Interview with classical guitarist Gabriele Zanotti

We are delighted to have the opportunity to interview Gabriele Zanotti, an accomplished Italian classical guitarist and educator whose musical journey combines formal conservatoire training, international performances and a thoughtful approach to guitar education.

With experience performing as both a soloist and chamber musician, alongside teaching students of different ages and abilities, Gabriele brings together technical knowledge, artistic sensitivity and a genuine commitment to helping others develop their musicianship. In this interview, we explore his musical beginnings, his experiences in Italy and Spain, his approach to classical guitar technique and interpretation, and his philosophy of music education.

Interview by Stefan Joubert

Stefan Joubert: You began studying classical guitar at the age of eight in Italy. What first attracted you to the instrument, and when did you realise that music could become your life’s work?

Gabriele Zanotti: I started playing at eight, with the first melodies of Italian pop music. I first saw a guitar thanks to my brother, who had started before me, so he was my first source of inspiration. I realised it could become my life’s work when I understood that music moves me deeply and makes me feel emotion every time. I tried several sports and other hobbies, but none gripped me like classical guitar; with the others, the passion faded after a while. My passion for classical music has lasted until today, and I hope it always will.

Stefan Joubert: Before dedicating yourself fully to music, you spent time studying graphic design. Has that creative background influenced the way you approach guitar playing, musical interpretation or teaching?

Gabriele Zanotti: Not directly, but graphic design helped me understand what lies behind the communication and organisation of an event: the posters, the creative choices, everything that surrounds the playing itself. I think it has also influenced my interpretation: when I study a piece, I often think in terms of contrast and balance, and I believe that way of seeing comes from there.

Stefan Joubert: You completed your classical guitar studies at the Conservatorio Licinio Refice in Frosinone, graduating with honours. Looking back, which experiences or lessons from your conservatoire years have had the greatest influence on you as a musician?

Gabriele Zanotti: My conservatoire years taught me that behind the sound we hear there is a great deal of study. An interpretative choice is often judged only by taste: if we like it, it’s good, and if not, it isn’t. But behind it there is awareness. First of all, we respect the composer, then the style: the repertoire and the conventions of each era. Only then do we add a personal touch, and only after we know what lies behind those “dots”, which are not just sounds but notes.

Stefan Joubert: You have attended masterclasses with distinguished guitarists, including Lorenzo Micheli, Matteo Mela and Carlo Marchione. What have you learnt from working with different musicians, and how have these experiences shaped your own musical identity?

Gabriele Zanotti: Working with different teachers, I learnt mainly two things. The first is to analyse what you play: to understand the style and the performance practice of the period, and then to translate them onto the modern guitar. The second is that not all students have the same goals. With some, you can work on the smallest details of the sound, from the attack to the quality of tone, up to the interpretation and how the audience perceives it; with others, you can keep things lighter. In any case, the most important thing when teaching is to enjoy ourselves. I also came to understand that your starting point (family, culture, musical environment) makes the path more or less difficult, but with commitment and consistency anyone can reach their own goal. For this reason, I adapt the level of detail to each student’s goal and starting point.

Stefan Joubert: Your performing career has taken you across Italy and Spain, including performances along the Camino de Santiago. Is there a particular concert or experience that has stayed with you, and what made it so memorable?

Gabriele Zanotti: Playing in the Camino de Santiago was one of the most formative experiences of my life. It showed me the importance of playing concerts regularly, and it helped me overcome the fear that every musician faces in front of an audience. Playing brought relief, gratification and joy, and the chance to give the audience everything that came before the concert: the study and the practice. It all takes shape and everyone benefits. It was a source of personal growth, not only musical. It was memorable because I shared it with my brother and because of the special people I met along the way.

Stefan Joubert: Chamber music has been an important part of your musical career, particularly through your work with Duo Z and other ensembles. How does performing with other musicians differ from playing solo classical guitar, and what has chamber music taught you about listening and musical communication?

Gabriele Zanotti: Playing with others changes the way you play, because you no longer depend only on your own interpretative choices. The constructive criticism of other musicians has taught me to open up to more than one point of view and to be freer and more varied in my interpretation. In Duo Z, with my brother, we don’t limit ourselves to keeping time together and having the same sound, or using different sounds to bring out one voice over another: first of all, we agree on the musical idea we want to give the piece, and we try to arrive at a single idea. If we had two different ideas, the two guitars would sound detached and misaligned, and the music would sound strange. This has taught me to adapt my playing to what I hear, once the idea has been agreed. It may sound obvious, but developing this kind of listening takes time and experience. In the end, we understand each other through glances, breaths and entries, without words, because we know each other so well.

Stefan Joubert: On your website, you emphasise the importance of understanding why something works musically rather than simply following instructions. Could you explain this philosophy and share an example of how you apply it in a guitar lesson?

