Guitar Lessons in Colorado

How guitar learning works in Colorado

Colorado's guitar opportunities sit across school festivals, jazz ensembles, and private-study events, rather than in a statewide school guitar class. The Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) runs school music festivals, while the Colorado State Music Teachers Association (CSMTA) offers Rising Stars and Achievement Day for students studying privately. The Colorado Bandmasters Association (CBA) runs school band festivals and All-State Jazz Bands, which include guitar. Knowing who runs each event helps you see whether it is tied to school participation or open through private study.

Auditions and events in Colorado

How does a guitarist reach Colorado's top student honors?

For a Colorado guitar student, the clearest state-level performance route is the CSMTA Rising Stars Festival, rather than All-State Orchestra, which is for orchestral instruments. Students ages 6–19 who study with member or nonmember teachers can enter solo instrumental or ensemble divisions, choosing either a competitive or noncompetitive track. The 2027 festival is scheduled for April 10 in Denver. Competitive soloists perform two contrasting selections by different composers; a level with more than ten contestants may have two rounds, and first-place winners are invited to perform at the CSMTA conference showcase. High-school guitarists interested in jazz also have a school-based route: Colorado All-State Jazz auditions are submitted by video, with the 2027 deadline falling in mid-November and the festival in January.

What do auditions ask you to prepare?

Colorado's guitar auditions call for different kinds of preparation. For the 2027 high-school All-State Jazz audition, students submit video performing two unaccompanied standards and play-along tracks; scales and etudes are no longer required. CHSAA Solo & Ensemble does not require memorization, but the student brings an original score with numbered measures, and an accompanist is part of a solo performance without being judged. In weekly lessons, three to six months is a useful span for shaping an event piece, learning it securely and polishing musical details; the teacher can divide that work around school rehearsals.

What else is there to enter?

Students who want a performance goal without the pressure of ranking can consider CSMTA Achievement Day, a noncompetitive event run by local associations during the year. CSMTA Rising Stars also offers a noncompetitive track alongside its competitive solo and ensemble divisions, making it suitable for students who want a formal performance experience without competing. CHSAA Solo & Ensemble is another school-based option for students who want an adjudicated performance. Together these events give guitarists more than one way to share prepared music.

Homeschool and private school students

Homeschool students can enter CSMTA Rising Stars through a CSMTA member or nonmember teacher, and local associations may allow participation in Achievement Day. CHSAA’s general eligibility rules apply to its Solo & Ensemble Festival, while Colorado's All-State ensemble rules require middle- and high-school homeschool students to enroll and actively participate in a curricular high-school ensemble. A private or extracurricular youth group does not meet that requirement. In Colorado Springs, Pikes Peak Home School Music offers homeschooled students concert band, orchestra, jazz band, choir and other programs.

Starting at any age

Starting a child on guitar

Guitar suits many children once they can comfortably hold the instrument and use their fingers to press the strings; the right starting point depends more on readiness than a fixed age. Because Colorado has no statewide school guitar program, private lessons can give your child a steady start before school jazz opportunities become relevant. A teacher builds chord changes, rhythm, reading and healthy hand habits one step at a time, then helps the student connect those skills to school ensembles or a festival when ready.

A teen in Colorado

A Colorado teen can pursue guitar through school jazz and solo events, but the route depends on the school’s offerings and the student’s eligibility. High-school guitarists can audition for All-State Jazz Band through the Colorado Bandmasters Association, while CHSAA Solo & Ensemble gives students another school-linked performance opportunity. Weekly lessons fit alongside rehearsals by keeping technique and repertoire moving between school commitments, so a student can prepare steadily rather than trying to learn a complete audition piece at the last minute.

Starting or coming back as an adult

It is not too late to begin guitar or return after time away; adults can set a pace around work and family, and a teacher meets you at your current level. In Colorado Springs, the Pikes Peak Gold Band and Swingmasters Jazz Band accept adult instrumentalists with at least high-school-level band experience. The New Horizons Band of Colorado Springs welcomes adult visitors to rehearsal, while Northern Colorado New Horizons in Loveland welcomes beginners as well as experienced players. These groups focus on band playing, so a guitarist can instead build toward acoustic jams or personal playing goals.

Finding the right teacher

What should a good guitar teacher do?

