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Three Rivers College students now have an opportunity to earn college credit while mastering the art of playing the guitar.  

Beginning in January 2024, students can enroll in a 16-week online course with personalized, one-on-one instruction that will cover a wide range of topics and styles tailored to each student’s musical interests and goals. Students must provide their own guitar and pass a performance and jury requirement through Zoom or submit a recorded sample for review.  

MUSP 1211-960S Private Guitar is available for one credit hour, and MUSP 1221-960S is available for two credit hours.  

Students can explore guitar techniques, fretboard harmony, tablature, notation, and chord symbols. The curriculum spans everything from the timeless compositions of Bach to the energetic rhythms of rock-and-roll, including classical, jazz, and popular music.  

Whether you’re a beginner interested in entertaining friends with popular tunes, looking to enhance your rhythm and lead skills for ensemble playing, or aspiring to study classical guitar repertoire and techniques, Three Rivers can help.  

Instructor Daniel Atwood earned his Master’s Degree in classical guitar performance in 2018 at Northwestern University, after beginning his academic musical journey at TRC as a guitarist in the College’s jazz band. Atwood’s performances over the years have spanned various musical repertoires, from 16th-century lute song to Frank Zappa’s compositions for large ensembles. He recently showcased his guitar and tenor banjo versatility in the orchestra pit for Northwestern University’s production of Viktor Ullman’s opera “Der Kaiser von Atlantis.”  

Atwood also has researched literary and theatrical representations of the guitar in English and German sources from the 17th to 19th centuries. His contributions include tablature arrangements of opera seria arias for Baroque lute and an exploration of archetypal harmonic-melodic structures in Mauro Giuliani’s 19th-century solo guitar repertoire. Recently, Atwood authored a chapter for a collected volume on the use of video game music in the classroom, scheduled for publication in 2024.  

For more information, please contact guitar instructor Daniel Atwood at datwood@trcc.edu.  

To enroll at Three Rivers College, visit trcc.edu/apply.  

Main Campus
2080 Three Rivers Blvd., Poplar Bluff, MO 63901
Office Hours: Monday – Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Summer Office Hours (June and July): Monday – Thursday,
7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

P: (877) 879-8722 View all locations