Mel Bay Publications has three new instructional books that will be of interest to any of our readers who study the mandolin or fiddle.

The Mel Bay Mandolin Scales Chart is a simple 4 page folded chart which displays common and important scales using fretboard diagrams.

Major, minor, pentatonic, harmonic minor and dorian patterns are included, with examples starting on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th strings. The chart sells for $4.95.

Getting Into Jazz Mandolin by Ted Eschliman is designed for mandolinists who have an interest in exploring jazz on their chosen instrument.

Eschliman takes you through some basics on using modes and then introduces a number of fretboard patterns that can be used as a basis for the sorts of deviations required by jazz harmony.

An audio CD is included with play-along tracks to accustom the student to common jazz chord changes, and drills are provided to help develop finger strength and control, as well as fretboard knowledge and a broader tonal centers on the mandolin.

The book runs to 112 pages and sells for $19.95.

Ozarks Fiddle Music by Drew Beisswenger and Gordon McCann contains transcriptions for 308 tunes which highlight the playing of 80 influential fiddlers who play in what historians of American folk fiddling describe as the Ozark style.

Each of these fiddlers is profiled with photos and bio, with 30 especially notable players covered in some detail. An audio CD with 37 tunes (many as field recordings) helps demonstrate the nuances of this style, which is considered as a evolutionary link between old time/square dance fiddling and more modern bluegrass and contest style playing.

Ozarks Fiddle Music runs 220 pages, selling for $29.95.

All three will be available wherever Mel Bay products are sold.