October Crifasi

Photo by Blake Gardner

About GGS founder and director,  October Crifasi

A graduate of Cornell College and Walnut Hill School for the Arts, October has pursued teaching and composition, in addition to her wide variety of live performance and recording experience, for over twenty years.

While a full-time instructor at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago, Illinois, October honed her skills as a group teacher, ensemble leader, and songwriter, working with artists like Steve Earle and founding the school’s first female rock ensemble. Her positive and humorous attitudes towards the guitar (and music in general) made her a student favorite and integral part of the guitar faculty.

In Los Angeles, October has maintained an active teaching studio for over eight years as well as providing coaching and consultation services to the local film and television community working on projects for the Great American Country Channel (GAC), Lifetime & MTV Networks.

October’s philosophy is based on easy accessibility to the instrument for both amateur and professional alike. She strives to present information in a relaxed and clear way, make it fun, make it enjoyable, and work in some education about the foundations of music along the way.

Depending on the goals and interests of the student, lessons may cover chords, basic music theory and notation, strumming, and if applicable, an introduction to songwriting and performance. Curriculum is personalized to the individual student’s needs and abilities.

While October’s private studio is open to everyone, The Girls  Guitar School is dedicated to the education and empowerment of women and girls of all ages through music and especially the guitar. Her students are encouraged to explore and discover their own talents and capabilities in the classroom and also through exposure to the musical wealth of the city around them. Her students have gone on group field trips to concerts (such as the Donnas & Susanna Hoffs) and enjoyed private in-studio conversations with local and nationally-recognized female players.