May Frost: 64 Original Mandolin Tunes (with harmony parts and guitar chords)

May Frost tunebook, download free PDF (donations encouraged) or purchase print copy at this Mandotopia page: www.mandotopia.com/MayFrost.html

May Frost is a collection of mandolin tunes written mostly between 2003-2013, most of which first appeared in this blog. In putting this collection together I wrote harmony parts for the tunes that didn't already have them. I also corrected a few errors and made a few improvements.

In most cases you can look up each tune in this blog using the alphabetical index and play along. Better yet you can find a friend or two and play them as duos and/or trios at whatever tempo you prefer.

I've also included a short section at the end with brief notes on the tunes.

I hope you find some of these tunes fun and useful. Ideally they will add pleasure to your playing and to the people who encounter them.

Here's the title tune, "May Frost", as it was presented back in May of 2010 (mp3) (pdf)

James Oswald on the Ohio (for mandolin quartet or ensemble)

James Oswald on the Ohio (for mandolin quartet or ensemble) (PDF music and MP3 here)

Today's posted link will take you to a web page on my Mandotopia site that includes information about this new piece, along with the usual links to PDF music and a recording.

I explain the title in more detail there but the piece itself is another in a long line of pieces and tunes that I have written over the years inspired by the work of Scottish composer James Oswald (1710-1769). I am also trying to add to my supply of pieces composed for smaller groups of mandolin family players who don't have easy access to a large mandolin orchestra.

On this Independence Day I hope that you will enjoy a piece that makes fictional reference to our colonial past (although the artwork above probably depicts a slightly later time period).