| Mandolin Building Course |
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 Tuition: $3750 2010 Schedule
In the last 30 years, the mandolin has risen in popularity among players, and the instrument has also experienced a renaissance of design and building. Recent developments by luthier Joseph Campanella Cleary, have highlighted the connection between the mandolin and the violin designs that Orville Gibson and Lloyd Loar applied to establish modern standards for the instrument. In this course, students will build an A model mandolin, in the Campanella style, combining traditional mandolin and violin construction. This model eschews plastic binding in favor of overhanging edges and inlaid purfling. With a focus on an efficient and natural process derived from careful study of both mandolins and violins, the Campanella mandolin recalls classic violin-building. The sound, however, is all mandolin, and extremely responsive. Using hand planes for prep and joinery, gouges, fingerplanes, knives and scrapers for shaping, students will learn the importance of effective sharpening, and gain knowledge of essential woodworking skills. The Vermont Instruments shop is particularly suited to this course, due to its focus on process/technique and hand tool work--teaching universal lutherie skills. The designs and specs taught in this course will be shared under a Creative Commons license.  Joeseph Campanella Cleary with a Dué Model (two-point) mandolin Biography: http://www.campanellastrings.com/experience   |
