Take it with you...We've added a page of our most requested printable exercises, ready for you to download with the click of a mouse. These are some of our best pedagogical tools for you to develop fingers, ear, and brain, and you would do well to include these in your daily practice regimen.
Do us a favor and after a couple months of working these, email us, and let us know what you're getting out of them.
Popular Download Page

Posted by Ted at 05:37 AM

June 26, 2005 | California Brazil Camp

Considered to be one of the greatest mandolin players in the world, Brazilian Hamilton de Holanda is becoming known internationally for his incredible talent, having played with Hermeto Pascoal, Mike Marshall, John Paul Jones, and others. Hamilton is a master of improvisation and has amazing virtuosic speed and technique. For Hamilton 8 strings weren't enough so he had a 10 string mandolin custom made with a low C string giving him incredible facility to create chord melodies. He has just recorded a CD with Mike Marshall and is coming to the California Brazil Camp to teach mandolin for an entire week August 28-Sept 3.

This will be a unique opportunity for American mandolinists to study Brazilian choro music with a true master of the style. Infected by the Choro bug years ago, JazzMando is committed to the forces that promise nurture of this incredible music; those of you near the S.F. Bay Area (or any airport for that matter), this is camp is a must!

The California Brazil Camp features all styles of Brazilian music and dancing and is located in the heart of the redwood forest in Cazadero, California. (outside of San Francisco)

For more information: www.mameluco.com

To read more about Hamilton:
English
Portuguese

Posted by Ted at 06:54 AM

June 25, 2005 | Tone-gard

We can't say enough good things about Tone-gard.
We've had this on several of our instruments, including ones designer Tony Pires developed for the luscious radiused sides of our Rigels.
The concept is quite simple: allow the back of your mandolin its vibrational due. If your ax is lively and rich, it's probably because its resonant back pushes tone through the sound holes. But, especially those of us cursed with a middle-aged gut tend to overstep our own profiles, and press into the back of our instrument, literally stifling this sonic potential.
Thus, the Tone-gard. An expertly engineered, lightweight steel frame is welded to perfection, grasping the instrument in avoidance of key nodal points on the sides, freeing the back to do its duty.
On many instruments, the effect can be amazing, giving it the richness of others twice the price. This simple modification can make your playing more rewarding and tone more satisfying.
Contact Tony Pires for one of his vast selection of stock designs, or have him customize one especially for your mandolin. info@tone-gard.com

He's got some great pictures on his website, as well as some validation and pictoral endorsements by some of the world's greatest players.

View our T-gard

Posted by Ted at 06:13 AM

June 16, 2005 | Jazzbo 4-string Mandolin

Our fingers just can't quit dancing...
Breakthrough Luthier Paul Lestock has dazzled us with his new 4-string "Jazzbo" acoustic mandolin. We even had a chance to "spread the love" and share this gem to some friends of ours this week, including Scott Tichenor of MandolinCafe fame, and pyro-technical fret monster, John Jorgenson.
What a treat!
Read all about it in our latest equipment review: Paul Lestock Jazzbo.

Posted by Ted at 09:10 AM

June 15, 2005 | Franco American Swing

Franco-American Swing, one of today's hottest contemporary Gypsy Jazz CDs by the legendary John Jorgenson and his Quintet... This disc is a "must have!"
And even better to see this genius in person...
Check out: a Gypsy in the Midwest.

Posted by Ted at 03:45 PM

June 13, 2005 | Rigel Custom

Introducing a collection of pictures of some of the dozens of Rigel Mandolins that have passed throught the JazzMando Merchandise Center. Looking for some creative options in a terrific ax?...
Check out our Custom Rigel Gallery for some innovative alternatives!

Posted by Ted at 06:45 AM

June 02, 2005 | Pick Sampler

The never-ending quest for the perfect pick...
Perhaps you'll find the solution to your search in the JazzMando Merchandise Department..
Check out the new JazzMando Pick Sampler.

Posted by Ted at 10:14 PM

June 01, 2005 | Mando ModeExplorer

Playing with my new toy, the Mando ModeExplorer. This isn't a chord or mode dictionary, it's an interactive tour guide into a wonderful journey of chord and scale theory.

Such study can be dry and tedious taken out of context. Throw in some compelling graphics (nice A+ Deluxe, by the way...), a well thought out organizational strategy, an attractive chord computer, and you have a tremendous tool for unraveling the mysteries of jazz theory.

Read more...

Posted by Ted at 06:21 AM