Alfred's Teach Yourself to Play Mandolin: Mandolin Book & Online Video/Audio/Software

This method respects the mandolin as a serious instrument while meeting absolute beginners exactly where they are. The integration of video, audio, and interactive software transforms what could be a solitary learning experience into something genuinely engaging, and the chord dictionary plus strum library give students real tools to play music from day one rather than endless theoretical exercises.

The mandolin's bright, ringing voice cuts through instantly, but this book teaches you that beneath that shine lives surprising depth. Moving from simple melodies into folk traditions, blues riffs, and country grooves reveals an instrument far more versatile than most people expect.

Solo learners of any age who want a structured path into mandolin without formal instruction. This works equally well for musicians switching from guitar or other fretted instruments and for complete musical beginners ready to commit to regular practice.

• Work through the TNT 2 audio player systematically: slow a track down to 75% tempo while you're still securing finger positions, then gradually increase to performance speed once muscle memory solidifies.
• Pay particular attention to the tremolo and cross-picking techniques before moving past those sections; these form the foundation for the folk and bluegrass styles you'll encounter later.
• Use the accompaniment strums as a reference while playing, not as a strict tempo guide. Mandolin sits best when it breathes slightly ahead or behind a backing track, so listen for the pocket rather than locking rigidly to it.
• Reference the video lessons for pick angle and hand position whenever you sense tension or fatigue; small corrections in these fundamentals prevent problems that compound over weeks of practice.

Recommend this to any student who expresses interest in acoustic folk styles or bluegrass ensemble work. It also serves well as a summer or winter break project for guitarists who want to expand their instrumental vocabulary without abandoning what they already know about fretboard navigation.

• Standard musical notation reading on the mandolin staff
• Tremolo technique and cross-picking patterns
• Chord recognition and accompaniment comping
• Tempo and pitch adjustment using audio playback software
• Playing in folk, blues, country, and pop styles
• Tuning by ear and using standard notation guides