Gabriele Zanotti con chitarra classica

Twenty years with the same six strings

I started playing classical guitar at eight years old, in a small Italian town — without knowing yet that music would end up shaping my whole life.

Before committing fully to the guitar, I spent a few years studying graphic design. It wasn’t wasted time: it’s where the precision and attention to detail I now bring into a lesson actually come from. Eventually music won, and I graduated with top marks from the Conservatorio “Licinio Refice” in Frosinone, followed by a Master’s degree with honors in 2023. Through the Erasmus+ programme I spent several months teaching and performing in Spain, at the Conservatorio Superior de Navarra.

Gabriele Zanotti on tour along the Camino de Santiago
On tour along the Camino de Santiago, Spain

How I teach

Here’s something I tell students more often than my CV suggests I should: even after twenty years of playing, I still need someone else’s ears on what I do. The phrase is always clear in my head — how it actually sounds isn’t always what I intended. That gap is exactly what a teacher is for, at any level. It’s also why I don’t just tell a student “play it like this”: I try to explain the reasoning, the same way I’d want it explained to me.

“That gap is exactly what a teacher is for, at any level.”

Today I split my time between performing and teaching students from different countries and levels, online and in person.

Curious what a lesson actually looks like? See how lessons work →

Over the years I’ve taken part in masterclasses with musicians including L. Micheli, M. Mela, G. Krivokapić, C. Marchione, A. Dieci and G. Bandini, and performed across Italy and Spain — including Pamplona, Estella, and a tour along the Camino de Santiago — both as a soloist and with ensembles like Duo Z and Trio Dimensional.

Gabriele Zanotti performing classical guitar
Performing solo classical guitar

The journey so far

  • 2008 Begins classical guitar studies at Note a Colori, Pontinia (Italy)
  • 2021 Bachelor’s degree in Classical Guitar, 110/110 with honours
  • 2021–present Online and in-person lessons for students worldwide
  • 2023 Master’s degree with distinction, same conservatory
  • 2023–2024 Erasmus+ internship at Conservatorio Superior de Navarra, Spain
  • 2024–2025 Teaches in Spain (Sarriguren Music School and Valle de Roncal Municipal Music School)
  • 2025–present Enrolled in the Chamber Music programme at “Licinio Refice” Conservatory