Students from across the world with a passion for music are making the trip to Madrid to delve into a special craft - making their own guitars from scratch.

Carlos Alan Quiroga is a student who travelled from Atlanta, US to pursue his lifelong passion of building his very own Spanish guitar.

Since visiting Madrid he has joined Glissando, a luthier workshop that has opened its doors to teach students from across the world about their craft.

Quiroga spoke about his reasoning behind the trip: "It's really difficult to find a good instrument, I think at least in the US, without having to import or find someone specialized in the craft so I figured- hey, I'm looking for a special sound and if I can't find it, why not make it myself?"

Footage from March 21 shows the US student putting the final touches on his two-month-long project. His teachers are seen congratulating him as they give the instrument a whirl.

"Well, I expected to come in and work on the instrument and then come out with an okay guitar that I can maybe use, and I got this amazing experience so I got to be in Madrid and see this beautiful city this beautiful culture," Quiroga added.

A teacher at the Glissando workshop named Manuel de Oliveira has witnessed students from far and wide visit and share their passion for Spanish guitars.

Once a student at the school himself, he is now part of the small family-like team that runs the workshop in Madrid city centre.

He said: "We have students of all kinds, the truth is that we have a lot of foreign people who come basically to do more intensive courses, usually younger people who are really looking for training to dedicate themselves to this and so they travel to do intensive training, they spend two or three months here working almost a working schedule, they spend eight hours a day here and learn to make an instrument from scratch."

Joaquin Tobar, from Argentina, is seen sanding the wood of an electric guitar he plans to make. He has already made a Spanish acoustic guitar at the workshop.

Tobar said: "Glissando has been one of the few places that has managed to transmit the craft in a more accessible way, as it is very common for the workshops to be very familiar in that the trade is passed down from generation to generation and is not open to anyone who wants to work in guitar making or learn to build guitars."

The workshop was founded by Jose Antonio Cerezo a decade ago and he only expected retired people to be interested.

He was surprised as mostly young professionals enrolled on his one-on-one classes and students came from abroad to quench their passion for music.

According to Cerezo, one in five students that visits have come from abroad.

“It is very didactic, very satisfying and at the end they take home a guitar made by themselves, which raises their self-esteem, their capacity to be able to do things, their knowledge, they practice the language, I am referring to foreigners, and they also take home a very good memory of Madrid," he said.

Building your own Spanish guitar 
A unique craft taught in Madrid to worldwide guitar lovers.


Carlos Quiroga traveled from his home in Atlanta, Georgia, to Madrid, Spain, to pursue a live long passion: building his own Spanish guitar. In Madrid, 18-year-old Carlos has joined a unique school: Glissando, a luthier workshop that opens its doors to teach worldwide students the unique craft of building their own Spanish guitar.

SOUNDBITE (English)Carlos Alan Quiroga / Guitar making student from USA

"It's really difficult to find a good instrument, I think at least in the US, without having to import or find someone specialized in the craft so I figured- hey, I'm looking for a special sound and if I can't find it, why not make it myself?"

Carlos gives today the final touches to his two-month long project: he attaches the six strings to the guitar and the instrument is now ready to be played for the first time. His teachers congratulate him on the fine sound achieved. He is taking the guitar with him back home, together with a bunch of good memories curated during his stay in Spain.

SOUNDBITE (English) Carlos Alan Quiroga / Guitar making student
"Well, I expected to come in and work on the instrument and then come out with an okay guitar that I can maybe use, and I got this amazing experience so I got to be in Madrid see this beautiful city this beautiful culture"


Over the last few years, teacher Manuel de Oliveira has witnessed many new students coming from far away countries but sharing their unique passion for Spanish guitars. Once a student at the school himself, he is now part of the small family-like team that runs the workshop in Madrid city center.


SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Manuel de Oliveira / Guitar making teacher
"We have students of all kinds, the truth is that we have a lot of foreign people who come basically to do more intensive courses, usually younger people who are really looking for training to dedicate themselves to this and so they travel to do intensive training, they spend two or three months here working almost a working schedule, they spend eight hours a day here and learn to make an instrument from scratch."

