No. 2: the guitar

Giuseppe, why is the guitar so popular?

It’s a very accessible instrument. You can pick it up right away and produce sounds on the strings with your right hand. Perhaps the piano is even more popular because you can play two or three notes at once and already get a chord, which is more difficult with the guitar. Besides, guitars aren’t expensive; you can find good instruments for as little as forty or fifty francs.

Why did you choose the guitar?

I grew up in a small village in Italy where opportunities to take music lessons were virtually nonexistent. There were no professional musicians. A worker at Fiat played the guitar, and since we had one at home, that’s how I got started. My father played the bass guitar, but he didn’t have much time—he ran a small supermarket. Since I immediately took a great liking to music, I later went to the neighboring village where I could take lessons.

What made you decide to pursue a professional career?

When I was 12 or 13, my passion for music began to grow, and I was lucky enough to learn from well-known musicians who lived in the area at a very early age. My friends were also into music, and there were lots of bands in the area. I was really lucky.

These days, you focus mainly on classical music.

Actually, it's about contemporary music. I've been playing in ensembles for years, and I recently took over as artistic director of the Nouvel Ensemble Contemporain in La Chaux-de-Fonds.

Besides teaching, do you have much time left for music and other artistic pursuits?

I’ve decided to teach no more than 50%; otherwise, it becomes too much to handle with all my other responsibilities. I make sure to practice for at least an hour and a half every day. When you play a lot of contemporary music, you have to be careful not to lose your classical sound; I’m working a lot on that right now. For example, I like to play pieces by the Catalan composer Miguel Llobet. On top of that, there’s a lot of administrative work and computer work to do.

What advice do you give to students who are interested in the electric guitar? Is it better to start with the classical guitar?

On the acoustic guitar, the intervals are wider, and the use of the right hand is also very different. It’s perfectly fine to start with an electric guitar, but you should still learn to read sheet music—it’s a big help. If someone is interested in a specific instrument, that’s fine too: it’s a bit like the difference between a drum set and traditional percussion instruments.

In your experience, how long do students continue their education?

I couldn’t say for sure, since I’ve only been teaching for a few years. But I’ve taken on students who’ve already been at the music school for six or seven years. The geographical aspect is very interesting. In different regions, recreational activities in the villages are limited—there might be one sport, and two or three instruments at the music school, which vary from day to day. If someone is only free on a single day, he or she learns whichever instrument is available that day.

How do you motivate your students?

When I notice their motivation waning, I ask them what they’d like to do, what kind of music they like to listen to, and then I put together some simple arrangements for them—for example, pop or rock songs. They’re always happy when they realize they can play the music they love on their guitars. It’s important to be flexible as a teacher.

Do you also cover contemporary music?

Absolutely. There are students who are very interested in it; generally speaking, children and teenagers are like sponges—they soak everything up. Sometimes parents even ask us why their child doesn’t play more Beatles songs! (laughs). It takes a lot of empathy to understand what gets students excited and to encourage them accordingly.