Gabriele Zanotti: For me, understanding why means going deep into what you are doing: studying it, analysing it, absorbing it and being able to explain it. In lessons, I often see students with tension in their hands, small or large: in the right hand, in the way they move the fingers to play the strings, and in the left hand, in the way they press. It varies a lot from person to person. Instead of simply saying “change your position”, I explain how the hand works: the fingers move thanks to tendons, which are pulled by the muscles of the forearm, so the hand has no need to squeeze. I imitate the student’s movement, with the tension it creates, so that they can see and feel the limit, and then I show them the more efficient movement. In this way, students don’t only know what to do, but also why, and they can apply it on their own. I have noticed that when I give only the instruction, there is more resistance, whereas when I explain the reason, students are more open to change and more willing to learn.

Stefan Joubert: Many of our students at the London Guitar Institute are adults who are discovering the guitar for the first time. What advice would you give someone who has always wanted to learn classical guitar but worries that they may be starting too late?

Gabriele Zanotti: My advice is not to be discouraged before you begin. It is the same advice I give to my older students who fear they are too late. With commitment and consistency, we can all reach a goal that feels rewarding. Of course, there are limits, such as the time left to practise, so we need to be realistic. It may be difficult, though not impossible, for an older beginner to aim at concerts, tours or competitions, with the adrenaline of playing every note right and impressing an audience. With older students, I have found it works to set different goals: small ones, reachable in short periods. This reassures them and makes them more eager to study than if they had no goals or felt defeated.

Stefan Joubert: You have taught students of different ages, abilities and nationalities. What differences have you noticed between teaching children and adults, and how do you adapt your approach to suit each student?

Gabriele Zanotti: Between children and adults, the length of attention, the way of concentrating, the relationship with mistakes and the goals all change. With children, I use simpler language and comparisons from their own world, and I alternate fun moments with instructive ones. With adults, I use more mature language that is neither technical nor childish: they need to understand and analyse the difficulties they meet, and I try to explain them simply, so that they can apply them independently. But I don’t adapt only to age or nationality: I adapt to the person. I have guidelines that I follow to achieve a certain result, and I modify them each time according to the student in front of me, which is why I don’t use a single method with everyone. My aim is for students to become independent, and it works best when there is openness on their side too.

Stefan Joubert: Classical guitar requires coordination, technique and musical sensitivity. When teaching a complete beginner, which fundamentals do you consider most important, and how do you help students develop good habits from the beginning?

Gabriele Zanotti: With an absolute beginner, I first check three things: coordination between the two hands, relaxation of the hands and accuracy of rhythm, because they are the basis of good habits and control. If they are starting from zero, we first work on exercises aimed at these three areas. If they have already played a few pieces or have a good command of the movements, I start from a piece they like and use it to improve the quality of the fundamentals. The bad habit I see most often is the left-hand thumb too high or too low on the neck: it doesn’t support the fingers that press, and the hand becomes unstable. Online, this is easy to notice: if I see the thumb appearing over the neck on the video call, I know it is too high and I point it out straight away. I work on one aspect at a time, without blaming the student, with empathy and correcting gradually.

Stefan Joubert: Many guitar students concentrate on playing the correct notes but find it more difficult to produce a beautiful sound or communicate musical expression. How do you help students move beyond technical accuracy towards more expressive playing?

Gabriele Zanotti: Keeping the right notes, a beautiful sound and expression together is very difficult, and if one of them is missing, the music loses something. When a student plays the right notes but in a flat way, I reproduce what I heard in their performance and ask them whether they think it sounds good and where it could improve. If they don’t know, I let them hear two versions, one flat and one expressive, and help them find the difference. We are all sensitive people: the important thing is to train this sensitivity and help students understand that, when they play flatly, the music doesn’t fully come out. I explain that playing expressively doesn’t mean only playing the right notes, or only doing the dynamics, or only taking care of the articulation: it is a combination of all of these.

Stefan Joubert: One of the biggest challenges for adult learners is finding time to practise alongside work and family commitments. What would you recommend to someone who can dedicate only 15–20 minutes a day to the guitar?

Gabriele Zanotti: I recommend using that time with the highest possible quality. Adults find it hard to make time to practise between work and family, so even 15, 10 or 5 minutes a day is fine. What matters is that it is quality practice. It builds good habits, and our brain memorises them and can repeat them over the long term. The opposite doesn’t work: 20, 30 or 60 minutes spent practising badly, without purpose or goals, and without knowing what to do. So I would recommend those 15–20 minutes, but with quality. You need to know what you are doing and what your short-term and long-term goals are.

Stefan Joubert: You have experience teaching guitar both online and in person. What have you discovered about effective online music education, and how do you maintain a personal connection with students when teaching remotely?

