About

Bruce Arnold (born 1955 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA) is an author, composer, educator and guitarist residing in New York City.  His explorations into the applications of 20th century classical theory in contemporary forms such as Rock and Jazz has created a unique compositional and improvisational sound.  As a guest artist Arnold has toured Australia, Canada, the Caribbean, Europe, Japan, Mexico, Russia and the United States.

His performance and recording activities include work with a wide array of styles.  He has played with such diverse musicians as Stuart Hamm, Peter Erskine, Joe Pass, Joe Lovano, Lennie Pickett, Randy Brecker, Stanley Clarke, the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Absolute Ensemble under the baton of Kristjan Järvi.

Bruce Arnold’s recording credits include over twenty five CDs and DVDs (on Muse-eek Records, MelBay Recordings, Truefire and other labels), ranging from the standard jazz repertoire to free improvisation to the reinterpretations of classical music with the ensemble Spooky Actions.   His compositions are published by Muse Eek Publishing, and MelBay Productions.

Mr. Arnold’s theoretical works have explored the use of Pitch Class Set Theory within a improvisational setting.  He is also written more than 60 music instruction books covering Guitar Pedagogy, Ear Training and Time Studies.  He is the director of guitar studies at New York University and Princeton University as well as the creator of the New York University Summer Guitar Intensive  He has taught at New England Conservatory of Music, Dartmouth College, Berklee College of Music, New School University, and City College of New York.

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From iTunes:

Guitarist, author, and educator Bruce Arnold was raised in South Dakota, where his first exposure to music as a child came with accordion lessons. When he saw the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show at the age of seven, however, he developed an interest in the guitar and eventually began playing blues music. His taste expanded into jazz in high school, and he went to the University of South Dakota to study music. He transferred to the Berklee College of Music in Boston in 1976. After graduating, he studied privately with Jerry Bergonzi and Charlie Banacos, focusing on the relationship between jazz and classical music. He taught at the New England Conservatory, Dartmouth College, and Berklee, then moved to New York and began to teach at Princeton University and New York University, and to write music instruction books.

As a performer, Arnold became involved with other musicians who shared his interests in classically influenced controlled improvisation. In the 1990s, he formed the group Act of Finding with Tom Buckner, Tom Hamilton, and Ratzo B. Harris to pursue these interests. In addition, his group Spooky Actions at a Distance was formed to play classical music of such composers as Webern, Schoenberg, Bartók, and Debussy, arranged to allow for improvisation. In 1995, Arnold released his first album as a leader, Blue Eleven, which employed improvisation within a 12-tone scale. He followed it with A Few Dozen in 2000 and Give ‘Em Some in 2002. But, recognizing the popular limits of his musical approach, Arnold was careful to maintain his academic and literary career. As he told an interviewer in December 1998, “I have never been that socially ambitious, and I am lucky that I can make my living as a music teacher, so I can concentrate on staying true to my goals.”