Guitar Lessons in Santa Barbara, CA

The modern classical guitar traces its origins to 19th-century Spain, in particular the instrument as designed by Antonio de Torres. The upper strings are made from gut or now more commonly nylon, and are plucked with the right hand. Andres Segovia propelled the Spanish guitar to worldwide acclaim, and trained the next generation of classical guitarists. At the Suzuki Violin School of Santa Barbara, students who have finished with the Suzuki books in either violin or viola can work with Valerie on furthering their artistic training. Valerie has much experience with pre-college training and she began her teaching at the college level. Yet a common misconception is that Suzuki students only play from the Suzuki books; Dr. Suzuki himself taught other pieces to his own students. Many of the supplementary pieces have now been gathered and are sanctioned by the Suzuki Association board, such as Fritz Kreisler’s “Preludium and Allegro.”


David Malvinni, Ph.D., is now accepting students in his guitar studio, from beginner to advanced, all ages. Beginner Suzuki students focus on a wide range of material covering standard Renaissance, Baroque, and Classical pieces. More advanced students learn Spanish and Modern classical repertoire.Unlocking an individual’s talent through the development of proper technique leads to a lifetime of enjoyment of Santa Barbara guitar lessons, and also paves the way for powerful musical expression. The School is committed to excellence in both teaching and performing.

After playing popular and jazz guitar, David’s began his classical guitar studies as a high school student with Phillip De Fremery, a former Segovia and Oscar Ghiglia pupil who is the Guitar Professor at Mount Holyoke College and the Five Colleges consortium. He continued his studies with de Fremery while completing his Master’s degree in Musicology at UMass, Amherst. He has performed in master classes for Benjamin Verdery, Eliot Fisk, and David Tannenbaum among others, and had recitals at such places as St. Patrick’s Cathedral in NYC and the Humboldt Bach Festival in Northern California.


Many of the supplementary pieces have now been gathered and are sanctioned by the Suzuki Association board, such as Fritz Kreisler’s “Preludium and Allegro.” Beyond the Mozart concertos (books 9 and 10), students continue to learn the standard violin repertoire, as for example the Bach sonatas and partitas, the Brahms’s violin sonatas, and the Bruch/Mendelssohn/ Tchaikovsky violin concertos. Yet a common misconception is that Suzuki students only play from the Suzuki books; Dr. Suzuki himself taught other pieces to his own students.