Biography

Brooklyn-based Mark Marshall has taken his years of experience and expertise — a bootcamp spent touring as a guitarist and recording with notable musicians in many genres — and has dedicated his creative output to songwriting and composition projects that wield instruments, tape machines, samplers, and microphones in the same way an artist uses paint, charcoal and ink. For Marshall, composition is an experimental adventure.

“A song has to evoke emotion. So the process of songwriting is very much about finding exactly how to conjure that emotion.”

On the road, Marshall has played major music festivals, including Mountain Jam and New Orleans Jazz Fest; toured internationally and recorded on the BBC; performed at both Lincoln Center Outdoors and Lincoln Center Jazz; shared the stage with Phil Lesh and Levon Helm; toured with Sister Sparrow and Amy Helm; and performs regularly as one-half of Fife and Drom (co-songwriter/arranger), a political blues project. 

In the studio, he produced Jenna Nicholls Radio Parade record; was both producer/session/musician/co-songwriter on Jenna Torres’ Thinking with my Heart; stepped in seamlessly to sessions with pop icon Sara Bareillies; and most recently produced, recorded and mixed Abby Ahmad’s Tea with Shadows, a long awaited follow-up to Curriculum, the album which bonded the two in work and in life. With the support of numerous corporate music endorsements, he spent years writing for Premier Guitar Magazine on guitar technique and philosophy; authored a book on music theory, Practice Makes Progress; created a video series on recording, mixing, and producing electric guitar for The Pro Audio Files; and managed a guitar blog called Anatomy of Guitar Tone and a new podcast called Anatomy of Tone.

Teaching Philosophy

My teaching philosophy involves personalized lessons tailored to each student’s interests and goals. In songwriting lessons, we will cover topics such as melody, lyrics, chord progressions, harmony, song structure, rhythm and groove, arrangement, emotional connection, study and analysis of successful songs, and regular practice with feedback. The aim is to develop skills in crafting memorable melodies, meaningful lyrics, interesting chord progressions, and engaging song structures, while exploring techniques for enhancing emotional impact and connecting with the audience.