Artist Academy of Bluegrass ? Any Feedback?

[Toycona]

"...when the camera rolls you're a bit nervous...send the best 5 mins or so."

I spent two years submitting Song of the Week videos, so I know a thing or two about the 30th take, if you know what I mean. AOB just feels different. Knowing that you're going to get critiqued actually helped with the nerves. Mike's feedback was skill level appropriate, thoughtful, and helpful. I'm applying it to the next song I'm going to submit, rather than trying to perfect the first song. I feel that in order to progress, you have to progress. You can't take the chapter 1 quiz five or six times. Also, there is a quantum effect in watching is replies to others.

So, all in all, there's a lot there for everyone! Enjoy!!

[jmalmsteen]

I wish there was some kind of multi-instrument discount. I want to sign up for school of bluegrass but am debating between mandolin/banjo/fiddle. I emailed them regarding this and never heard back from anyone.

[Perry]

I tried it for 3 months and did enjoy his lessons. I just wish he would include TAB for all the songs he demonstrates. I made it almost through the intermediate but, when he got into music theory I lost interest. I am too old to try and learn theory. But if you are starting out or have a good understanding of music theory, then it should work great for you.

No offense meant George but here's a different take on it. I find that the lack of tab for the video responses to be be refreshing. (NOTE: There is plenty of TAB provided for the core curriculum)

The Academy has taught me to appreciate the simplicity and advantage of just listening and watching and trying to figure stuff out on your own without relying on TAB.

For example I picked up Mike's chord melody arrangement of the Beatles tune "Girl" in no time just watching Mike.

Don't let the theory scare you; you can skip it completely. Submitting a video to Mike and getting a 7 to 30 minute response is WELL worth $30 a month for the serious student of the instrument.

And if you just like watching someone play a mandolin mighty fine then there's plenty of that too.

[Perry]

Advice, don't spend hours sending up the perfect video, send what you play. Granted when the camera rolls you're a bit nervous, so just let the camera roll for 30 minutes and send the best 5 mins or so.

Have fun!
Patrick

Excellent advice Patrick. If I waited for the perfect take I'd never get anything submitted!

[Amy Burcham]

"Mike's feedback was skill level appropriate, thoughtful, and helpful....Also, there is a quantum effect in watching his replies to others."

Boy do I agree. I've gotten so much out of watching what people do and what Mike shows them in response. The master-class aspect of this approach is amazingly useful and especially so for those periods when you just aren't ready. for one reason or another, to submit your own work. You can still go to school and come away full.

As for Mike's teaching technique - I have had many good private and classroom music teachers. I've never in my life had a one as perceptive and attuned to the student and his or her particular needs, nor one as willing to dig in and find out what those needs really are. It's transformed what it is for me to try once more, as an adult, to have a real relationship with music. He has whatever that combination is of heart and mind that can really see what's going on, and he's flat out honest with his advice. That honesty, combined with his intuition, wrapped in a genuine appreciation for what the student is bringing to the thing, is such a rare combination. And then there's what he's showing us - in video responses and the occasional uploaded message to all, I've seen some exquisite short performances, both solo and with other teachers. He did one just yesterday in response to Doc Watson's passing that just blew me away. There's not a player like Mike in the world that I know of - whatever you call it, tone, vocab, style, expression, I can't imagine a mandolin world without him. We all know what I'm talking about. This is a great artist who somehow has never forgotten how to share the fun.

[Hobo]

Not all great players are good teachers. I've had too many teachers that take up the whole lesson session with showing off their chops, making me feel like I was paying to hear them play. This type of instruction seems to be a way the get your money's worth. I'm anxious to begin Mike's mandolin course. The comments here are very helpful and inspiring.

[John Flynn]

Technical Question:

I just signed up for AOB Mandolin and so far I really like it. I have a technical question about the video uploads, though. This might have gone in the ""Equipment" section, but I am only interested in the AOB uploads, so I put it here. I would really appreciate some input on this and I figure some other people on this thread might be interested in the answers also.

I have an MS LifeCam Cinema camera, which really does super HD video, but the integrated mic is awful and the included software won't let you use another mic. Even the MS support site admits that and says you have to use third-party software. I also have a Zoom H2, which really does a great job as a USB input microphone when you put it in the I/F mode. So I have a good video input and a good audio input. What I want to do is get them work together. I got them work together, sort of, through MS Movie Maker, but the HD video quality of the camera does not come through and you can't adjust the brightness like you can on the LifeCam software, so the video quality is bad. Also, it is not as user friendly as I would like.

So I need a software package that:
1. Gets me both good video and audio from my hardware.
2. Allows for easy editing of the video, so I can "let it run" as was mentioned before and then cut it down the part I want to upload. It would be nice if I could splice segments together also.
3. Will save in the AOB preferred .flv format.
4. Is very "plug 'n play" user friendly.
5. Is affordable.

Any ideas?

[Newmexmandoboy]

I would check the Forums on the AOB site as this topic is discussed quite regularly. Hopefully you can get a solution out of the existing content, or post a new thread there.

[kidgloves2]

I'm joining tonight. I'm interested in both guitar and mandolin. So, do I choose Brian or Mike..... That's a REALLY hard choice. I think it's going to be Mike since I'm better at guitar and could use work on mando.

The real advantage is interacting with the teacher. Sometimes I might want to ask a simple question and not be bothered by making a video. Is there some kind of message board where you can connect with your teacher and ask questions?

