Experienced tutor in Guitar in San Diego, Steven offers private lessons tailored to your needs.

I huge endorsement for Steven. You are learning from a concert performer that is purely focused on your success. You will enjoy listening to him play as much as learning yourself. He has endless patients to ensure that you are building the fundamentals needed to reach your goals. Many teachers will let you short cut your way through the learning process which may have you playing a specific melody faster. However, you will build a bunch of bad habits that will limit your potential, slow you down, and ultimately another teacher will have to fix later. Don’t delay…get started…just pick up the guitar for 15 minutes a day to start and follow his direction.

Steven has been an excellent teacher of a wide range of guitar styles - classical, brazilian, spanish, and more. He has a strong background in classical guitar, with decades of experience in performance and instruction. No matter what style, he can identify ways to improve your technique and expression, with lessons that apply to all genres. He patiently points out important lessons about hand positions, dynamics, tempo, and melody that begin to build up a strong basis of technique over the course of a few lessons. After several months of practicing these tips, I was surprised at how natural my guitar playing had become and how much my overall playing had improved. I strongly recommend Steven's instruction.

Steven has the ability to find exactly where your ability/skill level is and develop a well designed plan to allow you to move forward in whatever discipline of music you may be interested in. I chose Zoom as my method of learning and have to say that Steven has an array of ‘up to date’ online tools that allows a student like me to easily follow his instructional directions. He is very knowledgeable and very savvy. You will not be disappointed, I say that with confidence!!

Steve zeroed in on my skill level and has given me appropriate lessons that have increased my skill levels. He’s really good at pressing me forward with a skill level that’s almost uncanny and obviously born out of a lot of experience and integrity. He’s the best thing that ever happened to me as far as guitar instruction goes. I can’t recommend him strongly enough.

Steve Elster is a master teacher he is patient and very sincere about his teaching method. He makes it very simplistic in his approach as an artist and teacher. He meets you where you are whether that be a beginner, novice or an experienced player.
I recommend him very highly not a whole bunch of teachers like Steve Elster exist.

Neil K. is a current student:

Voila!!! Wonderful guitar teacher. Makes it fun. Cannot wait for my lessons, each time he comes.

Steve's knowledge of guitar is very detailed. Correct technique is very important to him, and he learned it from the Romero's - With me, he started with these techniques first and foremost, so that I could learn the right way to play - not rushing through with bad technique that would hinder me later. He plays beautifully and it's wonderful to hear. I take lessons from him once in a while, because guitar isn't my primary instrument, but he has been very flexible with that, adapting his teaching to my goals on guitar. I'm sure that he would be a great teacher if you wanted to play guitar regularly as your primary instrument, though.