Mandolins

Taking Mandolin Lessons

So you want to learn how to play the mandolin? Mandolin lessons, in one form or another, are probably necessary for anyone hoping to learn to play the mandolin. Established players also rely on mandolin lessons to acquire new skills and to move up to the next level. Finding the right mandolin lesson, mandolin course, or mandolin product sounds quite simple, but there are so many choices available that it’s a tough task to figure out exactly what’s best for your individual needs. The mandolin lesson guidelines presented here will hopefully help you sort through your options and help you make an informed decision.

Mandolin Lessons- Private Instructor or Online?

The traditional way of taking mandolin lessons is by taking private lessons from a mandolin teacher. The student typically meets with the instructor once a week for 30 minutes at a cost of about $15-$25 per week. This is certainly a great option, and perhaps the best way to learn to play the mandolin: under the personal guidance of a dedicated teacher. However, in many cases private mandolin lessons are not a good option due to time considerations, cost, and travel involved.

The good news for mandolin players is that there are a wide range of alternatives to private instruction. Mandolin lessons and instructional books have been a mainstay online for years. Technological developments also bring us lessons in the form of videotapes and DVDs, as well as multimedia software programs to run on your computer.

Today, widespread access to the Internet has caused a major revolution in mandolin instruction methods and availability. Now an abundance (some might say over-abundance!) of information on various mandolin lesson options is available in minutes through your favorite search engine. The variety of choices for mandolin lessons is quite staggering, ranging from free online mandolin lessons, to high-end distance learning mandolin instruction leading to a certificate from the Berkley College of Music.

Aside from greater visibility of the options, there have also been tremendous advances in the technology used to develop and deliver the mandolin lessons themselves. Interactive video lessons in which the student controls the pace of learning and the tempo of the material are an excellent example of this. Online mandolin lessons and products can be accessed immediately on the Web, either on-demand or downloaded to your local computer. This gives great flexibility on when and where to learn.

Mandolin Lessons Options

Aside from private lessons, there are three basic forms of mandolin lessons and instructional material.

Books- If you’re on a budget and like the idea of the portability of a book, this may be the way to go for you. Books often come with a CD to provide audio tracks. Typical Cost: $15-$25

Video-based lessons- In my experience, pure video-based lessons are a good “icing on the cake” to help you learn, but not typically a good foundational mandolin lesson program. They often lack supporting learning materials needed to be effective for baseline learning.

Multimedia Online Lessons- The Web, plus advances in the technology for creating learning material such as video, has really opened the door to some great multimedia mandolin lesson programs.. These can be delivered and accessed in several ways: downloaded for use on your computer; accessed directly from your computer by a live web connection, or as a physical CD/DVD that you run on your computer.

Sorting through the many options can be made easier with information dedicated to this topic on various mandolin websites, such as this online mandolin lessons guide.

Mandolin Lesson Wrap-up

For those wanting to learn to play mandolin, or to play better, there is no better time than now to take advantage to the available online mandolin lesson and learning options. The realm of mandolin instruction is certainly one that has benefited from the Internet! Don’t delay… start your online mandolin lessons today!