This is my first octave mandolin book, published in 2025. You might ask, “Why the octave mandolin?” Ever since I was a “young’un” I’ve always gravitated toward lower-voiced instruments. In recent years, I’ve come across some amazing performances on Youtube of virtuosos like Lady Moon, Simon Mayor and Emma Borders. All of these musicians often feature the lower voices such as mandola, mandocello and, of course, the octave mandolin.
I was inspired by these kinds of players to pick up an octave mandolin for myself. Once I had my Eastman MDO-305 in hand, I needed to find some exercises and tunes that would acclimate me from the regular mandolin to the larger “landscape” of this new instrument.
I noticed that there weren’t many books in print that were specifically designed for the octave mandolin. So I began to write my own exercises and transcribe some old tunes like “Greensleeves” and other medieval and renaissance tunes.
Before I knew it, I had compiled enough material to write my own book for the instrument!
Since I had a variety of musical styles such as bluegrass, waltzes, ballads and even Christmas tunes, I decided to divide the book into chapters organized by time signatures, styles and various genres. This gives the player the freedom to pick and choose a chapter based on what kinds of tunes they’re lacking in their repertoire.
Perhaps more waltzes? . . . Chapter 3
Jigs in 3/8 and 6/8 time? . . . Chapter 5
Do you have a Christmas gig coming up? Chapter 8 can help you there.
All the pieces in the book are transcribed and fingered specifically for the octave mandolin.
I’d like to think I’ve found a need in music books and did my part to help fill it.
Click here to go to Amazon to purchase it. It’s available in both paperback and Kindle formats.