Program Coordinators

Dr. David Schroeder, NYU Jazz Studies and Summer Programs Director, 35 West Fourth Street, Suite 777 • (212) 998-5446, e-mail: ds38@nyu.edu
Bruce Arnold, NYU Summer Jazz Guitar Intensive Coordinator

Program Overview

The NYU Summer Jazz Guitar Intensive combines cutting-edge guitar education with private lessons and workshops by the finest New York City guitarists. The three week workshop offers courses covering a wide range of subjects and a diverse ensemble program tailored to the needs of the aspiring student of contemporary guitar. The list of faculty reads like a Who's Who in the New York Guitar world, along with guest players from around the country and the world, making this a unique event that could only be offered in the Big Apple.

Courses give an in-depth look into the fields of music theory, time and improvisation and are geared towards the intermediate to advanced guitarist. Ensembles concentrate on sight reading, improvisation, solo guitar playing and other subjects important to a guitarist's development. We also offer a wide range of master classes and performances that are scheduled weekly throughout the workshop. The courses and ensemble program use Mr. Arnold's recently published "New York Guitar Method" to focus on developing a solid foundation in music theory, ensemble performance and sight-reading.

Located in the heart of Greenwich Village, students have access to the world's greatest music scene and are surrounded by legendary jazz clubs including the Blue Note, the Village Vanguard, the Jazz Standard, the Knitting Factory and Birdland. You will have over 25 music clubs within 5 blocks of your dorm room. Dorm rooms are right across the street from the beautiful and historic Washington Square Park.

Below you will find more specific information on courses, private instruction, ensembles, required books, daily events, application and audition information, meals and housing, fees and age requirements.

View a clip from the 2005 Intensive

Courses

A wide range of courses are offered at the NYU Summer Guitar Intensive. You can attend as many of the courses listed below as you want but you must have the text for the course in order to participate. You can take these courses for credit or non-credit.

Jazz Improvisation Techniques I
E85.1075
Instructor: Bruce Arnold
3 points, 30 hours

Course covers all common scales used in improvisation with an emphasis on developing your own original style along with practical application. Required book: New York Guitar Method Volume One.

Jazz Theory I
E85.1039
Instructor: Bruce Arnold
3 points, 30 hours

Course covers usage of Approach Note figures in various styles of Jazz and Contemporary Music with an emphasis on developing your own original style along with practical application. Ear Training concepts are also included in this course. Many guests from the above faculty list will join in on various days to play and participate in the class. Required book: New York Guitar Method Volume Two Course covers usage of various Pitch Class set combinations for soloing, comping or composition. Many guests from the above faculty list will join in on various days to play and participate in the class.

Required book: Set Theory for Improvisation
E85.1089 Jazz Ensemble
Instructors: Dusan Bogdanovic, Mimi Fox, Pete McCann, Tony Moreno, Jack Wilkins

Rehearse in one of our guitar ensembles developing reading, rhythm, and improvisational skills. All accepted students will be assigned a guitar ensemble. These ensembles will present a variety of melodic, harmonic and rhythmic studies to develop the student's overall sense of time as both soloist and accompanist. They will also include various aspects of
improvising counterpoint on guitar with a special focus on polymeter and asymmetrical meter derived from Balkan and African music as well as modal and polymodal harmonic languages.

There are two levels to the ensembles if you have had previous reading experience and feel you can read at intermediate/advanced level get the Level Two book. If not get the Level One Book.

Level One (poor sight reading ability)
Required: New York Guitar Method Ensemble Book One

Level Two (good sight reading ability)
Required: New York Guitar Method Ensemble Book Two

Housing/Meals

Cost

The cost of the program is $1800. Private lessons range from $55-$100. The fee for housing and meals is not included in the program fee.

Application Fee & Audition Materials

The program is intended for people 18 and over. Applicants under 18 will be considered on a case by case basis.

If you would like to be considered for the workshop you must submit the following:

• a general online summer application
• application fee of $50 (non-refundable, checks payable to New York University)
• DVD (or submit a video online, instructions here) with three contrasting jazz standards that demonstrate the applicant’s ability to play the melody, improvise and comp AND a solo piece to be downloaded here

Please be sure to include your contact information: phone number, mailing address, and your e-mail address as well as the name of your school and your year of study (i.e., high school senior, college junior).

Send your application fee and audition materials to:

Dr. David Schroeder
Jazz Studies and Summer Programs Director
Music and Performing Arts Professions
35 West Fourth Street, Suite 777
New York, NY 10012

Audition materials become the property of NYU Steinhardt and cannot be returned.

Class and Instruction Fee

If you would like college credit for these courses or lessons then there is a completely different fee structure that does not include the $ 1,800. You are charged by the number of credits for each course. Instruction courses are 3 credits, the ensemble is one credit and lessons can be 2 credits (1/2 hour lesson) or 3 credits (1 hour lesson) You will need to take 14 lessons within the 3 weeks to complete the NYU requirements for lessons. All lessons for credit are not based on an instructors private lesson rate but are based on the credit amount you wish to receive

Bruce Arnold, NYU Summer Jazz Guitar Intensive Coordinator

Professor Bruce Arnold is a guitarist, composer, educator, and author. As a musician, he has achieved a strikingly original sound by applying jazz improvisational techniques to 20th century-12-tone compositional methods. He has recorded three critically acclaimed CDs that document his unique approach to composition and improvisation, and he has also pioneered the use of the guitar as a controller via the computer program SuperCollider. Professor Arnold also co-leads the group Spooky Actions which takes music from sources as far afield as Native American songs to classics by composers such as Webern and Messiaen as vehicles for improvisation.

Professor Arnold has a distinguished and versatile performance history, having performed with the Absolute Ensemble under the baton of Kristjan Järvi, Gary Burton, Joe Pass, Joe Lovano, Randy Brecker, Peter Erskine, Stuart Hamm, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He is the author of over 50 books on music education and directs the groundbreaking NYU Summer Guitar Intensive, which annually brings together the best guitarists in the world to create an inspiring educational environment for the serious guitarist.