This course will introduce students to the art of Luthiery (stringed instrument construction). Stringed instruments have long been a mainstay of traveling musicians from the minstrals of the middle ages to the touring singer-songwriters of the current era.We will be studying the origins, evolution and construction of stringed instruments in the context of their use and portability. Topics of study include the "anatomy" of stringed instruments; properties of materials used in construction; tone woods; neck and fingerboards; scale lengths; adhesives; inlay techniques; strategic use of grain pattern as design and structural elements, and surface preparation and finishes. Students will construct one of the following: a short scale backpacker style guitar, pineapple ukelele, or teardrop mandolin.