Interested in playing the mandolin or "upping" your current mandolin game? Congratulations! You are a person of impeccable musical taste! The mandolin is truly a versatile instrument capable of playing any genre of music from any part of our planet - from Bach to Bluegrass, Led Zeppelin to Jazz - there isn’t much the mandolin can’t do.

These days, there are endless options available for learning to play the mandolin. Books, DVD's, On-Line Music Schools ... all of these are helpful and have their place. However, to fast-track your ability to play and enjoy the instrument and to achieve your mandolinistic goals, nothing beats personal, one-on-one lessons with an experienced teacher.

Background:

I teach mandolin via Zoom and for those interested in live lessons, at my home in Orange County, NY.

I've been playing and teaching mandolin for over forty years and have made my musical home in the American roots styles of bluegrass, blues, swing, and old-time with a healthy dose of Classical, Celtic and Scandinavian music thrown in for good measure. I have performed on Broadway with Steve Martin and toured nationally with his show, "Bright Star". I've also worked with some of the country's top string players in venues ranging from coffee houses to Carnegie Hall.

I've studied extensively with mandolin greats Barry Mitterhoff (Hot Tuna) and Mike Marshall (David Grisman Quintet and many other projects). Along the way, I've authored two (soon to be three) mandolin instruction and tune books (sample here ... http://tinyurl.com/ygu8ct ).

I'm currently part of a study group that focuses on Neuroscience and Performance Psychology and how musicians can apply the latest research from these disciplines to better their results in the practice room and on stage. This is really exciting stuff!  What it means for you in practical terms, is that I can help you learn to practice more efficiently and effectively, learn and memorize material faster and to help you prepare for more confident, comfortable, 'choke-proof' performances at jams, concerts, auditions, placement trials, etc.

Teaching Philosophy:

Beginner or advanced or anywhere in between, I love helping fellow mandolin enthusiasts with their exploration of all that the mandolin has to offer.  I work with each of my students to create a unique course of study that considers who they are, what musical goals and interests they have, how they learn, and whatever unique challenges may arise during the learning process. I try to make the lessons as "self-guided" as possible (you tell me where you want to focus and what material you are interested in), while still getting across proper technique and the concepts that will help to take you to achieve your musical goals. I've found that this approach helps to make the lessons immediately more relevant, accelerates the learning process, and keeps things fun!!

For those interested in Zoom, I have a nice, multi-camera setup with good sound and lighting so that you'll be able to clearly see what I'm doing as I teach you and I can record our lessons so that you'll have them for future reference.

The Details:

Lessons run one hour in length and can be scheduled on either a weekly or a bi-weekly basis. I currently charge $70 for a one-hour lesson and there's never an additional charge if we go over a bit, as we sometimes will when things get interesting.

I am a big believer in investing the time needed to read standard notation and to understand some basic theory but we don't have to begin with that ... or touch it at all if you're completely averse to the idea. I can help you to play by ear or we can use TAB if that is your preference.

My responsibility is to make these lessons as valuable to you and as much fun for you as I possibly can! If this sounds good, please drop me a note so we can set up a time to get going!

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