Teaching Serious Guitarists The Correct Way To Play Since 1994
Everything You Need To Be A Great Guitar Player!
Our Essential Learning Materials
Rich's one-on-one coaching program that transforms aspiring jazz guitarists into confident soloists and rhythm players
Learn the art of jazz fingerstyle guitar and start creating your own beautifully harmonized arrangements of your favorite songs
Start Learning the right variations in chords, progressions, arpeggios, licks, and songs to make jazz more approachable and enjoyable
A complete set of tools for comping and soloing Bebop Blues Progressions from Sonny Stitt, Joe Pass, Charlie Parker & Wes Montgomery
Events & Workshops
Yosemite Jazz Guitar
& Bass Workshop
June 22 - June 27, 2025
Live The Jazz Guitar Dream! 5 Days in the Sierra Nevada Mountains With No Distractions, Just Jazz Guitar and Bass! Our Affordable, All-Inclusive Pricing Includes all meals, classes, workshops & lodging for one low price.
Feb 28th - March 2nd, 2025
A Weekend of Listening and Learning in the Beautiful Wine Country town of Buellton, CA - Featuring Classes, Artists, Concerts, Exhibitors, Jam Sessions, & more! It's A True Jazz Guitar Player's Dream Weekend!
Our Only Goal Is To Make You A Better Guitar Player!
Gear
Rich has sold hundreds of guitars to his students! He buys quality jazz guitars and sets them up to his rigorous standards so his students can experience the joy of a guitar that plays with ease! He often has Gibson, Heritage, Eastman, Ibanez, Guild, and more in stock and ready to sell.
Rich's students love his custom set of D’Addario Chrome Bright flat wound strings that you can't find anywhere else but here! They feature thick deep tones and fat high notes for an all-around even volume! Trust us... You'll love the warm jazz tones they produce! Try them now and see the difference!
Rich loves partners with Henriksen Amplifiers to get his students the best deal possible from one of the premier amp designers on the market. Click the link below and use the coupon code GUITARCOLLEGE to receive 5% off all of the great amps and products offered at HenriksenAmplifiers.com
Social Media
Booking & Contact Info
Rich can provide the perfect musical ambience for your winery, restaurant, or upscale event. He plays soothing solo jazz guitar or provides fun jazz duos, trios, quartets, and more!
LOOKING FOR SOME TASTY TRADITIONAL/SMOOTH JAZZ OR FINGERSTYLE GUITAR FOR YOUR NEXT EVENT?
Rich, a world class jazz artist, educator and author, performs as a solo virtuoso but can add the instruments of your choice to design the smooth jazz combo you desire for your event.
WORLD CLASS EXPERIENCE THAT TAKES YOUR EVENT TO THE NEXT LEVEL
Rich has been a full-time professional player and teacher for over 35 years. He’s taught and played with some high profile musicians all over the U.S. and Europe. He’s also been playing guitar in church for over 25 years.
LETS FIND THE PERFECT SOUND FOR YOUR EVENT
Rich has played in pretty much every type of venue. He is now doing much of his performing in the central coast. He understands the individual needs or challenges your setting may present. It only takes a few minutes to book.
Contact Rich at any time through email or phone!
Email: Rich@GuitarCollege.com
Phone: (805)460-6370
Rich's Bio
Originally from the L.A. area, Rich Severson has been playing professionally and teaching guitar for over 50 years. His education includes years of college and private instruction with a variety of teachers including Ted Greene, Joe Pass, Charlie Shoemake, and Mitch Holder, just to name a few.
Rich understands that education is a continuing process and that there's always more to learn. His playing has been influenced by Wes Montgomery, Joe Pass, Howard Roberts, George Benson, Tal Farlow, and Larry Carlton. In the 80s Rich published three books of his own with Dale Zdenek/ Belwin Mills/Columbia and also worked as a proofreader for the publisher. This provided him the opportunity to work with several great artists/authors like Tommy Tedesco, Joe Diario, and Ted Greene proofreading their books and hundreds of other submissions.
After teaching at GIT/Musicians Institute, in Hollywood, CA, for three years he developed and published his own home study guitar school-type curriculum available on his website www.GuitarCollegeLibrary.com which has helped over 20,000 students worldwide! Rich has won honorable mentions and awards in songwriting and served as president of the Ventura County Producers and Songwriters Guild. Touring for three years with "Dick Clark's Good Old Rock and Roll Show," he had the opportunity to perform with Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, Little Anthony, and many other great, old-time rock and rollers.
After moving his family to the Yosemite/Fresno area he taught guitar and directed the jazz band at Fresno Pacific University for two years. He served as band director and arranger in churches in the Fresno area for over 20 years. He now resides on the Central Coast of California.
Being a well-rounded player, Rich is comfortable playing a variety of styles including jazz (his favorite), blues, rock, fusion, country, and solo fingerstyle. He performs at local venues as a solo guitarist and with jazz trios, quartets and big bands. He's traveled throughout the U.S. and Canada instructing and playing at a variety of worship conferences, workshops, and seminars.
Rich is still a full-time teacher, working with students in his one-on-one jazz guitar coaching program, Jazz Guitar Accelerator. He also spends a lot of time working on live streams, videos, and lessons for his YouTube channel, which has 33,000 subscribers. Rich is endorsed by Eastman, Heritage and Hofner Guitars, Quilter Amps, and Band In A Box software.
He also holds an annual 5-day Guitar College Yosemite Jazz Workshop in the Yosemite foothills for the past 20 years. This year he has just decided to start hosting the Central Coast Jazz Guitar Fest. Along with that, Rich is a bonafide expert on archtop guitars and has bought, worked on, and sold hundreds of them to his community of fans and students. He is constantly getting new inventory!
If you love guitar, Rich is definitely someone you’ll want to follow on Facebook and Instagram! You can also hear his music on Spotify! Scroll up to find the links to join Rich's community!