
HOMESPUNButch gives you exercises to build your technique and teaches you how to master fiddle tunes, take solos, and play the famous Bill Monroe licks that make up “the language of bluegrass.” He shares advice about fingering, pick control, alternate chord forms, playing scales in a variety of keys and imparts other invaluable information that will help you develop style, flair and a deep knowledge of your instrument.
Best of all, you’ll learn to play twenty songs that should be in the repertoire
of every mandolinist: Little Rabbit, Arkansas Traveler, Leather Britches, Patty
on the Turnpike, Honky Tonk Swing, Bluegrass Stomp, Evening Prayer Blues, I’ll
Fly Away, I’m Going Back to Old Kentucky, Rebecca, Little Georgia Rose, Pass
Me Not O Gentle Savior, Bile Them Cabbage Down, Sally Goodin, Angeline the Baker,
Chinquapin Hunting, Big Mon, Waltz for Bill Monroe, Blackberry Blossom, Whiskey
Before Breakfast.
Butch
Baldassari has been considered one of the rising stars of bluegrass mandolin
since the release of his first album "What's Doin'" (Cactus Records).
His work with Weary Hearts delighted fans at festivals and club dates throughout
the country, and the groups' 1989 Flying Fish album was released to great critical
acclaim. He has since released "Old Town," a solo album of bluegrass
instrumentals on Rebel Records and "Evergreen," a collection of traditional
Christmas music played on several instruments in the mandolin family. Butch is
currently a columnist for Bluegrass Now Magazine and the leader of the Nashville
Mandolin Ensemble. His two-video set, “You Can Play Bluegrass Mandolin,” has
been one of Homespun’s most popular instructional products.