"In this book, Ray Valla shares the insights of a veteran bluegrass mandolinist. This method would best be appreciated by a student with some previous musical experience, as fundamentals of note-reading on the mandolin are not addressed. This is, however, the ideal book for the intermediate to advanced player. It is filled with practical hints to improve your general musicianship and increase the speed of your progress. For example, Ray suggests learning a new tune by mastering its individual ""licks"" before attempting to assemble the whole. The book's 27 well-known bluegrass tunes are shown in standard notation and tablature with arrows indicating picking direction. Illustrated with photographs, charts and diagrams."