Sanding the wood of his future electric guitar, Joaquin Tobar works on a corner of the workshop. It is already the second instrument he builds in Glissando. He first made an original Spanish guitar, as he considered it an essential first step towards his real target: being a electric guitar expert and maybe moving back to his hometown in Argentina with all the knowledge acquired here.


SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Joaquín Tobar // Guitar making student 
“Glissando has been one of the few places that has managed to transmit the craft in a more accessible way, as it is very common for the workshops to be very familiar in that the trade is passed down from generation to generation and is not open to anyone who wants to work in guitar making or learn to build guitars."

When founder Jose Antonio Cerezo took the chance and first opened his school a decade ago, he expected retired people to be the only ones having enough interest and time to approach the school. Instead, mostly young professionals enrolled in his one-on-one classes, and more and more foreigners started showing up. Now, one every five students comes from abroad, the United States growing steadily as an origin country. He believes that the key to the success its within the teaching process itself.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish) José Antonio Cerezo // Founder and Luthier 
“It is very didactic, very satisfying and at the end they take home a guitar made by themselves, which raises their self-esteem, their capacity to be able to do things, their knowledge, they practice the language, I am referring to foreigners, and they also take home a very good memory of Madrid".





SHOTLIST
1. Various of workshop
2. Various of Carlos making his guitar
3. Soundbite (English)Carlos Alan Quiroga // Guitar making student at Glissando: “It's really difficult to find like a good instrument I think at least in the US without having to import or find someone specialized in the craft so I figured hey I'm looking for a special sound and if I can't find it why not make it myself”
4. Carlos working on his guitar
5. Soundbite (English)Carlos Alan Quiroga // Guitar making student at Glissando Well I expected to come in and work on Instagram and then come out with an okay guitar that I can maybe use and I got this amazing experience so I got to be in Madrid see this beautiful city this beautiful culture

6.Carlos playing his guitar for the first time
7. Soundbite (English) Carlos Alan Quiroga // Guitar making student at Glissando “Its been amazing it's truly I've loved it from start to finish and I'm coming out with a beautiful instrument that I'm going to treasure the rest of my life"
8. Carlos beeing congratulated by his teacher
9. Introducing teacher Manuel de Oliveira
10. Soundbite (Spanish) Manuel de Oliveira // Teacher at Glissando School “We have students of all kinds, the truth is that we have a lot of foreign people who come basically to do more intensive courses, usually younger people who are really looking for training to dedicate themselves to this and so they travel to do intensive training, they spend two or three months here working almost a working schedule, they spend eight hours a day here and learn to make an instrument from scratch”
11. Manuel working
12. Various guitars
13. Argentinian student Joaquín Tobar working on his electric guitar
14. Soundbite (Spanish)Joaquín Tobar//Student “Glissando has been one of the few places that has managed to transmit the trade in a more accessible way, as it is very common for the workshops to be very familiar in that the trade is passed down from generation to generation and is not open to anyone who wants to work in guitar making or learn to build guitars.
15. Cutaway
16. Soundbite (Spanish) Joaquín Tobar // Student "It is an immense satisfaction, it is an instrument that comes from you, it comes from you and with all the characteristics that you want to put on it. there are few guitars that are as adjusted to you as the one you make, so it is really a very satisfying process and the moment when you put the strings on it and make it sound is an extra."
17. Various tools
18. Introducing founder José Antonio
19. SOUNDBITE (Spanish)José Antonio Cerezo // Founder and Luthier: “The relationship we have with the students is very close because in the end it is a one-to-one work where we attend to each one as if it were a private class, although the students are living together, each one goes at their own pace, they are doing different phases of the construction but at the same time they are seeing what awaits them as a visual reference and others, after them, what is coming next".
20. Cutaways
21. SOUNDBITE (Spanish)José Antonio Cerezo // Founder and Luthier :“It is very didactic, very satisfying and at the end they take home a guitar made by themselves, which raises their self-esteem, their capacity to be able to do things, their knowledge, they practice the language, I am referring to foreigners, and they also take home a very good memory of Madrid".
22. Glissando Workshop exterior