Guitar - Complete Introduction to the Construction of a Guitar

The 20-week International Guitar-Making Course has been designed to offer international learners from diverse backgrounds the opportunity to acquire the complete set of foundational skills required to construct a classical guitar using traditional luthiery methods.

The course condenses the full making sequence—neck construction, soundboard preparation, rib bending, body assembly, back preparation, binding and purfling, fingerboard work, fretting, neck shaping, and bridge making—into an intensive, carefully sequenced 20-week programme, enabling students to complete a guitar “in the white” within a single study period.

This international course offers a complete introduction to the construction of a classical or steel-stringed guitar using traditional hand-tools and workshop-based techniques. Across 17 hours per week delivered in three structured sessions, students follow every stage of the construction process.

Learners begin by developing essential workshop skills, including health and safety awareness, tool identification, sharpening, measurement accuracy and reading professional guitar plans. They then progress through neck and head construction; shaping, drilling, and carving key structural elements; preparing and joining the soundboard; designing and inlaying a rosette; and executing all bracing work to control the acoustic properties of the instrument.

Subsequent stages introduce students to rib preparation, bending techniques, and the controlled assembly of the guitar body using a solera. As the build advances, students learn how to join back plates, install back braces, and close the body, followed by the precision work of binding and purfling, fingerboard preparation and gluing, fretting operations, neck shaping, and bridge fitting.

Throughout the programme, students receive one-to-one supervision alongside demonstrations and guided practice. By the end of the 20 weeks, each participant will have constructed a complete classical guitar “in the white,” structurally finished, fretted, fitted with a bridge, and ready for finishing processes such as French polishing or varnishing.