Has anyone tried Mike Marshall's Artist Works Website? I am considering subscribing, but was wondering about the quality of instruction ad how user friendly the site is. Feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Zeb, I'm interested too. I've been vacillating between artistworks and banjo Ben. I'm not really interested in the sending video part of AW but his sample lessons look good. But so do BB's. He may seem a little corny but I find him engaging and I like the quality of the video w/ good shots of both hands and the tab at the bottom. I wish I was playing mando when it was $75 for a lifetime membership! I be watching to see what people say. I've searched on MC and read previous threads but they were older.
Zeb, I signed up with Mike Marshall's instruction on ArtistWorks last year. It was a toss up between it and PegHead Nation. Mike's skills and mastery won me over. There are several subscription packages and I took the full year so I could take advantage of some of the extras offered. It works just like it is described - you can submit your videos and he will respond with his critique within a week or two. He averages about 4-6 minutes on his critique and addresses both good and bad, as well as tips for you to work on. It's an individual response and he makes it personal. You can also watch everyone else's submissions and their critiques. While his lessons are in order from beginner, intermediate to advanced, you don't have to follow them in order. In fact, I've jumped around to the ones that interest me the most. The biggest advantage is that you can watch them over and over. There is even an option to loop the video if you are working on a difficult part. I've learned quite a bit from him. That said, my subscription is coming up for renewal in a few months and I doubt that I will renew. There is so much good - free - material on the web that I can't readily justify the cost; not to mention what you can learn on MC and this group. Also, I spend a lot of my free time watching the people I want to emulate play the mandolin. While I enjoy the music, much of the time I'm watching their right hand work and left hand fingering; then, I see what works for me and my technique. For me, personally, I believe I need a good teacher - in person. Finding that person in the DFW area is going to be a challenge but I seem to learn more with personal interaction with immediate response, instead of waiting a week for response. ArtistWorks or PegHead might work for you. Sounds like you are thinking it through which is good. I'll be interested to see how this plays out for you. Keep us updated.
I did Mike Marshall's mandolin class as well for about 6 months. I'll agree with FredK about the material always being there and avaliable. Mike's critiques were good, but it did take some time to get a response. So, in a since it was nothing beyond what you would get here from TOTM submissions, but just as not as much experience that Mike has obviously. FredK also made a great point about the playback of lessons and being able to loop them, it was nice to have that avaliable. I wasn't disappointed or overly impressed with what they had to offer because I felt I learned more from watching Bradley Laird's stuff and learning from his material compared to Artist Works and much more affordable. I agree again with FredK that there are a ton of free material that is avaliable to get you going, depending on your experience so far. Brad has some free stuff around to dip your toes in, MandoLessons from Baron, etc. I really turned the corner with a different style of lessons compared to Artist works and that was through Matt Flinner. He does group lessons twice a week and around an hour each time, you get the written material, you get the video sessions and live feedback lessons via chat. His stuff is great and with lots of range for experience. Now, I have nothing to do with him besides taking lessons, but I'll bet you can find others out there that do the same thing, I just like how he presents it. I know Don Julin with Mandolins Heal the World will do 3 live skype lessons with you for signing up(or something like that). I've never been comfortable with skyping and so forth so that's one reason I never went with private lessons. Overall I like Mike and Artist works, but it just wasn't for me. If they have a trial I would do that and use it as much as you can during that trial period to see if it's worth investing. With Matt's lessons I'm drivin to practice a lot to just keep pace with the weekly material he's presenting, I wasn't drivin with Mike's and Artist Works material because it was "go at your own pace". With artist works is dependent on you using the material and getting the most out of it as much as you can. If you want stuff to fool around with and you're limited on time, I could see AW other free stuff working. If you want constant pressure and being "held accountable" maybe look at private lessons via skype if no one's around you or group lessons like Matt's. Hope that helps, and good luck. Another great resource here is the monthly tune of the month (TOTM). Another driver that gets me to play more because I like to step out of my shell and submit a video. Every single member is positive and you get great feedback. Mandolin Cafe and this group helped me keep playing in the beginning because I enjoyed interacting with everyone and learning a lot.
Thanks for the feedback? My question did you improve due to their classes?
I know I did. However, I started ArtistWorks shortly after purchasing my mandolin. Though I've played other instruments, this was a first for the mando. Mike starts at square one for the novice and has you learning bluegrass fiddle tunes pretty quickly. Ellsdemon alluded to it and I fully agree that you will get out of it as much as you put in. As an added bonus for a year's subscription, you have free access to music theory and guitar instruction. Music theory is good and has a lot of depth.
I had been playing for about 6 months, I don't know if I "learned" anything new from Mike except the occasional pointer from a video submission. The material is there, the videos are there, as said before, you've got to make as much as you can with it. This is why it didn't workout as well for me as it should. I need someone poking me and pushing me to get the most out of something. Probably the not best thing but, that's who I am.
