Dream a Little Dream of Me: Mandolin TAB

This collection captures the mandolin's glory days as a jazz instrument, before guitars dominated the soundscape. You'll find the chord voicings and rhythmic patterns that made early mandolin orchestras swing, giving modern players authentic period style without requiring advanced technique.

Stepping into a speakeasy with a mandolin in hand: each tune swings with period charm and melodic warmth. The simple chords belie genuine jazz sophistication, and the classic turnarounds and intros transport you directly to the era when mandolins were as central to jazz as saxophones.

Mandolin players who want to expand beyond bluegrass and classical repertoire into the jazz standards that defined their instrument's role in early American music. Intermediate players comfortable with chord-based playing and looking for accessible material that sounds sophisticated will find these arrangements immediately playable yet deeply musical.

• Study the provided intros and turnarounds carefully; these signature figures set the early jazz aesthetic and make the difference between a casual strum and an authentic '20s sound.
• Work the strum patterns as deliberately as the melody itself. The rhythmic precision of jazz-era mandolin playing carries as much of the style as the notes you're playing.
• Approach the chord changes with attention to voicing. Simple doesn't mean sloppy; these straightforward chords still need clarity and voice leading to sound period-appropriate.
• Listen to recordings of early mandolin orchestras or jazz mandolin soloists from the 1920s-1930s for phrasing and articulation reference before performing.

Feature individual standards as solo recital pieces, or program several together as a thematic set exploring Jazz Age repertoire. This collection also works beautifully for community performances where mandolin players want to showcase the instrument's jazz heritage in an accessible, entertaining context.

• Jazz chord voicing and substitution on mandolin
• Period-appropriate phrasing and articulation from the 1920s-1930s jazz style
• Swing rhythms and jazz-specific strum patterns
• Improvisation within simple chord changes
• Reading mandolin TAB in a jazz context