Gabriele Zanotti: The thing that works best online is that it allows many more people, from different backgrounds, to start a musical journey. For those who can’t study in person, for whatever reason, there is one barrier fewer: if they want to study with an Italian teacher, they don’t have to come to Italy; they can have lessons from their own home. I myself have students from all over the world. To maintain a personal connection, I make students feel comfortable and safe, with small questions, despite the barrier of the screen. At the beginning, it is difficult to build this relationship and it takes time, and it needs openness from both sides. Between one lesson and the next, I also ask students for feedback during the week.

Stefan Joubert: Even experienced guitarists encounter technical difficulties, periods of frustration or moments when progress seems slow. How do you help your students overcome these challenges, and how do you approach them in your own playing?

Gabriele Zanotti: I break difficulties down into small pieces and overcome them one piece at a time, until the whole difficulty is solved. This is the method I use myself, and I pass it on to my students. Everyone meets technical difficulties and gets frustrated when they can’t overcome them. We should always keep a positive attitude, but that alone isn’t enough: we also need a good method. Periods of negativity shouldn’t be denied, because they happen to everyone. We need to accept them, process them and finally detach from them emotionally. Knowing that it is only a phase, only a moment, helps us move forward.

Stefan Joubert: You have performed music from different periods, and your chamber music experience spans a varied repertoire. Are there particular composers or works that have had a lasting influence on your musical development, and why do they mean so much to you?

Gabriele Zanotti: Two composers have marked me more than others: Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco and Manuel María Ponce. I wrote the dissertation for my first degree on Castelnuovo-Tedesco: he is Italian, and his writing is so refined that I would compare it with that of the great orchestral composers. For guitarists, he is important for the quantity and quality of his repertoire, and because he wrote in very different styles, from the Romantic to the Classical and the Baroque, up to a more modern language. Among his works, the Passacaglia has marked me, and I would also like to mention his Concerto for guitar and orchestra, one of the most beautiful ever written. I brought Ponce to my master’s degree in guitar with the Sonata romántica, which, from the first time I heard it, gave me a deep emotion: I had long wanted to play it, and I did so as the main piece of my graduation recital. Playing these composers has changed the way I play: there is always something deeper to discover beyond the notes and the performance, something that is not written down.

Stefan Joubert: You have worked as both a performer and a teacher. How do these two aspects of your musical life influence one another, and has teaching ever changed the way you understand or perform a particular piece?

Gabriele Zanotti: The two things influence each other. From the stage, I bring my own experience to my lessons: for me, learning to manage emotions in concert was very difficult, because on stage they are amplified and we lose a little control. If control is well trained, then even when some of it slips, the quality of what we play is not lost; if it isn’t trained enough, it is much easier to lose it. So, if a student wants to perform in concert, I try to give them the tools to face it. Teaching, in turn, has shown me from another perspective things I had learnt as a student. As a student, you think you know something, but then you can’t explain it; as a teacher, you either can explain it or you can’t do it. For this reason, every time I learn something new, I look straight away for a way to teach it, to find out whether I really know it. This happened to me with the rest stroke and the free stroke: I had them clear in my head, but when I first explained them, I realised it was more complex than I thought, and I learnt to simplify it. Since then, I can recall the movement of each technique much more easily, and this has translated into greater control in my own playing.

Stefan Joubert: For someone who is new to classical guitar, which pieces or composers would you recommend exploring first to discover the beauty and expressive possibilities of the instrument?

Gabriele Zanotti: To discover the beauty of the classical guitar, I would recommend starting by listening, even before studying. I would begin with Francisco Tárrega, with Lágrima or Recuerdos de la Alhambra: they show how much the guitar can sing and create atmosphere with very few means. Then Johann Sebastian Bach, in guitar transcriptions of the lute suites, to hear the clarity of the voices and the depth of the writing. With Agustín Barrios’s La Catedral, you discover a more romantic side, full of colour. And with the Concerto in D major by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, an Italian composer, you hear the guitar in dialogue with the orchestra. For those who then want to begin playing, a widely used method with beginners is that of Julio Sagreras.

Stefan Joubert: Looking ahead, what are your ambitions as a classical guitarist and educator? Are there particular performances, collaborations or teaching projects you would love to pursue in the coming years?

Gabriele Zanotti: In the short term, I want to finish my master’s in chamber music and continue my YouTube project, which is dedicated to popularising classical music and classical guitar. The first thing I want to do after that is to gain new experiences abroad. In Spain, I have already done an Erasmus+ traineeship at the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Navarra, in Pamplona, with teaching activity, and I have taught in music schools in Navarre: I want to continue along this path. In the medium term, I want to collaborate with new musicians and learn new languages, to get to know more cultures and share what I have learnt. In the long term, I have in mind CDs and international concerts, and the creation of a collaborative musical environment, where classical music professionals who want to teach and grow musically, didactically and expressively can work together in harmony.

Tags: classical guitar, Gabriele Zanotti, Guitar teacher