VOC Level

Introduction to Guitar Making (Part-Time)

Campus
Newark Campus
Start Date
September 2026
Duration
2 years (Part-time)

Introduction to Guitar Making is a fully workshop-based foundation course designed to give learners the essential practical skills, behaviours, and confidence needed to begin a journey in traditional or contemporary guitar making and other forms of fine craft.

This two-year, full cost, Foundation course can provide students with the opportunity to develop the underpinning skills and knowledge preparing them for progression or employment.

The course is entirely hands-on: no written assignments, no parallel subjects -just focused, supported, skill-building work at the bench.

This foundation aims to nurture intuitive craftsmanship, respect for materials, safe and competent tool use, and the slow, attentive habits that underpin all high-level making.

Foundations of Guitar Repair and Workshop Practice

Students begin by developing the fundamental competencies of contemporary guitar maintenance and repair. Through hands-on engagement with real instruments, learners practice essential tasks such as crack and dent repair, setup, retouching and finishing, structural adjustments, re-fretting, and corrective procedures.

Practical work is supported by tutor-led demonstrations, peer sharing, and one-to-one tutorials to promote technical accuracy, reflective practice, and safe workshop conduct.

Guitar Design and Construction: Steel-String & Classical

Through two large-scale construction modules, learners develop the knowledge, craftsmanship, and aesthetic sensibility required to design and build high-quality steel-string and classical guitars.

Activities include:

Material selection and evaluation

Bracing patterns and soundbox engineering

Decorative design (rosettes, headstock work, purfling, inlay)

Project planning, documentation, and portfolio development

Engagement with sustainability and legislation around tonewoods .

Students work over extended periods to produce professionally finished instruments, applying the advanced workshop skills, planning strategies, and iterative refinement processes central to contemporary lutherie.

Applied Acoustics for Instrument Makers

This module introduces students to the physics of sound as it applies directly to guitar construction and modification. Learners study how sound is produced, transmitted, and shaped by material and structural factors; design tests and experiments; analyse frequency data; and use digital technologies to evaluate instrument performance.

The ability to interpret acoustic behaviour allows students to make informed choices during both design and repair processes

Specialist Tool Design and Manufacture

Recognising the importance of personalised, high-precision tools in lutherie, students undertake the design and production of a bespoke hand tool tailored to their craft practice.

This work integrates CAD drafting, measurement skills, machining, material selection, safe workshop practice, and engineering concepts such as kinematics—all essential for creating and modifying the jigs and tools used in contemporary guitar making.

Our courses are designed as a progressive pathway, with flexible entry points for different experience levels. Completing the full sequence within a discipline provides complete training from beginner to industry-ready standard.

Initial assessment at enrolment.

Please note, the courses are for adults 18+

There are no formal examinations for this course. Assessment is continuous and based on practical skills in making and adapting to the workshop environment, evaluated through tutor observation. In addition, a peer evaluation will be completed, and a summative assessment will be completed through a portfolio of tasks completed throughout the academic year.

Students who successfully complete the course may progress to the Traditional Guitar Making course or pursue work in the industry.