I wanted to relay my AW experience as well. I joined after having played for a year or 18 months, and I'd previously taken a Matt Flinner course, which I got a lot out of, and learned out of some books. I was on AW for about 18 months, and decided to do the course from square one, instead of dropping in where I thought i belonged. I'm glad I did. Not only did I learn cool variations to the tunes I already played, Mike is a stickler for the basics - sitting position, right & left hand techniques, etc. and a lot of his initial critiques of me, and other students of all levels, is directed at that. Never pedantic, always presented in a personable manner. I found the site a bit kludgey, but once you figure it out, it's easy to make acquaintances & learn from other people's videos. I wanted to get the most out of my subscription, so I sent lots of videos, which in & of itself is a good way to learn how to relax and play! The rhythm was more or less about 2 weeks between responses. So while I was waiting, i would work on Mike's critiques of the previous video, go to the next step in the program, maybe learn something on the side that was interesting, compose another video encompassing those, and if Mike's response had come, work on that before uploading. I left the course as it was time for me to try something else - there are people that have been on it for years - but my experience was fine. I would say I took the course at the right time in my trajectory, and may think about returning to it again at some point in the future. I think finding the right type of course at the right time means a lot, but regardless of which you take, as Otto says, if you commit to it, you'll get a lot out - no matter if it's Peghead, Don julin, Matt, AW or any of the other ones.
Thanks for the input and insight. I just now have to make up my mind where to go from here. That's the good thing thing about this site is that we have an opportunity to gain from others knowledge and experience.
I did AW a while back for the fiddle. The best thing about AW is the personalized feedback. Outside of that, you really get much the same thing, in my opinion, from Banjo Ben (about $25/mth) or Baron over at Mandolessons ($Free.99). Right now I'm working through Banjo Ben's stuff as his videos are very high quality and I like the variations/spins he puts on some of the tunes. He also has some great material for improv licks, etc. He also gives you the option of downloading a TEF tab file which is a really neat little file that allows you to control the speed of the practice tracks and highlights the notes on the tab as the track plays along (similar to the old sing-a-long videos where the dot bounces on the words as you sing). As a side note, he also offers a music theory section in his lessons, similar to AW. I know you weren't asking about Banjo Ben, but just thought I'd toss that out there since it's been helpful for me.
No worries - all feedback is good feedback. I haven't been playing long and am having issues with when playing chord getting the right rhythm with my right hand. No issues win playing the medley. Just looking for some assistance on improving my ability to play. My wife says I don't have rhythm is my issue, she may be right but I'm not a quitter so I will keep practicing until I get it.
"My wife says I don't have rhythm is my issue, she may be right but I'm not a quitter so I will keep practicing until I get it." I think that's the right attitude, Zeb. It may be that rhythm is the issue now, but rhythm is something you can learn. Everyone has rhythm; it's called a heartbeat. Also, when you walk a distance you have rhythm in your walk. It will probably help first to understand timing. Understand timing, then understand the beat, then the groove or rhythm. Following is something I wrote last year that touches on timing and rhythm:
Q: I watch a video that says, ok, quarter notes, eighth, sixteenth notes. I see they are picking faster that's it. How do I apply it to a song? If you want to try to understand about note durations, I'd suggest looking at each of these lessons. Note Duration Measures and Time Signature If you have studied those pages and have questions, let me know. Meanwhile, let's take a familiar tune to see how it works. I decided to use Row, Row, Row Your Boat because it is well known, has a straightforward rhythm, and has great examples of how quarter notes, eighth notes, half notes and triplets are used in rhythm. The music, with mandolin tab, looks like this: TIME SIGNATURE: The 4/4 up there tells you that there are four beats in each measure (bar), and quarter notes get one beat each. Each measure must have 4 quarter notes, or the equivalent of them. Each measure has four beats. There are numbers above the tab notes (below the standard notes) that show the beats of each measure. If you play this melody on your mandolin, use a downstroke on every note that falls on the beat. Use an upstroke on all eighth notes that fall between the beats. 1ST MEASURE Are you understanding how the beats fall? Try singing the first measure: ROW, ROW, ROW your BOAT over and over a few times. The capitalized "ROW - ROW - ROW - BOAT" falls on the beat, 1, 2, 3, 4. The lowercase "your" falls between the beats 3 & 4. You can sing the melody with words: "ROW, ROW, ROW your BOAT" or you can sing it with number the same way: "1 2 3 & 4" In this first measure: Beat one is a quarter note, beat two is a quarter note, beat three-and is two eighth notes, beat four is a quarter note. So there are four beats here, and the note values or durations add up to the equivalent of four quarter notes. 2ND MEASURE Analyze the beats in measure two by singing the tune again, over and over, and tap your foot at the beat. It will sound like GENT-ly DOWN the STREAM. You can sing the numbers like this: 1 & 2 & 3 - (4) In this second measure: Beat one-and is two eighth notes, beat two-and is two eighth notes, and beat three has a half note that you must hold all the way through beat four. This is because if a quarter note gets one beat, then a half note must get two beats. A half note is twice the length of time as a quarter note, and remember, these beats are measuring time. In music, the beats count time like the beats of your heart, the tick-tock of the clock, the click of the metronome. In this measure, there are four eighth notes and one half note, and these add up to the equivalent of four quarter notes, and account for four beats in the measure. 