A strong guitar teacher gives the student a clear path from comfortable playing to the style and goal that matter, whether that is first chords, a school jazz audition or a prepared festival solo. In Colorado, that means understanding the distinct demands of All-State Jazz and CSMTA Rising Stars, while adapting explanations and pace to the student’s age and personality. Fit matters because weekly lessons work best when the student feels understood and can ask questions. At Lesson With You, you can choose a teacher yourself or ask us to recommend one; every teacher holds at least a bachelor's degree in guitar.

How do live online guitar lessons work?

In a live Zoom guitar lesson, your teacher listens to tone, rhythm and chord changes and watches both hands closely enough to correct fingering and posture in real time. A stable internet connection, a device positioned to show the guitar and a quiet place to play are the basic setup. Online lessons mean no commute and access to a teacher who fits, rather than only whoever is closest. A weekly meeting at home is easier to keep alongside school and other commitments. A student in Denver and a student in Greenwood Village get the same choice of teacher and the same one-on-one lesson.

What $35 a week gets you at Lesson With You

A teacher with a degree in guitarEvery Lesson With You guitar teacher holds at least a bachelor's degree in guitar.

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Guitar in Colorado

Where to hear guitar

Colorado listeners can hear guitar in acoustic, chamber, and student settings. In Boulder, CU Boulder Faculty Tuesdays presents free chamber recitals most Tuesdays from August through March, and CU Boulder student degree recitals are also free. Fort Collins offers a free Colorado State University Guitar Studio Recital with student solo, duo, and chamber performances. Traditional bluegrass is heard at the RockyGrass Festival in Lyons in late July, giving students another style to listen for beyond formal concert settings.

Where to play with others

Across Colorado, guitarists can find community playing beyond school. The Black Rose Acoustic Society in the Pikes Peak region welcomes guitarists of any level to genre-based jams, including beginner and intermediate bluegrass and folk gatherings. The Colorado Old-Time Music Association lists jams in Denver, Fort Collins, Longmont and Westminster, while the Creede Musical Arts Collective in Creede invites guitar, ukulele and fiddle players to a monthly jam. School jazz is another route: Fossil Ridge High School in Fort Collins has audition-only Jazz 1 and Jazz 2 ensembles that include guitar.

Guitar around Colorado, area by area

Denver area

In Denver, guitarists can hear the Colorado Symphony at Boettcher Concert Hall, where students and educators with valid ID can get $10–$15 tickets to select concerts. Levitt Pavilion Denver presents free, all-ages concerts and community events each summer at Ruby Hill Park. Guitarists interested in group playing can also explore the Colorado Old-Time Music Association's Denver jams. These options offer distinct ways to hear orchestral and outdoor music in the area.

Colorado Springs area

Colorado Springs families can hear the Colorado Springs Philharmonic, which offers free admission to selected 2026–27 concerts for ages 7–17 accompanied by an adult with a full-price ticket. Old Colorado City's Tuesday summer concerts at Bancroft Park are free in October. Guitarists in the broader Pikes Peak region can also find opportunities to play with others through local acoustic music gatherings.

Fort Collins area

Fort Collins guitarists have a school jazz option at Fossil Ridge High School, where Jazz 1 and Jazz 2 are audition-only and include guitar. For listening, the Fort Collins Symphony offers $10 student and child tickets to Signature Concerts. In Loveland, the orchestra's 2026–27 student season ticket includes one student ticket to each of six regular concerts, giving families another way to hear live orchestral music.

Boulder area

Boulder Friends of Jazz holds monthly jam sessions on the first Sunday except August, and participating musicians are admitted free. Guitarists can also hear free performances at CU Boulder: student degree recitals are open to the public, and Faculty Tuesdays presents live music in the Warner Imig Music Building. These options give students ways to listen locally and take part in informal jazz playing.

Grand Junction area

In Grand Junction, student tickets to Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra concerts cost $5, while Love Recital Hall concerts are free for students. The Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra's Evening Under the Stars event at Las Colonias Amphitheater is a free, family-friendly concert that requires a ticket. These concerts give families several ways to hear live music in town.

Montrose area

Montrose families can hear the Valley Symphony Association with single-concert student tickets priced at $5. The Montrose Summer Music Series offers free concerts at the Montrose Amphitheater from June through September. The town's concert options give guitar students a chance to hear live music in both orchestral and summer outdoor settings.

A little guitar history in Colorado

Colorado's guitar history connects songwriting with instrument craft. John Denver received his first guitar from his grandmother at age eleven and later settled with his family in Aspen. In Fort Collins, builder Tim Crawford began making guitars in 1980 and later focused mostly on acoustic steel-string instruments. For a student, these examples show the instrument's place in Colorado through performance and making, not only through school music.