Classical Mandolin with Caterina Lichtenberg
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Course Structure Classical Mandolin with Caterina Lichtenberg
Each lesson builds on the last, taking you from zero to hero!
Master classical mandolin with virtuoso Caterina Lichtenberg. Over 100 lessons from fundamentals through advanced techniques across Classic, Romantic, Contemporary and Baroque repertoire.
01 Classical Mandolin Overview
Start your classical mandolin journey with an exploration of the origins, characteristics, styles, and traditions.
01 Introduction to Intermediate Classical Mandolin
Learn how to begin the intermediate path and share your playing for personalized guidance.
02 Holding the Mandolin
Learn proper seated positions for five common mandolin types to support ease and comfort.
02 Vibrato
Develop a gentle, even vibrato to bring more feeling and nuance to your playing.
03 Fundamentals
Explore tuning, hand position, and timing basics to lay a strong foundation for mandolin playing.
03 Intermediate Arpeggio Techniques
Develop flowing arpeggios through expressive pieces by Leone, Calace, Denis, and Fouchetti.
04 Dynamics & Tone Color
Develop dynamic control and tonal variety to bring depth and character to your playing.
04 Starting with Upstroke in 45º
Learn to begin phrases with an upstroke using a 45º hand angle for better tone and control.
05 Left & Right Hand Together
Learn to coordinate both hands through ear training and progressive technical exercises.
05 Harp Arpeggio
Learn harp-style arpeggios to create flowing, bell-like textures across multiple strings.
06 Songs on One String
Learn simple melodies and early dance tunes to build musicality and confidence in playing.
06 Glissando
Learn glissando technique to add smooth, expressive slides between notes.
07 Songs on Two Strings
Develop control and expression through well-known tunes played on two strings.
07 Pizzicato
Learn left- and right-hand pizzicato to add variety, texture, and articulation to your playing.
08 Playing on All Four Strings
Learn major scales across all four strings to build finger strength and fretboard familiarity.
08 Harmonics
Explore harmonic techniques to create bell-like tones and expand your sound palette.
09 Adding Accidentals
Explore pieces with accidentals to strengthen reading skills and tonal awareness.
09 Chromatics
Learn chromatic scales and pieces to improve finger agility and fretboard fluency.
10 Combining Downstroke & Upstroke (On the Same Note)
Explore right-hand picking patterns to build fluidity and control with repeated notes.
10 Tremolo Staccato - Duo Style Technique
Explore short, expressive tremolo strokes to enhance articulation and dynamic contrast.
11 Combining Downstroke & Upstroke (With Changing Notes)
Learn varied historical works to build musical interpretation and refine your picking technique.
11 Intermediate Double Stops with Tremolo
Develop tremolo technique using double stops to build harmony, finger strength, and expressive depth.
12 Basic Arpeggio Techniques
Develop right-hand technique with easy arpeggios and well-known melodies.
12 Intermediate Ornaments
Develop expressive technique with trills, appoggiaturas, and historically informed ornamentation.
13 Arpeggio Techniques on Two Strings
Develop musicality through elegant preludes and Baroque-style allemandes.
13 Playing in Higher Positions
Explore second and third position tremolo, shifting, and mixed-position pieces for greater fluency.
14 Double Stops
Learn double stops and expressive pieces to expand hand coordination, and musical depth.
14 Speed & Coordination Exercises
Learn targeted exercises to build speed, accuracy, and finger independence.
15 Arpeggio Technique Pieces on Three Strings
Develop interpretive skills with a dramatic cadenza and a flowing Romantic-style prelude.
15 Chord Arpeggio Exercises
Develop fluidity and tone through chord-based arpeggio studies and expressive pieces.
16 Introduction to Tremolo
Develop a smooth tremolo through guided practice, familiar melodies, and dynamic control.
16 Syncopation Exercises
Explore syncopation through contrasting tempos to develop rhythmic flexibility and control.
17 Tremolo Exercises on One String
Develop even tremolo tone on each string with focused studies by Ranieri.
17 Intermediate Pieces (Baroque, Classic, Romantic, Modern)
Develop musical fluency with intermediate pieces by Beethoven, Bach, Calace, and more.
18 Tremolo Exercises & Simple Pieces
Develop control and musicality through scales, folk melodies, and progressive etudes.
19 Tremolo Combined with Downstrokes
Develop dynamic contrast and phrasing by integrating tremolo with accented downstrokes.
