The PAA guitar program offers unparalleled training in guitar. The goal of the program is to train guitarists to compete in an ever-changing musical landscape. With that in mind, guitar majors are trained multi-stylistically. Students will learn sight-reading, music theory, pick-style, and fingerstyle guitar techniques. Students will learn and perform on acoustic, classical, and electric guitars. Students will work on songwriting, jazz and rock improvisation, and solo guitar performance.
The PAA offers a few additional courses that are often taken by guitar majors. Music Media/ Intro to Computer Music (LSU Dual Enrollment course) is a course that covers audio recording, mixing, live sound production, composition, and looping. This course is taught in our music media lab which contains 15 iMac stations, audio interfaces, midi controllers, microphones, Studio One and Pro Tools software, and a Behringer x32 Producer that feeds into our recording studio.
Music Theory AP is a college prep course. Students wishing to minor or major in any area of music are highly encouraged to take this course. Music Theory is a required component of all college music programs. This course covers the first year of college music theory and is taught by a former professor of music theory. Students that take this course fare much better in their first year of college compared to those that don’t.
In addition to courses taught during school, students are offered behind the scenes tech training. Students are trained in running live sound as well as being trained in basic concert lighting. If students would like to pursue this further, they can work with our community partners at the Heymann Center.
All guitar majors also have to opportunity to engage in other musical instruments, theater, and dance.
Performances
The guitar program performs two to three school concerts a year. In addition to school concerts, students have performed gigs at the Acadiana Center for the Arts, Rock N Bowl, Warehouse 535, and Disney World.
Recent Awards and Scholarships
Maggie Fontenot was selected, by audition, to be a part of the 2018 All-National Honor Ensembles Guitar Ensemble. In conjunction with the 2019 South Louisiana Songwriting Fest, students from the advanced guitar class worked with songwriters Dustan Louque and Emily Ortega in creating a song called “Better Than This.” The judges selected this song as one of the winners for performance at the festival.
Scholarships:
We are grateful for the support from our partner the University of Louisiana-Lafayette for generously awarding music scholarships to our guitar majors.
Our guitar students have been awarded the Friends of Music Scholarship, Louis Michot Scholarship, and the Phillip T. Chandler Endowed Scholarship.
Whether it is the variety of course offerings, cutting edge music technology, or the scholarships and professional connections, the guitar department offers students a gateway to a career in music.
Guitar Gallery