[Newmexmandoboy]

Yes, there is an "Ask Mike" Forum, among a couple others. The forums aren't heavily used, but Mike usually does get around to answering questions posted in "Ask Mike."

[andre66]

I've used the forum to ask Mike a few questions and have received a response in a timely manner. The exchange of videos is really going to be of great use to you as well.

[Perry]

I'm joining tonight. I'm interested in both guitar and mandolin. So, do I choose Brian or Mike..... That's a REALLY hard choice. I think it's going to be Mike since I'm better at guitar and could use work on mando.

The real advantage is interacting with the teacher. Sometimes I might want to ask a simple question and not be bothered by making a video. Is there some kind of message board where you can connect with your teacher and ask questions?

I wish they had a dual membership for guitar and mandolin. I'm thinking about asking Mike some guitar questions. He uses some beautiful chords the At Home and on the Range CD

[Newmexmandoboy]

I wish they had a dual membership for guitar and mandolin. I'm thinking about asking Mike some guitar questions. He uses some beautiful chords the At Home and on the Range CD

They DO have dual membership! It just costs twice as much!

[Perry]

They DO have dual membership! It just costs twice as much!

Indeed I wish I had the time to utilize even just the mandolin part. My new MO is to just submit my vids even if they are full of clams. It's the feedback from Mike where most of the learning happens anyway.

Does anybody have the guitar curriculum list? A similar mandolin list was posted here a while ago. Also does anybody know if Bryan is as open to other styles as Mike?

BTW the next time the question is posted on the Cafe who is the best mandolin player in the world is I finally have an answer! Mike does it all.

[kidgloves2]

I am officially a member of the Academy of Mandolin! Looks GREAT! I did the 3 month membership. Going to try and fill in some holes this summer. And going to pick Mike's brain for some more advanced stuff. The membership is so worth it!

[Newmexmandoboy]

Indeed I wish I had the time to utilize even just the mandolin part. My new MO is to just submit my vids even if they are full of clams. It's the feedback from Mike where most of the learning happens anyway.

Does anybody have the guitar curriculum list? A similar mandolin list was posted here a while ago. Also does anybody know if Bryan is as open to other styles as Mike?

BTW the next time the question is posted on the Cafe who is the best mandolin player in the world is I finally have an answer! Mike does it all.

I'm signed up for the guitar school. I did it to get some basics for when I play rhythm for my kids. It's a larger curriculum than Mike's, and in some sense more "complete" as a reference I think. Not that I'll ever make it through much of it. I find the teaching styles of the two to be pretty different. I don't visit Bryan's school near as often as Mike's, but I don't get the sense that people are doing much by way of other styles, but I can't say for sure. I think the best place to get the answers to these questions is on the "Hub" forums on AOB itself.

[OldSausage]

I'm going to join the guitar school too at the start of July, so I'll be posting a full comparative review once I've got a feel for that area.

[Barry Wilson]

windows movie maker will record videos and you can assign the computers aux input as the sound source then plug the zoom or whatever in through the aux in and record

[John Flynn]

My technical solution to the dilemma I described in post #57 is as follows:

I tried a piece of software recommended by someone on the AAOB forum, called ArcSoft WebCam Companion 4. I does what Win Movie Maker does, only it has more features, is more user-friendly and gives you more control. It allowed me to get audio from the Zoom H2, but I was still getting a mix with the MS LifeCam mike, so the result only sounded marginally better. I realized that MS in its wisdom, will not let you shut off its microphone without shutting off the camera also.

After some online research, I decided to get a new webcam, a Logitech HD Pro Webcam C920. It has built-in stereo mikes which are not bad, but ironically, the Logitech software allows you to use another mike and it allows you control over the camera settings, even when using Movie Maker.

Bottom Line: While the ArcSoft software is nice, now I don't need it. I will not buy it after the 30-day trial. I am now using Windows Movie Maker with the Logitech software, which is resulting in a great picture from the webcam and great audio from the H2 only.

Another thing I did was mount the webcam on my music stand instead of my laptop. Now I can get far enough back from it to get the picture I want. I uploaded my first video to Mike on AAOB and it worked fine. This is probably "webcam 101" for most people here, but it was a revelation for me!

[Mo Soar]

Is there a way for the bandwidth challenged to use this? I live in a remote area with a satellite internet connection (faster than dialup, slower than dsl). Would love to try this out, but I assume I'd spend more time waiting for videos to buffer than playing/learning.

I have what is alleged to be 1 MB DSL, although it's very poor quality. I can play the lessons just fine. I'm still on the Beginner section, and the lessons are short enough (3-5 minutes; but it might be different in Intermediate or Advanced levels) that they generally play fine. I do have the occasional problem with buffering, but the other thing you can do is let the lesson play most of the way (and buffer when it needs to) and then move the slider back to the beginning - the lesson will be mostly buffered and should play without a hitch.

I'm still too beginner-y and "rhythm-impaired" (and camera shy) to be confident enough to send in a lesson, although I've played my way through about 2/3 of the Beginner section.

Try watching the "intro lesson" that is provided for free and see how that works for you.

[Hobo]

Mike Marshall gives thoughtful, detailed commentary on video submissions. He takes the time and effort to give helpful feedback tailored to your individual needs. I couldn't be happier with the mandolin course... it is well worth the money.