3RD MEASURE Here is something to learn: The Triplet. Triplets are exceptional. Triplets change the timing or duration of their notes, by cramming three notes into the time-space of two notes. So in this merry verse, three eighth notes are crammed into each beat. One beat normally accomodates only two eighth notes. Normally, eighth notes are counted by saying "seafood" four times each measure. Set your metronome, and say the word "SEAfood" at each click (SEA on the click, food between clicks) and you will begin to understand how eighth notes fit. Now, replace "seafood" with "chocolate" - "CHOC-o-late, CHOC-o-late, CHOC-o-late, CHOC-o-late" - and you will begin to understand how eighth note triplets work. Triplets are a special case, so there is a number "3" printed where they are tied together. You can sing this measure as "MERrily MERrily MERrily MERrily" or you can sing it as 1 &-a 2 &-a 3 &-a 4 &-a Each beat of this measure contains a triplet, which is equal to the timing of two eighth notes or a quarter note, so this measure has the equivalent of four quarter notes, one per beat. Yes, eighth notes, sixteenth notes and triplets are played faster than quarter notes, because more of them must be crammed into each beat which is set at quarter note speed (4/4) 4TH MEASURE The timing of this measure is exactly the same as the second measure, so read that again and apply the principles to this final measure to see how well you understand all this. IN GENERAL Use a down pick stroke on the beats, and an up pick stroke between the beats. Triplets are special though, and in this example you should try DUD DUD DUD DUD in that measure. Set your metronome to make a click on each downbeat. 1, 2, 3, 4 - click, click, click, click
Zeb, I don't know if you've checked this out already but Baron has some stuff on strum patterns at the bottom of his "Fundamentals" page. Perhaps that might have some helpful stuff in it for you. http://www.mandolessons.com/lessons/...-fundamentals/
Zeb, I am going to say (and repeat) what others have said. Click, click, click, click. My metronome at work. Annoying little beast, however oh so effective. And 1 tip: I write in pencil on my sheet music, what bpm I have been playing at. First, pencil so I can easily erase it as I improve. Second, so I don't have to remember the setting. Thrid, I always start slower and work up to the setting during a practice session. I generally work in 5 bpm increments.
I appreciate the input. Started working a metronome yesterday, did not realize how difficult this can be but plan on sticking with it. As I work with the metronome working on counting for 4/4 - 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & with my downstrokes on the whole count and my upstrokes on the & - Again I appreciate you taking the time to provide assistance.
so I was grumbling to my daughter that once I start playing I can't hear the metronome over the mandolin, Since I use a phone app metronome she suggests an earbud in one ear, thoughts?
Yes, I have a small external speaker that I connect to my phone and that seems to work and other times I do use ear buds but they sometimes get in the way of playing if you know what I mean.
That's why I use the old mechanical pyramid Maelzel
Mark that is how the conversation came up. I was telling the old mechanical monster of my youth was loud
I couldn't hear most of the electronic ones I tried, so I scoured eBay and bought one a couple years ago. They were still out there!
And you know, the visual aspect of that arm swinging back and forth (relentlessly) is something that I miss with my computer based metronome. The computer has a light that blinks with the beat, but it is not the same feeling. There ought to be an app out there that is just a picture of an actual metronome with a slider adjustment and which goes back and forth just like a real one. Ideally it would have a volume control, which would be an improvement over the real thing.
Over time, my mechanical one developed kind of a swung rhythm. Not always what you want!
So I use both - an iPhone one called Pro Metronome, that I use with an earbud, and a much more satisfying mechanical one, small and German-made, that I bought new at the local violin shop (Wittner Piccolino). Nice and loud! I would use the mechanical one all the time, but it only does 4/4 as far as I can tell. Do the bigger mechanical ones have the ability to do 3/4 or other non-4/4 time signatures?
The type I have (an old Seth Thomas Maelzel pyramid) could handle other time signatures by virtue of a bell. A little bell is rung on the first beat, and there is a shifter to change time signature so that the bell will ring on the correct click. Settings for the bell are: Once every 6 clicks, once every 4 clicks, once every three clicks, or every second click. The bell feature doesn't work on mine any longer, making it a bit more difficult to differentiate time signatures. Also, as Louise suggested, these can develop a bit of a swing, they are finicky about being level (you'll bias the pendulum to one side or the other if not level), and they are not as accurate as digital - but in general they are as accurate as a good human drummer if you have one that's in good working order.
"accurate as a good human drummer" , Oh the band jokes I could tell. :D
or maybe I've never had one in good working order, a human drummer that is
"or maybe I've never had one in good working order, a human drummer that is" Ha Kevin, you know I was waiting for that joke ever since I read what I'd written.
Metronome software: I just downloaded TempoPerfect from http://www.nch.com.au/metronome/index.html . It seems to work pretty well. It doesn't have as many options as the other metronome software that I have been using, but it does have a bouncing ball thingie that simulates the arm of a mechanical metronome. It's free. The one I have been using is Metronome EXP (also free) from https://www.expmuse.com/metronome.php . No bouncing ball, but it does blink and you can set colors and various sounds.
