Guitar-Making Course in Spain

You may have noticed, as I have, that an awful lot of guitar makers are themselves the sons, or occasionally the daughters, of guitar makers. Of those poor orphans who weren’t born into it, many started out as cabinet makers, which makes perfect sense. So what if you just want to learn how to make a guitar? Turns out there are not so many ways to really learn this, as it’s an old-world craft and what you really need is an apprenticeship of some sort.

My good friend Stephen Hill has been making guitars for 25 years now (I have and play #8, which he made for me in 1989) and for many years has been teaching luthiery. Now based in La Herradura, on the coast of Andaluzia, Stephen teaches month-long intensive classes to small groups of aspiring luthiers and people who just want the experience of making their own guitar. Placement is limited, for obvious reasons, and the next course starts this week. He does this on a regular basis, though, so if you’re not ready to drop everything tomorrow and hop on a plane I’m sure you can get in touch with Stephen about the next course.

Here’s a little video about one of the recent guitar-making courses.