20 Double Stop Tremolo
Develop control and musical depth through double stop tremolo on well-known tunes.
21 Alternate Picking
Develop clean, even picking with step-by-step exercises and melodic practice.
22 Down & Up Stroke Coordination
Develop right-hand consistency through targeted stroke coordination studies.
23 Combining 45º & 90º Hand Positions
Explore elegant melodies and hand positioning to refine articulation and technique.
24 Introduction to Ornaments
Learn pull-offs, hammer-ons, and trills to add expression and style to your playing.
Advanced Classical Mandolin
Explore advanced techniques and repertoire to refine expression, agility, and full-fretboard mastery.
Duets with Mike Marshall
30 Day Challenge
Baroque Mandolin
Discover the history, techniques, and expressive repertoire of the Baroque mandolin.
About Classical Mandolin with Caterina Lichtenberg
Caterina Lichtenberg has taken everything she knows about classical mandolin and created a comprehensive video library that includes hundreds of online lessons. Members have unlimited access to all the lessons which are supplemented by backing tracks and other study materials. Plus there's special guests, exclusive interviews, and a community of classical mandolin enthusiasts from all over the world. What ultimately sets these lessons apart from other online offerings however, is the ability to submit a video using the ArtistWorks Video Exchange® learning platform. Caterina reviews each submission and records a video response with feedback on how you're doing and tips for how to improve. All students can access the Video Exchange library, which is always expanding and may contain the key to unlock your own playing.
About Caterina Lichtenberg
Caterina Lichtenberg has dedicated her life to studying the history, techniques, and repertoire of the great mandolin virtuosos of the past. She is a master of important pieces from the Baroque and Classical masters Dowland, Bach, Vivaldi, Leone, Denis, Fouchetti, and Beethoven, to the Romantic masters Cristofaro, Pettine, Ranieri, Branzoli, and Calace. For over 20 years she has been an ambassador for classical mandolin; recording, teaching, and touring throughout the world as a featured soloist. As a soloist, Caterina has performed with the New Century Orchestra, the LA Guitar Quartet, the Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester, and the Aachen Chamber Orchestra, among others. She has also performed with the Dresden Symphony Orchestra, the MDR Orchestra, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, and the Radio Symphony Orchestra of Berlin, to name a few. To date, Caterina has released 13 albums under her own leadership, with her most recent work, Solo, receiving a prestigious OPUS Klassik Award nomination. Since 2007 she has held the only professor position for mandolin in the world at the prestigious Music Conservatory in Cologne, Germany, and has been teaching at ArtistWorks since 2016.
What students are saying!
Classical Mandolin with Caterina Lichtenberg
Though I only joined ArtistWorks a few months ago, I can already say it is a great pleasure and honor to have Caterina as my teacher. I am grateful to live in a time when it is pos...
Classical Mandolin with Caterina Lichtenberg
I first heard Caterina play at a concert ten years ago, and fell in love with her tone. I had never heard a mandolin played so beautifully. I started taking lessons with her and no...
Mandolina Clasica
Estoy siguiendo el curso de mandolina clasica y me parece formidable , aprecio que la maestra Catherine tiene una gran didactica al exponer cada tema en cada una de sus sesiones; a...
This will be my second
This will be my second year with Caterina, she is the best teacher in the world! Thank you Artistworks for bringing her into my home.
great course for learning mandolin, for learning classical and for learning music in general
This is a great all round course whether or not you like mandolin or classical music. One of the biggest problems with learning classical music online is copyright issues when prov...
Classical Mandolin with Caterina Lichtenberg
I subscribed for a year to this course having played mandolin for some time, but knowing I had some poor technique holding me back. The recorded lessons are really clear and give y...
16 months in
After receiving the generous gift of a mandolin, I was then gifted with the knowledge of this platform. Then came the even bigger gift of Caterina sharing her talent, expertise, an...
Inspirational and compassionate teacher
Thank you, Caterina, for being my inspirational and compassionate teacher. Your mandolin lessons have helped me through the pandemic, and are still helping me. I have been a studen...
Lichtenberg Classical Mandolin
Ms. Lichtenberg is simply amazing. So smooth and cultured, so European! A breath of fresh air. But of course she is a virtuoso and provides such excellent technical lessons. She ha...
Mandolin with Caterina Lichtenberg
Thank you. This is exactly what I was looking for. Although I would love to practice every day, my schedule does not make this easy. But when I can find the time I sit with my mand...
4.9 (23)