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I am talking about one-on-one lessons over Skype, not recorded lessons like at Peghead Nation or Mandolessons. I am curious as to other folks experiences using an online instructor. I have been playing about a year. Currently, I am finishing up Bert Casey’s book and video. I have learned a lot but I worry that I am missing out on critique and feedback that could help me identify weaknesses or bad habits
if it's critique and feedback you need, then I'd recommend ArtistWorks. Sounds like just what you're asking for.Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveGinNJ
What can be better than Mike Marshall reviewing your video uploads and spending a good several minutes giving you feedback, showing you things you might have missed, things that need work, ideas for variations, all with a dose of his inimitable good cheer and supportive attitude? Sometimes when Mike starts playing and improvising variations on my feedback video, it feels as if he's playing a mini-performance just for me... which I also enjoy just for the entertainment value and to appreciate the music.
Don't want to sound like a commercial or a shill here -- but another big benefit is you not only see what Mike (or Caterina Lichtenberg, if you prefer a classical mando course) has to say about *your* submission, but you have total access to all the *other* zillions of submissions by all the other students and the teacher's response. I've found I often learn things by watching other players' submissions/feedbacks, and many of the things Mike might points out for one student are often applicable for many others.
I haven't tried any other mandolin online teaching sites, but I think ArtistWorks is certainly one you shouldn't overlook if you can afford it.
I'm new to Mandolin and am learning on line with Brad Laird - he has a series of lessons but I've opted for the best collection with the Mandolin Treasure Chest. This is a set of videos, pdf exercises and a slew of ebooks - but with Brad you also have the option to have a private lesson via videos. I really like this option as Skype is not always reliable where I live (rural location) and connections are easily lost with it. I would highly recommend Brad Laird for lessons
I’ve been taking Skype lessons from Emory Lester for about 5 years now. IMO an exchange of videos cannot come close to real time feedback. Skype works great, as long as you have reliable internet it’s not a problem. Emory is able to watch and listen to my playing and I am able to ask questions and get immediate feedback.
Pick an instructor you like and give it a try, if it doesn’t work out then pick someone else.
You don’t need an instructor to point out your weaknesses. You just have to be honest with yourself ;)
I took lessons from Adam Steffey for a while. He’s super friendly and I really enjoyed his song choices - he always asked if there was anything in particular I wanted to work on but I always deferred to his judgment. Even if I knew a version of the song he planned, there was always a lot to learn.
Also, although I love Peghead nation, it’s easier to get lazy with it than private lessons with someone inspiriational. The conversations and Q&A are cool too.
I can see the value in one on one live lessons definitely.
Actually watching a lot of recorded lessons between two people may be even more valuable, see certain patterns, or even vids with a second instructor doing a critique of the lesson itself, a bit like teacher training.
Also seeing vids on how different genres or even cultures approach mandolin-like instruments differently.
Real-time feedback is great, no doubt. The loop between output-feedback-input is instantaneous.Quote:
Originally Posted by bigskygirl
To me, recorded feedback has some distinct advantages over real time, even with a longer wait for the feedback, and here’s why:
No need to coordinate live date/time for lessons, which may be across time zones, etc.
No fiddling with Skype connections, audio/video lag, rebooting, resynching, reconnecting...
Unless you videorecord the live lesson, it’s easy to forget details of what was taught. Recorded feedback is available to revisit 24/7.
Most important of all: The act of preparing a piece and recording oneself, knowing a master instructor will be seeing it, forces the student to up her game. I might play 5 takes of a tune before I feel it’s fit to upload ... but each time, that process of watching my own playing and working on the weak spots on my own becomes an additional aspect of practice.
There are many great teachers out there who have not joined a group or developed as big a following from performance, but who have a metric ton of insight, especially IMO at developing students from intermediate to high level.
I met such a teacher at a festival and found out that in addition to a collection of great students she meets with in person, she takes on skypers. I noticed the great quality of playing that her students showed, (perhaps more important than how great she plays?)
One great advantage of such a teacher is that you can tailor the teacher-student relationship to your particular learning style, learning needs, playing level, etc. I was looking for a "coach" relationship, for my classical music endeavors, not a "class" or "lesson" based type of relationship. I have the music or the parts I am struggling to learn, my "coach" helps me with fingerings, and listens to my playing and my stumbling and proscribes the appropriate etudes and exercises (from classical violin and mandolin sources) to cure or mitigate my playing weaknesses, specific and general. I am then working on two fronts, one being the music at hand, and the other being the general exercises recommended for improvement generally.
