Classical Guitar Program | Dallas Baptist University
Pedagogical and Academic Excellence
The Undergraduate Classical Guitar Program at Dallas Baptist University is dedicated to attracting talented guitar students and providing them with superior training and academic excellence for a successful career as concert performers, artists, and teachers. The Dallas Baptist University Classical Guitar Program is directed by Stacy Arnold, who is recognized for his artistry as a concert soloist, recording artist, and educator. The classical guitar program at DBU offers students interested in a career in classical guitar the opportunity to earn a Bachelor of Musical Arts degree (B.M.A.). The guitar program will provide talented students the necessary credentials to become successful professional concert artists and teachers and to pursue performance studies at the Graduate level. Guitar courses are offered in Applied Guitar, Applied Guitar Elective, Guitar Ensemble, Guitar Literature & Performance Practice, and Class Guitar. For more information about the guitar program, please contact Mr. Arnold by filling out the Contact Form.
Entering undergraduate freshman and transfer performance majors should have at least one year of training in classical guitar studies. They should be familiar with the basic right hand techniques and should be able to read music on the guitar. There is a considerable amount of latitude and flexibility in the choice of audition repertoire. Guitarists should be able to demonstrate a degree of technical ability and musical awareness appropriate to the audition repertoire performed. Audition candidates must prepare two pieces from different style periods such as the Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, or 20th century. Basic open position major and minor scales and arpeggios are also required for audition. If a student has studied more advanced scales, such as two or three-octave scales, these may be substituted. Music scholarships are available to qualified applicants and candidates are encouraged to apply early by contacting the College of Fine Arts office at 214-333-5316
Guitar Courses
Applied Guitar:
Private guitar instruction will consist of a study in classical guitar technique, repertoire, and fundamental skills. This course is taught to meet the specific needs of each individual student and the expectations of the Guitar Department and Fine Arts requirements. Repertoire will be selected by the instructor to meet each student’s particular needs and skills. The semester culminates in a jury evaluation by the guitar professor.
Applied Guitar Elective:
Private guitar instruction will consist of a study in classical guitar technique, repertoire, and fundamental skills. This course is taught to meet the specific needs of each individual student and the expectations of the Guitar Department and Fine Arts requirements. Repertoire will be selected by the instructor to meet each student’s particular needs and skills. This applied guitar course does not require a final jury exam.
Guitar Ensemble:
The Guitar Ensemble performs music representing various periods in music history. These periods include the Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, 20th, and 21st centuries. Ensembles are arranged as duets, trios, and quartets. Enrollment in the ensemble is a requirement for guitar performance majors and non-performance students are welcome to enroll after a successful audition has been completed. Non-performance students are required to demonstrate the ability to read music on the guitar in the first position, as well as utilizing the fundamentals of classical guitar technique to participate in the ensemble.
Class Guitar:
The class guitar course is designed for beginning guitar students and students who have a desire to learn the basics of classical guitar technique. The topics covered in the course include: proper sitting with the guitar, the basics of right and left hand technique, and how to read music on the guitar. This course is designed to develop the basics of classical guitar skills needed to begin private lesson study and to fulfill proficiency requirements on the instrument. The course is open to both music majors and non-music majors.
Stacy Arnold – Professor of Guitar Studies
Stacy Arnold is professor of classical guitar studies at the Dallas Baptist University School of Music and has over 20 years of teaching experience that includes private lessons, guitar ensemble, and class guitar. Mr. Arnold is recognized for his artistry as a concert soloist, recording artist, and educator and his students have received acceptance and scholarships at Southern Methodist University’s Meadows School of the Arts, The University of North Texas, Texas Womens University, Texas State University, and hold positions as professor of guitar studies on college campuses. Stacy Arnold holds a Master of Music degree in guitar performance from Southern Methodist University’s Meadows School of the Arts where he was a graduate teaching assistant under the tutelage of internationally acclaimed concert guitarist and teacher Robert Guthrie and a Bachelor of Music degree in guitar performance from Middle Tennessee State University where he studied under the guidance of Dr. William Yelverton.
Stacy Arnold pursues a busy concert schedule and has toured throughout the United States at many prestigious and distinguished venues as The Waxahachie Symphony Association, Cass County Performing Arts Council, Noel Masterworks Concert Series, Fort Worth Guitar Guild, Mu Phi Epsilon Sunday Concert Series, City Arts Festival (Dallas, TX.), Lord of Life Lutheran Church Concert Series, Blue Mountain College, Mississippi State University Concert Series, University of Louisiana, Louisiana College, and the Evangel University Artist Series.
Teaching Philosophy
Solo guitar performance is central to guitar study at DBU. The guitar program seeks students who are motivated and have a desire to study repertoire which requires the highest level of technical and musical ability. Students who successfully complete a performance degree at DBU will have the option and the skills to continue their studies at the Graduate level. It is a goal and vision of the guitar program to provide the necessary credentials required for guitar students to continue studies at the Graduate level in performance.
The teaching philosophy is to develop a students performance technique by establishing the fundamental principles of performance pedagogy and to build on this foundation by applying principles of musicianship to develop a students ability to be a successful performer, musician, artist, and teacher. A critical and important part of this development involves the study of etudes from the 19th and 20th centuries that will prepare students for study and successful performance of the concert literature of the classical guitar that exists from the 16th century Renaissance to the modern-day.
Contact Information
To inquire about the guitar program or auditions, please e-mail or call using the contact information listed.
Phone: 469-337-7294
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