Guitar Making as a Teaching Tool

by Debbie French and Mark French

Originally published in American Lutherie #144, 2021



Guitar making can be many things. To some it is a craft; to some it is a livelihood. And it’s also being used as a compelling teaching tool around the country. We are part of a project called STEM Guitar that is funded by the National Science Foundation, which provides faculty professional development to high-school and community-college faculty and students around the country, so they can, in turn, use guitar making to teach technical subjects. In educational lingo, these are STEM subjects — Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.

We all know how important it is for students to learn at least the basics of STEM subjects. As luthiers, many of us routinely work with structural dynamics, acoustics, material properties, geometry, and computer-controlled machines. Modern guitar factories wouldn’t work without heavy investments of technology or without trained people. In 2009, industrial arts courses represented just 0.02% of credits taken nationally by high school students (U.S. Department of Education, 2009). However, when an updated report was released in 2013, industrial arts courses were not even included in the NCES reporting; such courses were replaced by engineering and design and manufacturing and technology courses were listed, which represent 0.7% and 0.6% of credits earned by high school students, respectively (U.S. Department of Education, 2013). The guitar program offers an engaging way of exposing students to industrial arts skills through STEM curriculum.