ArtistWorks Mandolin instructor Mike Marshall has a new album coming out with the Turtle Island Quartet. The famous string quartet has been playing together since 1985 - ArtistWorks Fiddle instructor Darol Anger was actually one of the original founding members. The current lineup consists of David Balakrishnan (violin), Mark Summer (cello), Mateusz Smoczynki (violin), & Benjamin von Gutzeit (viola).

The new album is appropriately titled Mike Marshall and the Turtle Island Quartet and contains four original Mike Marshall compositions including his signature mandocello tune "Gator Strut" (which he teaches in his Mandolin school here at ArtistWorks). They also recorded Darol Anger's arrangement of the Robert Johnson blues tune, "Crossroads".

Mike served as producer for the album, which they recorded in Berkeley from 2011-2012. It will be released on March 18, 2014 but you can pre-order your copy today at the links below. For more information on the Turtle Island Quartet visit their website: http://turtleislandquartet.com.

• Pre-order from Elderly Instruments
• Pre-order from Amazon
  

Yamaha Music Group recording artist and ArtistWorks teacher Nathan East's debut solo album won't be officially released until March 25th, but you can pre-order your copy today! Nathan talks a lot about his new album in our recent inteview with him, so be sure to check it out at the link if you haven't watched it. Nathan talks about everything from bass lessons, his early days coming up in San Diego, recording with Daft Punk, and a whole lot more.

You'll also get a free download of Nathan's version of the Stevie Wonder classic "Sir Duke".  Nathan and Paul Gilbert break down "Sir Duke" in his Online Bass School so if you are a member, check it out.  If not, check out the free sample bass lessons and join!  Click here to pre-order the new album! 

It's time for the annual Player's Choice Awards from Acoustic Guitar Magazine!

We are proud to announce that ArtistWorks has been nominated for the "Online Guitar Resource" category!

If you, or anyone you know, are enjoying and learning from our online guitar lessons, please vote for us!  

To vote, please click here and find our category, "Online Guitar Resource" on Page 2 of the ballot form.

Ballots close on March 31, 2014 so be sure to get your vote in and don't forget to tell your friends to vote too! 

Today we're very excited to announce something we've been wanting to do for a long time – the first ever ArtistWorks Forum Jams®! This is your chance to collaborate on a recording with your fellow ArtistWorks students and with Paul Gilbert himself. Please watch the video above for a breakdown from Paul on how it works. 

1) Record your videos in widescreen (16:9) ratio, if possible,

2) submit your video via the new Forum Jams section and

3) include "Forum Jam" in your title.

Just download the mp3 backing track here, and let the Forum Jams® begin! Have fun with it!!!

We are only accepting a limited amount of submissions on a "first come first serve" basis, so don't delay!  We'll post an update when we are no longer accepting submissions. Any student featured in the final jam will receive the prestigious Forum Jams® Badge on their Student Page!

Please Note: Any Forum Jams® submissions may be used for promotional purposes on YouTube or other sites. 

Andreas Oberg is one of the most dynamic players today in Jazz and beyond. When he's not giving video exchange feedback to members of his Online Jazz & More Guitar School, he performs and writes songs with high profile Korean recording artists.  Andreas took some time to record four really cool jazz guitar licks that we are making available for everyone to check out at no charge. They are great to add into your playing no matter what style you play.

• Jazz Guitar Lick # 1: Cool jazz guitar lick over Am7 (A Minor 7th Chord)
• Jazz Guitar Lick # 2: Sweeping guitar lick that starts on G
• Jazz Guitar Lick # 3: George Benson inspired run over Bb7 (B Flat 7th Chord)
• Jazz Guitar Lick # 4: Useful Jazz guitar lick over Em7 (E Minor 7th Chord) 
  

ArtistWorks Fingerstyle Guitar School Teacher Martin Taylor will be featured on The Great Guitars™ Tour this Spring along with Frank Vignola, Vinny Raniolo, and Peppino D’Agostino. Martin has roots to the the original lineup from the 1970s which included the legendary Barney Kessel, Charlie Byrd & Herb Ellis. Having replaced Ellis in the 1980s, Martin returned to The Great Guitars Tour™ in the 2010s and is continuing the tradition with three of today's top acoustic players.

Darol Anger's new Bluegrass-flavored recording is almost here! It's his first Bluegrass fiddle record since the second Psychograss CD (Like Minds), made almost 13 years ago. It's called E-and'a, after the way musicians count beats: One-e-and'a, Two-e-and'a, and so on. Where do you find your groove? look in the "E-and'a" section of your local bar!

• Orderable now at Amazon

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"I watch performers all the time, my heroes, not only for their music but how they carry themselves on stage. That’s really important for me. Because when a performer is at ease, then everyone in the room is at ease." - Missy Raines

There's a great new interview with Missy Raines that Lisa Jacobi conducted for her Artist2Artist podcast. The two discuss everything from how Missy first got into music, playing bass, being a female in a male dominated industry, performance advice, learning from mistakes, and much more! Click on the player to listen to the inteview here or click the picture to read a transcribed version on Lisa's website. 

Tony Trischka has released a new video to promote his new album Great Big World. It's short but it moves fast using sped up footage from our favorite banjo teacher's tour last year with Béla Fleck and Noam Pikelny. It's cool to see all the stuff that goes on behind the scenes. Pay close attention, there's a glimpse of Tony recording some new Video Exchanges in the beginning! The audio is from the title track of the new album, so be sure to order a copy if you have not already.