Sean McArdle

Sean McArdle is a songwriter, band leader, and multi-instrumentalist specializing in guitar.  Over the past twenty years, he has performed on numerous recordings, countless concerts, and many domestic and international tours before eventually returning to school.  He received a BA in ethnomusicology from UCLA, and a MA Musicology from University of Edinburgh, Scotland.  At UCLA, he learned sitar in direct musical lineage of Ravi Shankar, played in the mariachi ensemble under Grammy Award winner Jesús Guzmán, and learned Turkish music on the oud in the Near East Ensemble with the great A.J. Racy.  Sean also played guitar with the UCLA Old Time Ensemble, which led to his performing and lecturing about American roots music to underserved communities in Los Angeles.  In Edinburgh, Sean studied the sociology of underground scenes, and wrote his thesis on punk rock and new media.  Sean’s personal projects have tended toward punk, garage, rock, and folk.  Three of his many favorite guitar players are Marc Ribot, Nels Cline, and Django Reinhardt.

Sean likes to teach and play most popular styles for both electric and acoustic guitar, including punk, rock, country, old-time, blues, folk, and psychedelia.  As a music educator, he utilizes academic knowledge and real-world experience in an interactive approach that helps students make ongoing connections between the classroom material and their approach to playing and listening as they continue to grow and explore the world of music.