Guitar & Bass Lessons - Dave's Guitar School

~ All About Dave Taylor

Dave got his first guitar in the summer of 1980. He began learning from his father and later from various private guitar instructors. Some of his early influences were The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Rush, and Pink Floyd. In the mid 1980s Dave started listening to and studying the guitar styles of Eddie Van Halen, Randy Rhoads, Gary Moore, and other rock guitar virtuosos of that time period. In the late 1980s he became inspired to study blues after he heard the playing of Stevie Ray Vaughan.

In 1989 at 19 years old Dave enrolled in the Atlanta Institute of Music graduating with honors in 1990. Studies included Rock, Blues, Jazz, Country, Classical, Music Theory and Harmony, Scales and Technique, Sight Reading, Chord Melody, Composition, Ear Training and Transcription, and Studio Recording. During this time he had the privilege to study under such world class musicians and instructors as Jimmy Herring, Steve Freeman, Bill Hart, Robben Ford, Paul Gilbert, Jason Becker, and Ritchie Kotzen.

Upon graduating from The Atlanta Institute of Music in 1990, Dave taught guitar lessons as a substitute teacher for Howren Music Company in Charlotte, NC. In 1991 he moved to St. Louis, MO, where he played music professionally and taught guitar and bass lessons at Eberhardt Music. That same year he moved back to the Carolinas where in 1992 he put together the acoustic duo Hawks and Taylor. This group played on and off in the Charlotte area for close to two years. During this time Dave also taught guitar lessons out of his home in Lake Wylie, SC.

In 1994, Dave began teaching guitar and bass full time for Howren Music in Charlotte, NC, typically teaching 50+ lessons a week. He continued teaching there for a period of eight years until finally quitting in 2002 in order to work full time at his own guitar school.

While successfully running his own guitar school, Dave developed a vast curriculum for all different levels of students and also wrote three different instructional books. During this time he also worked as a studio musician, laying down guitar tracks as well as writing and recording jingles for various television commercials.

In 2011 Dave launched the music transcription company CustomGuitarTabs.com. As the primary transcriber for this company Dave has provided well over 1000 different musical transcriptions for clients from all over the world.

Dave continues to practice, write, record, transcribe, and teach to this day. His own personal practice schedule focuses mostly on Jazz, Classical, Blues and Rock as well as some traditional style fingerpicking. Some of Dave’s current musical influences include Jimmy Herring, Shawn Lane, Jerry Reed, Tommy Emmanuel, Jack Pearson, Derek Trucks, Danny Gatton, Roy Buchanan, and Joe Pass.

Many of Dave’s students have gone on to gain entrance into top music schools and some have even received music scholarships based on a combination of their hard work and Dave’s effective teaching strategies. Additionally, quite a few of his students have gone on to become professional musicians.

Dave considers teaching to be one of life’s highest callings and feels blessed to have made his living all of these years in this field. He is a believer that instructing others works best through a positive attitude and has witnessed firsthand that anybody can learn to play music with patience, practice, and proper guidance.