This paper discusses how craftspeople educate themselves and others. In doing so, it helps address the question of “what keeps a ‘heritage craft’ alive?” It draws from a national survey of classical guitar makers in the UK, offering an account of who makes classical guitars, their choices of education and training, their qualifications, the extent of autodidactism and the role of instructional books. Following a descriptive summary of the survey findings, Social Network Analysis is used to compare the extent of direct teacher and student “communities,” and the indirect role of instructional books, between authors and readers. Analysis of the data highlights the importance, not only of teachers, but also of amateurs, autodidactism and instructional texts to ensure the continued viability of this heritage craft. While acknowledging that economic factors affect the transmission of craft knowledge from one generation to another, this paper argues that craft knowledge has an existence beyond the knowledge economy. The embodiment of knowledge in the craft objects themselves; the intrinsic motivation to teach oneself; the circulation of instructional texts; the significant proportion of amateur makers not reliant on their craft to survive, and the exchange of knowledge among teachers and learners outside of formal educational settings, each help maintain the craft tradition of classical guitar making.
Published Open Access in The Journal of Modern Craft