About Scott Kritzer, Instructor

Scott Kritzer, Instructor

Scott Kritzer, the Instructor

My dedication for teaching was developed from the Michael Lorimer model of a career guitarist: 1) perform; 2) study; and 3) teach. This triangle perpetuates growth as a performer and teacher.

With a pedagogical lineage to maestro Andres Segovia my tutelage with Michael Lorimer focused on the art of practice, interpretation, performance preparation and stage presence. 

My curiosity brought me to also study with American pedagogue Aaron Shearer, whose technical concepts I’ve been applying and developing for the past thirty years.

I have developed a comprehensive approach to technique, practice and performance on the classical guitar, honed by four decades of touring and teaching..

I am a graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and have studied privately studied with Aaron Shearer, Andres Segovia protege Michael Lorimer, Philip Roshegar, George Sakellario and studied baroque performance practice with Laurette Goldberg.

After graduating from the SFCM I assisted Michael Lorimer in a year-long masterclass held at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington.

Having taught classical guitar at Lewis & Clark College and Reed Colleges for over three decades I now devote myself to teaching, writing,

filming, recording, performing, and working with students through the Kritzer Studio.

Some of my students have won regional, national and international guitar competitions and gone on to attend such notable schools as The Julliard School, the Royal Conservatory of Music in London, the North Carolina School of the Arts and my alma mater, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

After thirty years of playing, four years in a guitar performance degree program, and ten years of lessons and master class workshops I was still using a composite of haphazard methods. Scott imparts a proven, systematic, and practical way of learning and performing repertoire.
Peter JespersonPrivate Student
After just one lesson with Scott, I could already tell that my classical guitar technique was going to radically improve over the next few months.
Jake ShearerGrad Student, Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University
It's been another great year of exploring the art of playing and learning the classical guitar under your pedagogical leadership and expertise.
Paul KetchamPrivate Student
As an adult self taught guitarist I found Scott's instruction to be critical in filling in the gaps in my technique, interpretative skills and general musicianship. I've dramatically improved my understanding of music, fundamental skills, consistency and performance capability.
Mike GoverPrivate Student
Scott Kritzer’s method is expert, his private teaching is top notch, his workshops are rewarding, his annual Classical Guitar Immersion is fun!
Lee HessPrivate Student
I would highly recommend anyone interested in classical guitar to study with Scott and learn about his method. There is a wealth of information for guitarists of all levels. Beginner guitarists will be able to build up a solid technical foundation from scratch, and more advanced players will have the opportunity to make adjustments to their technique that will permanently alleviate issues and revitalize their ability to create music.
Jake ShearerGraduate Student, Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University
Your musicianship is virtuosic and inspires the spirit the dwells in all who hear your playing.
Paul KetchamPrivate Student
Taking lessons from Scott is very much like being a graduate student in a professor's lab. He embodies the philosophy that a musician should be simultaneously a performer, a teacher, and a student. Scott is deeply committed to innovating and systematizing his teaching and practicing pedagogy.
Tom PagePrivate Student
The Kritzer Method for advancing the technique of classical guitar (CG) playing has been the one ingredient missing in my CG education. After years of independent study as well as the past two years spent with an international on-line academy I realized that I needed the help of a dedicated CG professional to guide me away from the oftentimes ingrained technique flaws which were limiting my ability to express myself musically.
Michael FallonPrivate Student
More than anything, Scott is a consummate musician, and the prospect of progressing along his musical path is my constant motivation to practice and perform.
Tom PagePrivate Student
Personable, persuasive, and with a great sense of humor, Scott works with me towards our common goals, interpretation, expression, and enjoyment.
Michael FallonPrivate Student
Scott is an avid reader and applier of the scientific literature on learning and acquiring expertise and on physiology as it relates to musical performance and guitarists' health and injuries. Everything he has you do as a student he does himself as part of his own practice.
Tom PagePrivate Student
As a musician, Scott is a wonderful reminder of why I decided to choose guitar in the first place. As an instructor, his focus on the student, and patience meeting each of us where we are is truly amazing. I have no idea how he does it. And as far as his spot-on, yet wacky metaphors, you’ll just have to take a lesson and hear them for yourself.
Carolyn DevinePrivate Student
Following along with the "practice along" videos and written instructions in the online method and working through the chapters of Primary Skills Development provided a level of understanding that could not be attained through the exercises alone.
Jake ShearerGraduate Student, Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University
Scott Kritzer specializes in teaching the techniques of mastering CG performance. Scott’s curriculum is comprehensive and our biweekly private lessons are focused on how to improve my technique using his vast knowledge and experiences.
Michael FallonPrivate Student
Cool dude
John DoeCEO
I so appreciate that Scott has a plan and a vision for the whole course of acquiring basic (and advanced) skills. So many teachers just wing it. I can make myself do Scott’s exercises because he is so clear about why we are doing them. I need that understanding to motivate me. Scott is a thinking person’s teacher. Scott practices (literally) what he preaches. He is on the journey with us, or rather, us with him. The human hand has 27 joints. Even if each of those joints could only be in three positions (flexed, extended and midrange) that is over 7 trillion positions the hand can be in. But Scott has reduced that to only a manageable number of movement patterns found in playing classical guitar that we need to master. He makes the impossibly complex, masterable, and gives us the methods to do it.
Tom Page
Scott’s method is the first and only one I’ve encountered in my 14 years of lessons, whether online or in-person, that has helped me begin to correct and improve, step-by-step, my right hand technique. His vast knowledge of and ability to clearly explain, in layman’s terms, the mechanics involved, along with easy-to-follow demonstration and play-along videos and exercises, has made me truly aware, for the first time, of what my right hand is supposed to be doing and why. In my experience, Scott’s Primary Skills Development Method is unique within classical guitar pedagogy - I only wish I had discovered it sooner!.
Mark Campbell
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