Re: Experiences with ArtistWorks
I subscribed to Mike Marshall's course on AW twice - once when I first started playing mandolin in 2017 and again in 2019 when they ran a deep-discount special. In between times, I subscribed to Sharon Gilchrist's course on Peghead Nation. Both are great but, focusing on Artist Works for your purposes, I felt like there was a lot of bang for the buck. Not only do you get the mandolin course; there's also access to a theory course and beginner guitar course. Music theory was a good refresher for me since I'd been out of music for quite a while up to then.
I found the courses very organized and well thought out. Video and audio is set up well and consistent. They thought through the camera angles to aid viewing which is something you don't always get on other's sites. The lessons are in bite-sized chunks with essential talk on technique and theory and plenty of play time. I appreciate that the fluff talk you get from other sites was not a part of their program. Mike stayed on topic and relevant. Also, there were plenty of standard notation PDFs (if you want them) and varied play tracks for each lesson. One complaint I do have about the tracks is that they were too short (for me). However, you can go to other tabs on Artist Works and find longer tracks to play along with if you search.
One of the problems I had with the site is that it is too busy. On the mandolin page itself, there are a lot of tabs for different topics. Once you find a tab, then you have to scroll through to find what you're looking for. It's all there, you just have to dig for it. I found some work-arounds but you really have to play around on the site to figure some of them out. Time would be better spent playing.
Lastly, there's the opportunity to submit videos to the teacher for critique. Turn time for a response/critique from the teacher varies depending on their schedule (my assumption). For me, I'd be well on to something else when I received the response so I did not take advantage of this feature except when I first started. Mike did take the time to provide praise when applicable along with suggestions on improvement. It's not a canned response. Rather, it's obvious he's listened to the video and cares about the student's progress. You also have the opportunity to watch other's videos and the teacher's critique. There's so many that you could burn a lot of time watching them.
Would I recommend Artist Works? Yes, I would. Is it the best out there? That's up for debate but it was good for me. It's well thought out and provides some benefits that you don't get with some other sites. However, I've learned a lot from other sites and from just watching someone I admire and learning from their style and technique. Will I use AW again? I would if I felt the need. Overall, AW is a good choice for someone looking for quality instruction from well-known, experienced players. YMMV
"If your memories exceed your dreams, you have begun to die." - Anonymous
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