Join us LIVE on Wednesday, July 9th at 5:30 PDT for an online mandolin workshop featuring Mike Marshall along with ArtistWorks Dobro instructor Andy Hall. We did one of these last year which was a lot of fun (click here to watch if you missed it), and we look forward to another great workshop which we're calling "Mando Magic with Mike Marshall." Mike will be joined once again by Mandolin Cafe founder Scott Tichenor to talk about his own history playing mandolin, plus they'll also be some jamming as well as discussion about techniques and playing tips.

This is a rare opportunity, so click here to Pre-Register for "Mando Magic with Mike Marshall"! You'll be sent a reminder to tune in live when the event happens on July 9th. 

ArtistWorks is excited to be giving away a free Sadowsky LS-17 archtop guitar! The LS-17 is the same guitar that Chuck Loeb plays and is a $4,375 value. Its classic tone and beautiful body make it a jazz standard that looks and sounds beautiful. Check out Chuck playing "Stompin At the Savoy'" on one below and then click here to enter to win!

The deadline to enter is August 31st, 2014.

Jeannie Deva has written a new article about what to do when you're singing at a show and your voice starts to give out. Here's a quick list of the tips, and you can read more about each one on VoiceCouncil.com.

• Check out Your Mic
• Watch Your Compression
• Hear Your Monitors
• Drink…Water
• Lower the Stage Volume
• Warm Up
• Try Vocal Lessons

A picture is worth a thousand words:

There's always a bit of risk when you bring your instrument to the airport. Damage is always a fear for musicians traveling with priceless instruments, but when John Patitucci recently flew from the U.S. to Norway - the fear unfortunately became a reality. John's Pollmann double bass whom he lovingly refers to as Bertha endured an altercation with TSA which left it seriously crippled.

ArtistWorks is sponsoring a chance to attend this year's G4 Experience in Cambria Pines Lodge, CA. One lucky guitarist will win a prize package to the four day guitar camp which features Joe Satriani, Paul Gilbert, Andy Timmons & Mike Keneally. To be eligible, visit the official contest page here and follow the instructions to enter. The winner will be chosen after July 14th, 2014 - good luck! 

ArtistWorks was the featured topic in Hour 1 of Craig Crossman's Computer America, which is the longest running, nationally syndicated radio talk show dedicated to computers and technology. ArtistWorks VP of Marketing Ian Alexander answered questions and talked about our unique method of online learning. The host also took calls from the audience, which included some members of our online learning schools who had some really nice things to say. 

UPDATE: Listen to the embedded broadcast below

This is an old one from the vaults of our online banjo lessons (if you'll notice it even has the old logos) - but it's a good one, recorded by Tony Trischka especially for beginner banjo players out there. It's Part 3 of a series of banjo lessons about Pull-offs, and uses the song "The Old Cat Died" as a way to practice some important banjo techniques. Although the subject matter of the song isn’t exactly fun, being about the death of a cat and all, the tone is playful and it's actually a great way to practice pull-offs, hammer-ons, and slides - all in one tune.

Annie is a musical sign language interpreter who started off her musical journey tone deaf and discouraged at the idea of learning an instrument. She overcame her hesitation by teaching herself to play violin, and now takes Mike Marshall's mandolin lessons here at ArtistWorks. 

AW: How did you get into playing mandolin?

Annie: I was playing violin and you always play by turning to the left with your chin on the instrument, and you never get to play in the other direction. I wondered how good that could be for your body. I wanted to play more, and mandolin has the same fingering [as violin] and it's one less instrument because you're not dealing with the bow. So I tried mandolin and fell in love with it.

Annie is a musical sign language interpreter who started off her musical journey tone deaf and discouraged at the idea of learning an instrument. She overcame her hesitation by teaching herself to play violin, and now takes Mike Marshall's mandolin lessons here at ArtistWorks. 

AW: How did you get into playing mandolin?

Annie: I was playing violin and you always play by turning to the left with your chin on the instrument, and you never get to play in the other direction. I wondered how good that could be for your body. I wanted to play more, and mandolin has the same fingering [as violin] and it's one less instrument because you're not dealing with the bow. So I tried mandolin and fell in love with it.

"The Deva Method provides a singer with vocal freedom. This includes the ability to sing the styles of your own choosing and to sing the way YOU want to sing. It does not make you sound the way the teacher or the technique wants you to sound. It opens the doors of expressive, passionate singing."

- Jeannie Deva

Jeannie was recently interviewed by the Women's International Music Network (WiMN) for their weekly column Front and Center. She talks about how she got into singing and vocal coaching, her unique vocal method, advice for singers and more.

Click here to read!