on occasion and that there's nothing wrong with the rhythm chunks - everyone plays them a different way, and if the examples given happen to be less percussive than some, well that's a matter of taste.To sum up, the book's a bit of a mixture. I'd say that it would probably be a good jumping off point for intermediate players striving to add some new colour to their playing.

i wouldnt say this was for a beginner but not so advanced to be for an intermediate player only .... this would be me....im learning alot from this little booklet... read several times and use as a reference and you will find the road maps very helpful.

Good. I am a beginner so a little bit too technical for me. But I am getting there. CD great.

Really helpful for focusing my attention on knowing and understanding the fretboard.

This book is for beginners. However if you are left-handed prepare to get VERY lost. That being said, this is a nice simple introduction to the Mandolin without being too intense. Perfect book to go along with your first mandolin!

I have been playing for about 4 years on and off. I can pick up a mandolin, and play a good number of tunes. I know the tricks and techniques - hammers, pulls, and can tremelo with the best of them (well, not all). The one thing I was missing was that spark of understanding which allowed me to move outside what was written on the page, and become what I would call a good player.I got a couple of books which I thought would get me there. This was one of them (the other being Jack Hatfield's "You Can Teach Yourself Mandolin By Ear" which I also recommend), and I was not disappointed.It does start with some fairly basic stuff (where to find all the notes on the strings), and then introduces some handy scale-learning exercises. Where the real strength then comes in is putting these scales into action when you start playing a tune. It encourages you to start transposing to other keys, and so learn how to play a song in whatever key you happen to find yourself in. The big thing it gave me was how to not lose my never when I played a bum-note. Instead I found I could just go on a slight blues-y riff, and come back via the scale exercises earlier in the book.On its own I can't recommend it as a tutor. But that isn't its job. Likewise, it won't completely teach you how to improvise, as it is a bit limited in scope for that, and doesn't explain enough about how to fill in the blanks with what you play. But (and it is a big but), it does provide you with the confidence to take a piece of music which you have encountered and move the key, and once you have this, allow you to work at improvising within keys, and moving this around the fretboard.The accompanying CD is fine for playing along to, but like all these CDs I find they get a bit dull after a while. There's nothing really to stretch you and your playing here, but it is handy as a starting point.All in all, I would recommend this to a post-beginner to intermediate player who wants to understand music and the mandolin a bit more. I worked at it with Jack Hatfield's book, and I found it to be an excellent combination.