Mattie Beancourt; a 61 year old woman; reads the autobiography of Mark Gorman; a famous painter. Having grown up in the same London East End streets as the painter she writes him a fan letter. He replies briefly; apologising he cant write at length as hes busy preparing for a new exhibition and must give interviews and meet with prospective purchasers; and so on. She is so surprised and impressed that he has deigned to reply that she dares write again. A correspondence develops. She visits him unannounced; and discovers that far from preparing for a new exhibition and being absorbed with interviews he lives in near poverty and neglect. Her personality is sunny; his is curmudgeonly. Their impact upon each other is startling. Groupie began life as a Radio 4 commissioned Friday Play which was transmitted in 2001 with Barbara Windsor and Timothy West. The world premiere opened in Naples 2002.
#4135830 in eBooks 2011-01-09 2011-01-09File Name: B00AKFJ376
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Love it alreadyBy GallivantingFoxI have just started working my way through this book and it is wonderful. (My musical background includes 3 years of piano; 11 years of clarinet; 1 year of bagpipes; 1 year of ukulele). The author makes the material accessible for complete music beginners; but also manages to move things along at a pace suitable for those who know more about music theory and notation. The audio recordings on the website are very useful; too. I am fairly new to the mandolin and still have a LOT of learning and practicing to do. Pairing this with the Mandolin Exercises for Dummies book is probably the best way to do it-- this text gives both technical details and examples to practice from; while the other book provides more practice materials for you to work with.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Just what I was looking forBy CustomerThis is the best mandolin book ever written. It starts right at the beginning and moves forwards to other styles; influences from other countries and players. It gives us tunes; chords; rhythms; different techniques; some theory about different modes all written in a step by step logical way; that is interesting and sometimes funny and; unlike some music books very easy to read. It talks about purchasing and caring for your instrument.The thing I really like is the tracks that are built into the book for kindle users. They are so valuable for practice and you can listen to them while you read. I love my mandolin with a passion and found it so easy to play. This book has given me the materials to advance what I am doing.Don I know you will read this so I want to ask you for more. Ive got your exercise book but really would like some songs to sing to; perhaps from popular artist with some of their history. All with built in kindle tracks. Ill keep my eye open for that. Let me know when you have written it. Fiona@centurylink.net.Also Don Thank you.Now Im off to practice.Fiona11 of 12 people found the following review helpful. The Best Mandolin Introduction AvailableBy William G. WittAfter I had been playing mandolin for a little over a year; I had bought a number of mandolin "how to" texts. I was looking for something beyond the basic beginner level to push me to that next step; but that was not too difficult. At the same time; I had been watching mandolin Youtube videos; and had discovered several videos by a guy named Don Julin. I liked Dons online lessons so much that I contacted him directly to buy his introductory mandolin primer; and wrote him an email suggesting I thought it would be great if he were to write a follow-up book at an intermediate level.This book appeared a few months later; and it is the book I was looking for. In my opinion; Mandolin for Dummies simply is the best overall instruction book for mandolin available today. It goes beyond the beginner level to provide a general introduction to numerous styles of mandolin playing. I love that it is not just one more bluegrass book; but introduces the player to ragtime; jazz; Irish; Brazilian; and Dawg music as well. Chapter 7 on playing "Jethro Burns"-style 3 finger chords takes the mystery (and the misery) out of learning a gazillion different chord shapes. There is also great material on rhythm; theory; scales; right hand techniques like tremolo; advice on mandolin purchase and care; etc. This is just a great book at a great price. At almost 400 pages; I have been working through it for several months now; and have still not made it to the end.Two bits of practical advice: If youre a complete novice to the mandolin; you might want to start with a very basic primer first. If you can get hold of it; I think that Don Julins Mandolin Method Book 1 would be a great book to work through before beginning this book. This no longer seems available on Dons website; so perhaps he no longer sells it; but there are others.Like all Dummies books; this book has a perfect binding; which is not ideal for reading and playing simultaneously. I used a blow dryer on the spine to melt the glue; removed the cover; used a 3 hole punch on the pages; and put the text in a 3 ring binder. The results are not pretty; but make for easier playing.Thank you; Don Julin. I await eagerly your next book -- something along the lines of Mandolin Old Time; Ragtime; and Jazz Improvization would be great!