Online mandolin lessons

Each ArtistWorks mandolin school is run by a single master teacher — Sierra Hull in bluegrass, Mike Marshall across bluegrass and beyond, or Caterina Lichtenberg in classical. When you join a school you get that teacher's full library of video lessons, their structured curriculum and, as a Premium subscriber at schools that offer it, personal video feedback on your own playing.

Less than one private lesson. A single ArtistWorks membership gives you unlimited access to your chosen mandolin school, every video lesson in it, to watch and practice as often as you like — and Premium plans add Video Exchange® with your teacher at schools that offer it. Plans are billed monthly or annually, and every new student starts with a 7-day free trial.

Yes. Every school starts with the basics — holding the mandolin and pick, tuning the four pairs of strings, and your first chords — before moving into tunes. Because the mandolin is tuned in fifths, a few compact chord shapes move all over the neck, so beginners make quick progress.

Most students play simple melodies and bluegrass jam tunes within the first couple of months and can hold their own at a slow jam within six months to a year. The early challenge is fretting the paired strings cleanly, and hand strength builds within a few weeks of regular practice.

Yes. The mandolin is tuned G-D-A-E, low to high, exactly like a violin, so fiddle tunes and violin music transfer directly. Guitarists find the pick technique familiar but need new chord shapes, since the tuning is in fifths rather than fourths.

No. Lessons use tablature alongside close-up video of both hands, and much of the bluegrass repertoire is learned by ear. Because the tuning matches the violin, mandolinists who do learn notation can read from a huge library of fiddle and classical music.

Yes — you can subscribe to as many schools as you like. Sierra Hull, Mike Marshall and Caterina Lichtenberg each teach their own curriculum and lesson library, with no overlap, so studying with two broadens both your technique and your repertoire. Every school includes a 7-day free trial, so you can look inside any mandolin school before you commit.