Tara Linhardt

Some of Tara's Student's Testimonials

 

"I took mandolin lessons for about a year and a half, and I can't say enough good things about her. I was a complete beginner when I started with her and now I feel prepared and comfortable when I play at jams. Tara taught me a wide repertoire of tunes. She taught me ways to play different chords, how to move chords, how different players may use capos, and how to simplify or add chords. She has really good insight on how to start improvising and taking breaks. I think she adapts her teaching to use the technique that will help make the concept make sense to you. She is a lot of fun to learn from, and it is super inspiring to watch her play. Tara is an awesome teacher and I highly recommend her!"

- Kristin Henderson

 

"Tara has been teaching our 8 year old Evan Bluegrass guitar for a little over 2 years. He looked forward to his weekly opportunity to learn and play with Ms. Tara. To watch her interact-educate- and entertain Evan- was just a joy. We are sorry she has left Virginia- impossible to replace. If you get the chance to take lessons with her- take it! She is an amazing teacher and a great friend of our son.

-Don D.

 

I've been taking lessons now with Tara for the better part of 4 years. She is talented, professional, engaging, knowledgable, and most importantly patient. She taught this old dog a lot of new tricks on the mandolin. I still have a long way to go, but if you are looking for a mando teacher, this lady is tops in my book.

- Al Wisnieski

 

"Tara is a fantastic teacher. She is fun, funny, and easy going. Tara is especially good at teaching in a way that is easy to understand and digest - a rare and exceptional quality in a music teacher."

- Caryn Fox

 

"I’ve learned more about playing the guitar in the last year than I have in the last 10 years, if you want to learn how to play the guitar or mandolin and don’t know where to start- then call Tara."

-Patrick Fenning

 

"Tara is a superb teacher with a unique flair for adjusting her teaching technique to match my learning style."

- Al Bernier

 

"As a teacher she was cheerful, receptive, and "got down to business." She obviously loves what she does and has a great knowledge and background of music:  Not just Bluegrass, but a broad expanse of music appreciation and different venues.  She critiques and promotes good musicianship and shares the valuable techniques that she knows.

Fingering, composure, structure; she shares it all with her students happily.  And that makes it all the more fun, and helps inspire the student to learn and do better.  She easily compliments and encourages all levels of students.  I for one, after 30 years of playing, was challenged to learn new styles and picking patterns.  

Tara Linhardt is a very talented and positive instructor.  I would recommend her to anyone for either guitar or mandolin."

- David Saxton

 

"When I bought a mandolin three years ago, I decided to take lessons in order not to develop bad habits I had learned from my self-taught half-century with the guitar.  Tara Linhardt was highly recommended by one of her other older students.  Her teaching method was well organized, appropriately paced and accompanied by her wonderful sense of humor.  I had the opportunity to watch her work with younger students whose lessons followed mine.  She was equally sensitive to the learning styles of those students and, as with me, she provided plenty of encouragement.  As I became better at learning on my own, she adapted her lessons to my skill level and provided my with the fundamentals of music theory.  I often recommend Tara to people who are looking for a mandolin teacher. "

- Max Honn

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"A gifted teacher and a lovely person. I couldn't ask for more."

-Paul Poster

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"Great teacher! Precise, patient, playful, inspiring and talented!"

-Andrea

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"Tara's very knowledgeable and thorough in her teaching. She's also patient and keeps the session light and fun. Looking forward to learning more with her."

-Brad M. 

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"Great experience. Got songs and chords, but also technique and cultural info around the various styles."

-Matt W.

 

"Tara is simply wonderful whether you are 5 or 85. As an adult I wanted to take up the mandolin. I play other instruments but never one with strings. Tara is so good, I left my first lesson playing a song!
Every hour I spent with her was fun, challenging and left me wanting to go home and play all night. On a personal note she is smart, witty and has had many great adventures which I loved to hear about. If you are not only looking to learn a new instrument or brush up your skills from years past Tara is for you! Lastly, her knowledge of the history of bluegrass and world music is the cherry on the sundae!"

-Heidi Giarlo

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"Tara is a phenomenal music teacher and performer, as well as an all around amazing person. I’ve been taking bluegrass and jazz guitar lessons from Tara for about two years, and my improvement has been exponential.
Folks I play with have even commented on how far I’ve come with my ear, rhythm and breaks. On top of that, I have a growing list of more than 40 songs that I can easily play and brush-up on with her easy to read tabs.
We were doing in-person lessons until life forces brought us to the virtual world and wondered if that would work out. Well, it has with nary a hitch, even from Nepal.
Aside from teaching, Tara is an adventurer and international musical goodwill ambassador with a million funny and heartwarming stories from around the world. So every lesson takes you beyond music.
Also, through Tara’s jams and stellar performances, I’ve met and continue to play music with a wonderful group of folks in the NYC area.
If you’re looking for guitar, mandolin or ukulele lessons from a skilled, patient and fun teacher who brings more than just music to the session, Tara Linhardt is for you."

-Brian Bagot

 

"Whether you're a complete beginner or an advanced player, Tara is the perfect teacher because she has the insight and ability to customize lessons to meet the individual needs and goals of each student. Her instruction helped me prepare to play in my first flatpicking contest--something I had wanted to do for a very long time. (And I won second place!)"

-Siobhan Barry

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"Tara is a very knowledgeable and easy-going instructor. Her ability to teach theory in bite-sized chunks while keeping the lesson light and fun is extremely commendable. No grad-school music theory textbooks here, just color-coded fun. Her mnemonic devices are also hilarious. 6/5 stars" 

-Stephen Sharpley

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"I just started taking lessons with Tara and it’s been great so far. I did have some guitar knowledge coming in and she had me hit the ground running. I seriously feel like I’ve improved so much with just these few lessons. She provided some scales to work on along with some fun songs to help actually make sense of those scales. And possibly most important, she’s a lot of fun to work with and incredibly knowledgeable in bluegrass music and it’s rich history. If you want to learn flat picking and bluegrass guitar, book with her right now!"

-Andres Carillo

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