It works real well, in part because I met her face to face and we talked about what I wanted from a Skype lesson.
This probably doesn't and actually shouldn't work for everyone - some folks learn better with "assignements" and some folks' goals are way different, and we are all at very different levels of play. But that is the point. Flexibility and customization.
Good point, bigskygirl. I’m also a long time student of Emory’s, and I can say that it’s been an amazing experience. Emory customizes his approach based on the student’s particular learning style, interests, etc. I’ve been at this mandolin thing for almost 30 years, and I’ve never found a better instructor. He’s a masterful player of any style, AND a masterful teacher for any level of skill (beginner to pro) who has developed an outstanding program.Quote:
Originally Posted by bigskygirl
I took online lessons ( Skype) a number of years ago from Pete Martin ! Excellent teacher but I was a poor student ! I didn't begin playing until 64 years young and not much talent so it has been a challenge ! I use Band in the Box and that has helped and lessons from a local friend who has a lot of talent. Also use mandolessons.com site which is a free site But, I do donate a fee to his business. I highly recommend mandolessons.com ! My mandolin journey has been a great one ! Never be as good as I want but my nursing home audience think I am the next Ricky Skaggs ! I will keep fooling them ! I'm not here for a long time, just a good time !
Thanks for all the feedback. I decided to go ahead and try a class through lessonface.com and see what I think.
If you're a beginner, I'd recommend a Skype lesson. I see beginners on ArtistWorks who have pick direction problems and practice that way for a couple weeks (or more if Mike's on tour) while waiting for their response. It's easier to learn the technical things correctly than to unlearn improper techniques. So I'd recommend immediate feedback to get all the technical issues started correctly and use a resource like ArtistWorks once you are further along.
Yes. An excellent way to have good instruction in your home. Figure to pay a dollar a minute. Emery Lester, Sharon Gilchrist, Andy Hatfield, are all excellent teachers I have had good experiences with. The only real "problems" can be one of time zones or a poor connection from your ISP. When you register with SKYPE your bandwidth and speed will be checked to see if they are adequate. R/
This outfit uses Zoom but the same bandwidth issues apply. I usually get about 120Mbs which should be fine. My first class is Tuesday nightQuote:
Originally Posted by UsuallyPickin
Another student of Emory's here...highly recommended. I did artist works for a year, peghead nation, and a few others. They helped, but my first few lessons with Emory were a game changer (has been a few years now). He immediately picked up some things I was doing wrong that helped tremendously. We use Zoom or Skype, and I am able to record the lessons for future use. And a great guy by the way!
For all the reasons listed by various folks above, I too would suggest Artist Works. Having to record for the instructor, saved instructor video feedback, working at your own pace, and access to other student’s interactions are really valuable resources. For me, for the first time, with Artist Works, I feel I am on the right path to learning and improving mandolin skills. Plus there is a full curriculum laid out - so you have a good sense of the direction you’re going.
-How does one set something like that up, what are the criteria and how much would something like that cost?Quote:
Originally Posted by bigskygirl
Hi cassetteland, in Emory’s case go to his website and fill out the contact form and he’ll get back to you, currently he charges $50/hour and is very generous with his time.
Skype works great, Gina must not have good internet service. In 5 years we’ve had to reschedule a call once because of a worldwide Skype problem. Coordinating schedules is not tough, we meet every 2 weeks on a set day and time, he’s in Canada on eastern time and I’m in the US on mountain it’s not an issue, if one of us has to reschedule no problem. Recording oneself sounds great actually but having to play something live in front of a pro is quite different than recording many takes not knowing what’s wrong until feedback a few weeks from now, heck by then I’ve moved on to 3-4 more tunes.
Emory has an established curriculum, he’s been teaching mando, guitar, and banjo for many, many decades now. Rather than being limited by the available recordings I can ask him anything and we go over it, that aspect was especially helpful when I was first learning the mando and going to jams. I didn’t know many of the tunes and we’d go over the ones I said the group was playing so next time I was ready to join in.
Different strokes for different folks it doesn’t have to be an either or but live, real time interaction is always better than delayed feedback from canned recordings.
Hey - Here’s Emory’s site: http://www.emorylester.com/Quote:
Originally Posted by cassetteland
There’s info about his lessons on there. Find a way to make the commitment, and start working on it. Results will come.
Note: Emory doesn’t require a “commitment”...I just meant make the commitment to find a master to study with and do the work. It’s worth every second.