Mandolin with Mike Marshall
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Get Personal Feedback with Video Exchange
Get custom video lessons from your instructor by sending a video of your playing.
How It Works?
1. Submit Your Video
Record and upload directly through our platform. No technical skills required.
2. Get Expert Feedback
Receive personal video responses from Mike Marshall with tips to improve!
3. Learn from Community
Browse exchanges from other students to learn from their questions.
Course Structure Mandolin with Mike Marshall
Each lesson builds on the last, taking you from zero to hero!
Master mandolin with Grammy nominee Mike Marshall. Over 350 lessons for players of all levels, spanning bluegrass, jazz, classical, Brazilian choro, David Grisman's "Dawg" style and much more.
Beginner Mandolin
Start with chords, rhythm, and picking while learning classic tunes step by step. Explore mandolin basics with simple songs, clear technique, and helpful theory tips. Begin your mandolin journey with solid picking technique and posture, chords, steady rhythm, and familiar tunes.
Intermediate Mandolin
Expand your skills with fills, tremolo picking, soloing, and theory across a variety of musical styles. Explore licks, scales, and double stops to enrich your mandolin improvisation. Play with confidence using fills, scales, and solos across a variety of styles.
Advanced Mandolin
Develop advanced improv skills, connect arpeggios, build speed, and master soloing across multiple styles. Explore jazz, bluegrass, and reharmonization through thoughtful, advanced practice. Play confidently with advanced techniques, global tunes, and expressive improvisation.
Gear & Setup
Learn basic mandolin setup and maintenance to keep your instrument sounding and feeling its best. Care for your guitar with simple lessons on tuning, string changes, and adjusting action. Keep your mandolin in top shape with clear guidance on setup, tuning, and maintenance.
Licks & Tricks
Build your soloing vocabulary with versatile licks, tricks, and creative phrasing ideas across styles and keys. Explore licks, harmony, and fretboard tools to enhance your improvisation and musical fluency. Strengthen your playing with practical licks, theory tips, and stylistic lead techniques.
Brazilian Choro
Experience the vibrant rhythms and melodies of Brazilian choro through guided lessons and play-alongs. Discover Brazilian choro's unique swing, forms, and rhythms through expert instruction and tunes. Expand your musical palette with Brazilian choro, exploring the rhythms, melody, and cultural context.
Classical
Explore classical masterpieces by Bach, Calace, and Brahms to deepen your technique and musical expression. Engage with rich classical works to deepen technique, expression, and musical understanding. Build classical skills through timeless pieces by Bach, Calace, and guest artist performances.
Dawg Tunes
Explore David Grisman’s “Dawg” style through solos, melodies, and creative improvisation approaches. Learn distinctive “Dawg” tunes and techniques blending bluegrass, jazz, and acoustic flair. Build your skills with Grisman’s unique tunes, improvisation ideas, and musical conversations.
Holiday Tunes
Enjoy timeless holiday songs while building your skills in melody, harmony, and seasonal spirit. Play beloved Christmas and winter tunes, from classics to bluegrass-inspired arrangements. Celebrate the season with joyful holiday favorites arranged for approachable, expressive playing.
Mandocello, Mandola & Octave Mandolin
Explore the rich tones and playing approaches of the related instruments in the mandolin family. Discover the mandocello’s role in bass, melody, and classical repertoire with guided lessons. Build skills on the mandocello with groove-based lines and elegant interpretations of Bach.
New Acoustic Music
Explore New Acoustic Music through swing, global influences, and dynamic ensemble playing. Play vibrant acoustic tunes blending jazz, folk, and world styles with expert guidance. Discover rich acoustic textures and rhythms in genre-blending tunes and collaborations.
Swing, Jazz & Pop
Explore swing, jazz, and pop classics through rich arrangements and collaborative performances. Build your repertoire and style with timeless swing, jazz standards, and popular melodies. Play expressive versions of jazz and pop favorites, guided by expert duets and solo lessons.
Transcribed Solos
Study expressive solos from leading artists to deepen your phrasing, timing, and musical voice. Explore signature solos from Grisman, Bush, and Hull to expand your style and interpretation. Learn masterful solos that showcase bluegrass phrasing, creativity, and personal expression.
Bill Monroe Tunes
Learn classic bluegrass tunes and waltzes while building rhythm, melody, and improvisation skills. Explore bluegrass standards through rhythm, melody, and creative soloing in multiple keys. Strengthen your bluegrass style with foundational tunes, waltzes, and expressive variations. Explore the quintessential bluegrass style and techniques through analysis of Bill Monroe’s playing approach.
30 Day Challenge
About Mandolin with Mike Marshall
Mike Marshall has created a comprehensive video library that includes hundreds of mandolin lessons, plus exclusive performances, special guests, and interviews. Students have unlimited access to all these online mandolin lessons which also include tab, backing tracks, and other study materials. What ultimately sets these mandolin lessons apart from other online offerings however, is the ability to submit a video for personalized feedback using the ArtistWorks Video Exchange® learning platform. Mike Marshall reviews each submission and records a video response, offering tips about how to improve. All students can access Mike's Video Exchange library, which is expanding all the time and may contain the key to unlock your playing.
About Mike Marshall
Three-time Grammy nominee, Mike Marshall fell into the American roots music ocean in the 1970s while a teenager in Florida. At age 19 he was snatched up by the groundbreaking David Grisman Quintet to tour and record with jazz violin legend Stephane Grappelli, Tony Rice, Darol Anger and Mark O’Connor. Since then, Mike has produced over 40 of his own recordings on the Sony, Rounder, Sugar Hill, Compass, Windham Hill, and his own Adventure Music label and performed and recorded with Chris Thile, Edgar Meyer, Bela Fleck, Hamilton De Holanda, Joshua Bell, Vasen and the Turtle Island Quartet. Mike continues to push the boundaries of New Acoustic Music and has become one of the preeminent educators in the genre.
What students are saying!
Mike Marshall mandolin
I signed up for 6 months of lessons with Mike Marshall on mandolin. He has exceeded my already high expectations. Mike is an excellent teacher for beginners through advanced levels...
There's a reason...
The reason Mike Marshall has been at the top of the mandolin pack for so many years is he is simply a great player. The reason he's a great player is he augmented his natural skill...
Mandolin with the best!
I had played mandolin for many years before I signed up for Mike's class and thought I was pretty good, but I was in a rut and lacking inspiration to improve. Honestly, I didn't kn...
Web site is disorganized and hard to use.
Mike Marshall is extremely talented, comes across as a super nice guy, and explains things well. The web site itself is disorganized and hard to use. Transcriptions are in a separa...
Fantastic Instructor and Course
I am a new mandolin player. After longing to learn how to play a mandolin for many years, I finally bit the bullet and decided to mark this off of the bucket list. I began by renti...
All in all I'm satisfied
All in all I'm satisfied with the program. Sometimes it's hard to see what frett he is on due to the angle of the video. That would be the only drawback I have come across so far.
No better way to learn and improve
I have been an online student of Mike's at Artistworks for ten years now. I started with the lessons and submitted video exchanges early on, and over the last few years I have eith...
mike marshall mandolin
I have been enrolled in Mike's course for about 10 years and find new stuff to learn every time I listen, whether it's a lesson, a monthly message or someone's video exchange - reg...
Great Instruction
Artist Works does an amazing job of teaching someone how to play an instrument. I really enjoyed the VE and the feed back that I received.
Mando Lessons With Mike Marshall
I consider myself an intermediate level Mando player but I started Mikes lessons from the beginning, and even small things he talks about are making a difference. I like the way he...
4.8 (50)