Welcome to my studio
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Preamble
We are at a critical phase
for the classical guitar. Gone are the days of hearing the likes of Andres
Segovia as well as most of his pupils, (Oscar Ghiglia,
Michael Lorimer, Alirio
Diaz). At the time of this writing even the great British guitarist Julian
Bream has curtailed his concretizing. I feel fortunate to have
heard all of the above, some many times. In fact, I have been equally
fortunate to have studied with some of them both in master class and
privately. Problem
Statement
Gone are the days of the
long master classes. During the 70’s one week, more frequently two week and
sometimes three-week classes were taught by the likes of Andres Segovia, Abel
Carlevaro, Leo Brouwer,
Julian Bream, Oscar Ghiglia, Pepe
and Angel Romero and of course Michael Lorimer to name a few. The long,
intensive classes, where you could brush up, maybe even perform for, some of
the greatest players of the day, has given way to short one or two day
workshops. A player comes into town, plays a concert and the following
afternoon gives a class - a hand shake and a kiss on the cheek if you’re
lucky. There is no doubt, despite
the amazing talent of the day, that the classical guitar recital and
consequently interest in the instrument has waned from it’s
hey-days of the 60’s and 70’s. Despite all the great
instruction on the instrument, ours has never been one with a strong
pedagogy. While pedagogies are a-plenty in other classical instruments,
(piano, violin, etc), the guitar has always been a bit of a poor relation
when it comes to a long standing tradition.
It is common for students to mistake a good player as a good
teacher. This is not always the
case. I often see students of
guitar who are near the end (ready to give up playing) because they have
suffered through months or even years of poor instruction. I almost always find that the student is
willing to learn more than the teacher is able to teach. When given proper foundation and
instruction these same students flourish.
Here is the chronology of
a typical classical guitar student. We pick up the guitar at an early age.
Strum some chords, learn some songs and maybe become quite accomplished. Some
join a rock band. But one day we become disinterested. The challenge
within these styles are not enough to hold our interest. Perhaps we
hear a recording, (mine was a John Williams ‘Best Of” recording), or a
recital of a classical guitarist and we are hooked. Maybe we sign up for some
master classes. We start learning the only repertoire we have heard; Asturias, Recuerdos. We think, “if only I
can play that piece!” Our approach is
haphazard and we struggle. We find a
local teacher who can help. The problem is that most teachers have gone
through the exact same scenario. And their answer is to practice more, learn
more music. The results are much like the approach; haphazard. We seem to
have no control over our abilities. The problem is the
approach. Wouldn’t it be nice to find an approach that worked you from the
ground up, one that stressed a pedagogical method of technique, practice
skills and performance techniques? A pedagogy that took one from the
beginning to the stage - a thorough and thoughtful approach? Wouldn’t it be
nice if you actually got better the more you practiced? My
Method (How I can help)
Over the years I have
formulated a structured and intelligent method of teaching, tempered through
decades of performances throughout the world. The instruction begins with
basic foundational skills which promote long term health of the player and
continues through performance development.
This proven method has produced success for students of varied
aspirations. My only requirement is
that students posses a “beginner’s mind” whether they are just starting or
are already professionals. Phases
I have broken down my
technique into 8 phases of learning.
Each phase gives the student a particular skill to achieve the art of learning
the classical guitar. This is not a
quick method but it is learnable, repeatable and most important there is an
arrival. Each phase has a definable set of objectives, ultimately leading to
a performance free of poor technique, poor practice habits, and debilitating
nerves. Everyone has physical limitations. These limitations are not the
problem. The problem most often lies in a poor and haphazard approach to
learning and playing the classical guitar. Performance Driven Instruction
All of my instruction is
performance driven (designed to lead the student to performance). All
students of classical guitar must perform.
Be it for a friend or friends, or family or in a hall, it must be one
of the goals. Performance enriches and grows students in ways that no other
technique study can do. A student that does not have a goal to perform is in
the same boat as an athlete who does not have a game to play. At some point their
practice simply becomes stale. We study technique,
practice passages, hone our skills, so as to share our talents and gifts. Yet
at every step there are problems; do we have an adequate technique, good
practice habits, and ultimately a way of overcoming our nerves? When we
conquer all these issues with a thorough approach we are rewarded. Who is
Scott
When Scott
Kritzer finished the final chords of his highly-acclaimed Carnegie Hall debut
he was hailed by the New York Times as:
“…intelligent and
self-assured…with a sure technique and a musical sensitivity, he created an
inner life in his playing, a thinking and caring musician.” Bernard Holland of the New York Times Mr. Kritzer made
yet another musical splash with debuts in London’s prestigious Wigmore Hall,
Lutheran Hall and Sapporo, Japan. In 1996 Mr. Kritzer was chosen by Oregon
Senator Mark O. Hatfield to represent the entire state of Oregon in a special
performance at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in He has
performed on series that have included Itzhak
Perlman, Ivo Pogorelic,
Cecelia Bartoli and the Emerson and KRONOS String
Quartets. Read the rest of Scott’s Bio Here |
