Aaron Shearer (6 September 1919 – 21 April 2008) was an American

classical guitar The classical guitar (also known as the nylon-string guitar or Spanish guitar) is a member of the guitar family used in classical music and other styles. An acoustic wooden string instrument with strings made of gut or nylon, it is a precursor o ...

ist known primarily as a

pedagogue Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken as ...

History

He was born in

Anatone, Washington Anatone () is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community in the Northwestern United States, northwest United States, located in Asotin County, Washington. Because it is not tracked by the U.S. Census, a Census population estimate is not avai ...

to Nettie Pearl Moody and Floyd David Shearer, and was a guitar pupil of

Sophocles Papas Sophocles Papas (1893 or 1894 – 26 February 1986) was a Greek classical guitar pedagogue and music publisher. Early life Papas was born in Sopik, Ottoman Empire. He was exposed to classical music at an early age by his father, who was a church ...

. He has been director of the guitar programs at both

Peabody Conservatory The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University is a private conservatory and preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1857 and opened in 1866 by merchant/financier and philanthropist George Peabody (1795–1869) ...

and

North Carolina School of the Arts The University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) is an arts school in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It grants high school, undergraduate, and graduate degrees. Founded in 1963 as the North Carolina School of the Arts by then-Governo ...

. He held an honorary doctorate from

Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( or ; Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a private Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, Duquesne first opened as the Pittsbu ...

where he was a faculty member at the

Mary Pappert School of Music The Mary Pappert School of Music is one of the ten degree-granting divisions that comprise Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. History The Pappert School of Music was founded in 1926, offering a Bachelor of Music degree. The Bachelor ...

from 1996 till his death in 2008. His former students include

Manuel Barrueco Manuel Barrueco (born December 16, 1952) is a Cuban classical guitarist. During three decades of concert performances he has performed and recorded across the United States and has been involved in many successful collaborations. In addition, he ...

Ricardo Cobo Ricardo Cobo (born 1962 in Cali, Colombia to Lebanese parents) is a classical guitarist, considered one of the leading guitarists of his generation. He gave his professional debut with the Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá at age seventeeCobo w ...

, David Tanenbaum, Thomas Kikta,

David Starobin David Starobin (born September 27, 1951) is a highly honored figure in the world of classical guitar. Called "arguably the most influential American classical guitarist of the 20th century" ('' Soundboard''), Starobin was born in New York City. ...

, Bruce Casteel and Edward Stephenson. Shearer has many publications, including his well-known ''Classical Guitar Technique'' method books, his three-volume ''Learning the Classic Guitar'' series and his newly released ''The Shearer Method-Classic Guitar Foundation'' with DVD and CD.

Family

He was the son of Floyd and Nettie Moody Shearer. Aaron had two older brothers, Buford Carl Shearer who died in 1988 and Gwen Dean Shearer who died in 1987.

Selected publications

*''The Shearer Method- Classic Guitar Foundations'' - with DVD and CD (2012) *"Aaron Shearer: A Life With The Guitar-DVD" (2004) *''Learning the Classic Guitar'' - Part 1 (1990) *''Learning the Classic Guitar'' - Part 2 (1990) *''Learning the Classic Guitar'' - Part 3 (1991) *''Slur, Ornament, and Reach Development Exercises'' - Supplement 1 (1960) *''Basic Elements of Music Theory for the Guitar'' - Supplement 2 (1965) *''Scale Pattern Studies for Guitar'' - Supplement 3 (1965) *''Classic Guitar Technique'' - Volume I (1963) *''Classic Guitar Technique'' - Volume II (1969) *''Guitar Note Speller'' (1959) *''Three Tremolo Studies for Guitar Solo'' (1965)

External links

* The Aaron Shearer Foundation *Guitar International: Brad Conroy reviews "Aaron Shearer Classic Guitar Technique", Third Edition *https://web.archive.org/web/20101217134627/http://guitarinternational.com/wpmu/2009/10/01/aaron-shearer-classic-guitar-technique-third-edition-book-review/
Aaron Shearer: A Life With The Guitar
1919 births 2008 deaths 20th-century classical musicians American classical guitarists American male guitarists 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from Washington (state) 20th-century American male musicians {{Classical-guitarist-stub