Cliff Shoults Bio:
Originally from South Bend, Indiana, Cliff Shoults has been
professionally teaching guitar since the age of 19. Since
then, he has taught nearly 100 students from ages 4 to 75.
Cliff just recently moved to Indianapolis and is proud to
be part of Bongo Boy's teaching staff. Cliff holds a BS Music
degree from Indiana University at South Bend.
Rather than look at teaching with a one-size-fits-all mind
frame, Cliff caters his method to each student on an individual
basis. He also helps students consider the real-life applications
of being a guitarist, such as playing in groups, songwriting,
arranging, and recording. Cliff strives to help each student
get what they want out of being a musician and prepares them
for a viable future in music.
While guitar is his main area of study, Cliff's musical education
began with several other instruments. He briefly played violin
in early grade school, then, picked up clarinet at the age
of eight. He would go on to be a four year member of the South
Bend Community School Corporation Honors Band on bass clarinet.
When he was 15, a friend showed him a few guitar chords and
he was instantly hooked. He began playing guitar in his high
school jazz band, where he taught himself the fundamentals
of chord theory and improvisation. In 2001, he won an Outstanding
Soloist award at the Purdue University Jazz Festival.
Cliff began his freshman year of college as a guitar performance
major, but quickly decided that he wanted to expand his education
to include many different aspects of music. He took courses
in electronic media and studio resources, but continued to
study jazz and classical guitar methods with various instructors
at Indiana University at South Bend. He began playing in the
IUSB Jazz Band his sophomore year, where he grew into a valued
member and a frequently featured soloist. Cliff is also featured
on over 200 recordings with Plato and the Western Tradition,
an improvisational ensemble headed by Dr. David Barton, the
Dean of Arts at IUSB. Later in his college career, Cliff began
to more diligently study classical fingerstyle guitar, which
is one of the most intricate and challenging approaches to
the instrument. In 2006, he played the role of Stage Guitarist
in "Man of La Mancha,' the inaugural production following
a $4 million renovation of the South Bend Civic Theatre.
Some of Cliff's guitar heroes include Metallica, Steve Vai,
Joe Satriani, Yngwie Malmsteen, Jason Becker, Jaco Pastorius,
Andrew York (of the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet,) Nicolo Paganini,
Paco de Lucia, and Andres Segovia, just to name a few.
Aside from being a guitarist, Cliff has also built up a reputation
as a producer and sound engineer. He has recorded and collaborated
with a myriad of local artists in the South Bend area, several
of whom have since signed with major record labels. He has
done audio post-production and soundtracks for several independent
films, and even acted in one of them as a character who just
so happens to play guitar.
(Audio Clips, and Video soon to follow…)
