Mike Mitchell: Teacher of the Year!

To kick off 2018, Lessonface would like to announce Mike Mitchell as our first annual Teacher of the Year. Mr. Mike is founder and director at the Floyd Music School, and has been teaching for 20 years, with a focus on the music and traditions of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Mr. Mike teaches violin, mandolin, fiddle, banjo, and guitar. He joined Lessonface in 2014, but it was last year that he really found an audience here -- in 2017, Mr Mike grew his Lessonface audience faster than any other teacher on the site.

We asked Mr. Mike if he had advice for others -- teachers or students, who are encountering online music lessons and Lessonface -- and he responded: "My advice to students and teachers considering Lessonface/online lessons is to treat it no differently than they would coming to a studio in person.  Be committed to the process, realize that the instruction is the same, whether on screen or in the room.  Your work is no different.  The learning process is the same. 

"My work, however, is somewhat different, in that I get to use camera angles to show you techniques that would be impossible, or the least, uncomfortable, to show you in person.  I also get to tailor-make practice videos, for the student to practice with in between lessons.  With the Zoom platform, and Lessonface's cloud storage, those practice videos don't have to be done as a separate part of our time together, allowing us the full use of the lesson time.  

"When I talk with students, and teachers, new to the experience of online instruction, a big concern is that they aren't tech savvy enough to navigate the site, and, sometimes, even their own computer, to make their experience easy.  I assure them that, whatever they don't know how to do, I have learned already.  I make that as part of the instruction as it needs to be.  Often this culminates in teaching students how to use recording software, microphones and pre-amps, to make the most of their playing."

Here are some reviews that students have recently given their Lessonface sessions with Mr. Mike:

Mike Mitchell is a fantastic Teacher. He listened and quickly put together a spot-on lesson plan tailored to my level and musical aspirations. My first lesson I learned a tremendous amount. I very much look forward to working with him for a long time. I am very pleased I found him! 

Amazing. I had a great time, I felt comfortable, and I learned so much. 

Mr. Mike was nominated as Teacher of the Month back in May 2017 and graciously spoke to Lessonface about his journey in music. Listen to our Meet Your Mentor podcast below to learn more about Mr. Mike, and book a lesson with him to start your studies!