CALL OR TEXT (520) 260-8745

Mandolin Lessons

Why Choose Our Mandolin Lessons?

You’ll Learn Fast

It will take time to develop finger strength. We will give you focused exercises so you can start playing songs almost immediately. As soon as your fingers catch up, we will be able to explore the world of music through mandolin. You do not need to own a mandolin to start learning how to play.

You’ll Understand Music Theory

Along with practicing, the best way to make progress on the mandolin is to learn how music works. Learn the patterns of the notes and how they harmonize. The mandolin will become an expressive voice. We will give you shortcuts to help you understand the big picture.

You’ll Be Able To Play Songs Written For Guitar

When you learn to read chords, you will be able to play songs from the same chord sheets that guitar players use. This is convenient because you can find chord sheets for most of your favorite songs. When you know the chords on the mandolin, you can play your favorite songs.

Mandolin Courses

Beginning Mandolin Lessons

Tuning the mandolin
Finger positions
Playing melodies
Playing chords

Mandolin Performance Course

Playing to a click
Playing with dynamics (changing sounds)
Playing with other musicians
Band rehearsal strategies

Our Goals

Here are our top three goals as music instructors:

To Customize Our Lessons For You

We do not teach the same material to every student. What works for one person does not work for everyone. Instead we’ve developed proven methods for teaching people with different learning styles. Every session is unique to you.

To See Our Students Make Progress

When you succeed, our business succeeds. We will dedicate our time to your musical future. It’s truly important to us.

To Help Our Students Have Fun With Music

You are going to love learning to play the mandolin. We will not rush you, and we will encourage you along the way. It is fun to make new achievements on your instrument. You will be proud of your playing and you’ll be eager to practice.

EXCELLENT

22 reviews on

Monica

2022-09-07

I was nervous to learn guitar as an adult, but am so glad I did and that I chose to learn from Stuart. He is a kind and patient teacher who makes lessons fun and engaging. We learn at a pace that is comfortable for me based on my goals. Lessons are done by Zoom which makes it convenient for my schedule. I have fun each week learning new material and techniques. I love being able to choose songs that I like and submit them to be used for our lessons. I would recommend Stuart for anyone looking to have a personalized, challenging, and encouraging learning experience.

Steve Watson

2022-07-20

I am 66 years old and I wanted to learn how to play the acoustic guitar. I found Tucson Music Lessons and contacted Stuart Smith about taking lessons and started 5 months ago. Stuart is a fantastic teacher. All lessons are on zoom and it works out wonderfully. I can set up and tune my guitar before lessons start. Stuart is upbeat and has such a positive attitude. He tailors lesson with your abilities and how you are progressing. There are times I feel discouraged and down about my progress, but after lessons I feel better about myself and continuing on. If you are interested in music I would highly recommend Tucson Music Lessons.

Jodi O

2022-01-21

The best musical lessons in Tucson by far! My son is a special needs student with a great love of music. Stuart is an amazing and patient teacher, my son looks forward to his music lesson every week, and is learning scales and octaves above and beyond for a child his age. My son is engaged in the lesson the entire time, thanks to the teacher’s enthusiasm and dedication to the learning style of the individual student. Lessons with this music school are so rewarding!!! Very highly recommended!

elizabeth8679

2020-04-09

We absolutely love and highly recommend Stuart!! He is so patient and kind teaching my 7 year old son how to play multiple instruments!! Best music instructor we know!

John D'Orlando

2019-10-22

I’ve been playing guitar on and off for over 40 years, including in a punk band in the early 80’s. I never having had any formal training and my technique left a lot to be desired. In the last two years I had two teachers who helped break my bad habits, but my third teacher, Stuart from Tucson Music Lessons has applied everything I learned and I’m now able play much more confidently and more consistently than before. He makes each lesson enjoyable and tailors the lesson to your needs. In addition to teaching guitar Stuart plays and teaches several instruments and will even join in on drums to bring his teaching full circle. I highly recommend Stuart for not only beginners but also for those who’ve been playing for a while but need a tune up. Highly recommend!

Heath Evans

2019-08-23

Mr Stuart is by far the most amazing gift to music we could have hoped for. He is extremely patient with our special needs son and has fostered an out of this world love for music in our son. Mr Stuart is a very gifted musician who has a passion for fostering music in the next generation. Our son can't stop talking about his lessons at Tucson Music Lessons and it is the highlight of the week. There will never be enough words for how thrilled we are with Mr Stuart's passion, patience, and drive for inspiring our son. A 5 star rating is far too low for the quality at Tucson Music Lessons, but Google won't let me add more!!!

Tina Segovia

2019-07-24

Stuart is an amazing teacher, Super patient! My son loves the drums & Stuart is helping him grow & learn every week. We would highly recommend Tucson Music Lessons!!

Susan Miller-Cochran

2018-10-28

Stuart has been such an inspirational teacher for both our 11-year-old son (who has autism) and for our 7-year-old daughter (who is neurotypical). He is patient, knowledgeable, flexible, and encourages them to love music and to explore. I can’t recommend him highly enough!

Geoffrey Batz

2018-09-30

Our autistic son has been seeing stuart for over a year now and we are extremely impressed with how much he's learned! Stewart is an exceptional and patient instructor. Not only has our son continually learned how to play a variety of instruments but his fine motor skills as well as pattern recognition skills have all improved! We highly recommend this program to any parent looking to get their children into music.

Timothy Gentry

2018-09-30

Our experience with Tucson Music Lessons was fantastic. Our girl has always had a blast going to her music class. On her first visit she was a little nervous but the teacher was so sweet and encouraging she was soon lost in all the fun she was having. She played drums and shakers, played on guitars, and loved singing into a microphone while watching the sound of her voice on a monitor. Very interactive and great for little kids who just need to explore various parts of music. I would highly recommend starting your child out here. I believe they offer instruction for individual instruments as well, I’m excited to see which one my kid connects with. It’s a great musical exposure and fun experience for us all.