My name is Spencer Clark. I started taking guitar lessons in 1972 at Guitar Showcase in San Jose. I took lessons at a steady pace and got familiar with jazz, rock and blues styles. I was in my first band at 16.

At 18, I enrolled in West Valley College in Saratoga, California, as a music major. I took classes in Music Theory, Classical Guitar, Piano, and Voice. I received my Associates of Arts degree from them in 1979.

When I was 20, I began teaching at Guitar Showcase in San Jose, where I started. This studio spun off and became Showcase Music Institute. I taught individual classes and workshops there, on such diverse topics as the solo in the movie Crossroads and How to Prepare for an Audition.

I had originally taken lessons from Jim Bruno, who was a busy working guitarist, bassist, singer, stick player, and sax (and anything else he can get his hands on). When Jim decided to make me a teacher, I wanted to continue taking lessons so I signed up for instruction from Jim’s original teacher, Warren Nunes. Warren was a legend in jazz guitar in the bay area. He really stressed phrasing and how to play to the chord progression. I have his CD, “Half Moon Bay” and it’s incredible.

I spent about 12 years at SMI. That experience has forged me into an effective, prepared instructor who can work with a wide variety of ages an interests.

My goal has never been to sound just like my teachers, but to take from them and create my own sound, my own signature. And that’s what I try to do with my students, many of whom are working in bands today.