Mike Marshall or Sharon Gilchrist?

[Bill Slovin]

Great comments and perspectives here. I like Mike's Artist Works site for two main reasons. It's very personalized since I can send him in videos and he gives me direct feedback on my issues, and there's a tremendous variety of material.

The curriculum is focused mainly around bluegrass with a little jazz, classical, and choro added in there, but people have sent in videos to him on many different styles. Often, I'll want to learn a tune and if I search the video exchange archive, I'll find that one or more students have already sent it in and I can learn from their personalized lesson with Mike.

There is one negative to any of these online schools which is that they can become too much like Youtube. The key no matter which one you choose is to play your instrument and not get too caught up in just watching one video after the next. A little of that is good for inspiration, but then you need to grab the mando and do the work you need to do to improve.

[Drew Egerton]

There is one negative to any of these online schools which is that they can become too much like Youtube. The key no matter which one you choose is to play your instrument and not get too caught up in just watching one video after the next. A little of that is good for inspiration, but then you need to grab the mando and do the work you need to do to improve.

Definitely can agree with Bill on that, but what I like to do is on my down time at work, I will watch video after video. Then when I get home I can do the hands on work. I have learned a ton by just watching.
I'll also add that I have a couple of in-person students on my own and get some great ideas from Mike's exchanges with others on how I can better teach them as well! Those lessons pay for my AW membership.

[Luna Pick]

I'll second and third what many others have said: it's all good, check something out and stick with it for a bit and change as desire.

I've enjoyed Peghead, but also want to put in another pitch for live Skype lessons. I was doubtful (Skyptical?) about them, but since I think Emory Lester if fabulous thought I'd give them a try with him, and it has been great. Live, convenient, and an amazing teacher with seemingly endless great content.

So, wanted to share what for me was a pleasant surprise. I know many teachers use Skype (or Facetime, etc.) now.

[FredK]

There is a wealth of information here and all excellent. The course comparisons should give you a good starting point. Everyone mentioned is worth learning from, and listening to.

I am coming up on the end of my first year with Mike on ArtistWorks. He is an excellent teacher and starts at ground level for those that have no background in mandolin. Theory is worked into his lessons at an easy pace. Don't be timid about scrolling through the lessons to pick out ones you are interested in - especially if you have a background in music. I've watched numerous videos out of order because they related to the things I was working on at the time. The same goes for the other online resources. It's a plus for those of us that don't have much of a choice for one-on-one instruction in our area.

[ekalabacos]

I started paying mando about 2 1/2 years ago and have learned almost entirely via online resources. Mando is my first string instrument but I had a fair bit of prior musical experience as a drummer and some as a pianist and already new music theory pretty well. I started with Baron C-H's MandoLessons site and then signed up for Mike's AW site about 2 years ago. Mike is a great teacher in addition to being a stellar musician and I found his site to be very helpful to get me off on the right foot with respect to technique and other mando fundamentals. The core curriculum is well structured for beginner/intermediate players. The video exchange aspect is unique and very helpful for the most part. In many ways I found that the process of putting together a video submission is valuable in and of itself. It forces you to get your act together in a way I have found very helpful. On the downside, it does take ~10 days for a response, so you have to find a rhythm where you can work on other things and come back to the topic you did the submission on when you get the response. The AW technology for uploading video is flakier than it should be and the help materials are not all that helpful. Having said that, Mike always helps when there are issues and they usually get resolved pretty quickly.

As others have mentioned, the ability to view other student's video exchanges is really cool and provides a huge library of material. The biggest challenge with this feature is that for many of the lessons in the beginner and intermediate curriculums there are literally hundreds of video exchanges and there's no way to know which ones are most appropriate for your level or particular interest.

In addition to Mike's site I've also been taking online classes with Matt Flinner for the past year and half and find them to be excellent! Matt is also a great musician and gifted teacher with a highly structured approach to his classes. His classes are taught live via GoToTraining and are also recorded for non-real time viewing. He also has a site where he posts PDFs of the sheet music/tabs and mp3 recordings of the tunes. You can also send him an mp3 of your playing if you want direct feedback. I highly recommend Matt's classes no matter what level you're at.

Lastly, I've also taken some 1:1 Skype lessons from David Benedict, which has been helpful for more immediate and personal feedback. I'd highly recommend him as well.

Personally, I've found that combining these 3 approaches together has provided a very effective online learning regime.

[AlanN]

As an oldster (one who started picking before the whole online, YT thing), I eschew the online tutorial end of it. Don't get me wrong, I love Mike, Matt, all of them. Perhaps a bit myopic and mistakenly set, my thing is to pick, pick, pick. As Butch said, time behind the instrument is key.

[Cornelius Morris]

Alan,

That reminds me of what Norman Blake was quoted as asking somewhere: "How much time have you spent behind the box, son?"

[AlanN]

Alan,

That reminds me of what Norman Blake was quoted as asking somewhere: "How much time have you spent behind the box, son?"

Or what Bill Monroe said: "Well, it ain't the mandolin..."

[Michael Neverisky]

As an oldster (one who started picking before the whole online, YT thing), I eschew the online tutorial end of it. Don't get me wrong, I love Mike, Matt, all of them. Perhaps a bit myopic and mistakenly set, my thing is to pick, pick, pick. As Butch said, time behind the instrument is key.

When I was a teenager learning guitar in a rural town my best resource was a turntable that could play an LP at 16 RPM. It was painstaking!

There is no substitute for time spent woodshedding your axe. But what and how to practice? The online resources are a wealth of information and a godsend for aspiring learners who don't have a local teacher. I can honestly say that Matt Flinner's chord-melody class changed my relationship with the mandolin and unlocked a new world of music. It was one of the best learning experiences of my long musical life.

I say jump in, Alan! Or just dip your toes for a few months at Artistworks... send in a short video and get a detailed critique from one of the most accomplished pickers on the planet. I guarantee you'll have fun, learn something and be inspired to practice.

[Cornelius Morris]

"Or what Bill Monroe said: "Well, it ain't the mandolin..."

Which is, in fact, some part of somethin'.

[George R. Lane]

For those of us who are om fixed income and barely able to operate a computer, the cost of online lessons can be a burden. I do use some of the you tube videos, Mandozine along with what I find here. I do spend sometime woodshedding and since I play for my own personal enjoyment this seems to work fine for an old guy like me.

I did try the Mike Marshall class for awhile, it just wasn't for me.

[AlanN]

And just to state again: I have no problem with online learning. For many, it's convenient, easy and 'right there'. For others, it's a challenge, can be pricey and one certainly needs to find the time to sit and do it. The wealth of offerings is amazing, I'll say that.

[Bill Slovin]

Regarding price, if you compare it to private lessons that can range from $40-100 per hr (depending on the teacher) it's actually quite a bit less.