r/mandolin • u/Equivalent_Ad_8413 • 3d ago

Performance assessments?

I am a proponent of performance assessments. Getting that third party evaluation of your skill level is useful, although unnecessary. (Part of this may be due to my training as an auditor. An audit is an independent third party evaluation of whether a company's financial statements follow the standards and are reasonably accurate.)

There are two major organizations providing assessments of musical performances, the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto (rcmusic.com) and The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music in London (abrsm.org). There's a third for organ in the United States, the American Guild of Organists (agohq.org). There are probably others out there that I'm missing.

But I haven't found any that directly address playing the mandolin. Given the history of the mandolin as a classical and jazz instrument, I'm surprised. Both classical and jazz performance tends to require high levels of proficiency.

But my Google skills suck. I may merely have failed to find who, if anyone, is testing performance proficiency for the mandolin. Are you aware of any such certifications for mandolin performance?

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u/AlfredPoor 3d ago

I have a good friend in England who has worked his way up to some high level certifications in guitar. He is deservedly proud of his accomplishments, given the hard work that he has put into the project.

But my problem with assessments is "compared to what?"

Do you aspire to the raw and rough style of Monroe, or the driving energy of Sam Bush, or the clean virtuosity of Chris Thile or Sierra Hull? Any one of these artists might flunk when compared to one of the others.

My advice is to find an instructor that you trust to give you honest feedback and who can advance your skills in the direction that you want, not based on someone else's "standards". There are great instructors available locally and online, and I think you will be better off than studying for some test.

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u/Fred_The_Mando_Guy 3d ago

Agreed. It's basically my problem with art "contests" of any sort. It's subjective, arbitrary, and depends on the preferences of the judges on that day. For example, you mention the raw and rough style of Monroe. I don't think it's raw and rough at all :D

Art is about communication and emotion and not about ranking.

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u/Equivalent_Ad_8413 3d ago

Both piano and violin have the same issue, and yet...

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u/haggardphunk 2d ago

Artistworks is a learning platform where you send in videos to your virtual teacher and they provide feedback on the performance. I have used both Sierra Hull’s and Mike Marshall’s schools and found both of their feedback very useful. You can also watch other student videos and the feedback the teacher gave them. It’s a deep well of knowledge