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Hello!
As the title states, I'm currently looking for a teacher who can accommodate virtual lessons for classical mandolin. I'm classically trained in the violin, so I'm used to 1-on-1 lesson formats, but finding a classical mandolin teacher has proven difficult. Any insight or information on this is greatly appreciated, as the resources I've found have mostly been lesson videos and whatnot. Not saying the videos aren't useful, but I'm preferential to more personal lessons.
Thank you!
Where are you located?
Chris Acquavella does one-on-one online video lessons from Germany.
Caterina Lichtenberg is one of the instructors at ArtistWorks.com.
https://caterinalichtenberg.com/
https://artistworks.com/classical-ma...na-lichtenberg
I use Magnus Zetterlund for mandolin lessons who is awesome! I played with Chris Acquavella for years (when he lived in California) and if I were heading strictly down classical road he would be my contact. I love Magnus' variety in musical style and teaching style. They both are kind and caring and seek to get you to the playing level you desire.
Cheers!
One thing to bear in mind is that there are different schools of classical playing. You might familiarize yourself with the differences. There are a wide range among them but the two most different are the German school (all those mentioned above) and the Italian school. The Germans prefer a modernized bowlback using flat wound strings vs. and usually a softer pick to minimize string/pick noise. The Italians prefer well, Italian instruments and brighter sounding strings like round wound Dogal Calace. This is entirely a simplistic very basic description and also doesn’t mean that it would be a mistake to pick either. Carlo Aonzo is one of the foremost of the Italian school and I have taken many workshops with him over the years and some private lessons. He is busy concertizing and teaching workshops but might be available for teaching (he is in Savona, Italy). Of course there are others out there. And there are other classical mandolin styles including Israeli, Australian, Dutch, Belgian, etc. that include aspects of the two I mentioned or characteristics of their own.
I would suggest listening to recordings of the various artists mentioned here to see what appeals to you. Many have videos on YouTube as well as commercial recordings.
Definitely a big +1 on Chris as a great choice as teacher, also as course and orchestra leader.
He'll lead you through some great insights into where you're at, what's needed & how to work on all aspects of your technique to get through the inevitable bumps in the road as you go.
I like his emphasis on always keeping your tone as a focus, never letting it slip for expediency.
He's not going to let you sweep the flaws under the carpet, but he also isn't going to let you beat yourself up too much about what's not working yet: it's about recognising where you are at, keeping you progressing & motivated to keep working on solving issues & finding your way through.
When you do get on top of a technique he'll appreciate that & recognise the achievement.
He also draws together some cool materials to use in your development.
I took lessons from Chris A when he still lived in San Diego. Good dude with a lot of knowledge. He had a great lesson structure and lots of insight. It was hard to keep up with the sight reading but worth it in the long haul.
Definitely recommend