San Fernando Valley Drum & Guitar Lessons for All Ages from Musicians Institute Graduate!

About Me

I have two passions in life: Music, and helping others. Teaching music is the best of both worlds for me. My goal with music has always been to inspire others the way other great musicians have inspired me. I believe music lessons can benefit everyone in someway. Music is a combination of art and math and is a positive way for anyone to express themselves. Can you imagine a world without it? How boring and monotonous!
Since the age of 6 months in the womb, Taylor has been touring ... internationally and been a part of major recording sessions! Being the son of two well known L.A. musicians, Hollye (professional singer and songwriter) and Troy (professional guitarist, keyboard player, producer, and composer), Taylor's many accomplishments at a young age come as no surprise.
Taylor got his first drum set at the age of 10, and since then has been consistently studying, performing, touring, recording, and teaching in the L.A. area and abroad. In 2000, Taylor joined California’s most prestigious middle school band program at Lawrence Middle School. Taylor auditioned and made it into the Advanced Concert Band as a percussionist and Advanced Jazz Ensemble as drummer and rhythm section leader. Both bands toured across the U.S. winning major band competitions in Hawaii and New Orleans. Two years later, Taylor was one of two drum set players chosen out of the entire Los Angeles Unified School District to play with the Los Angeles District Honors Jazz Ensemble. The band performed at the Kodak Theatre (where the Academy Awards are held annually) in Hollywood and the performance was recorded live and broadcasted on PBS.
As a freshman in high school, Taylor was chosen to join the California State Northridge University Youth Orchestra where he was well trained in the art of orchestral percussion. The experience of playing with an orchestra inspired Taylor to expand his musicality beyond just drumming. Taylor started to study guitar and music theory with father, Troy, where he learned the methods and techniques of the great jazz virtuoso guitarist, Ted Green. Taylor also joined the El Camino Real Camerata Choir as a lead tenor and performed live at the world famous Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.
Once Taylor graduated from high school, he decided to immediately attend Musicians Institute in Hollywood where he would hone his skills behind the drum set. During his first year at M.I., Taylor auditioned for R&B/Latin/Soul band, VINYL SOUL, and ended up passing the audition which lead to a month long tour in Tokyo, Japan all expenses paid for by the U.S. Navy. In Japan, Vinyl Soul was the opening act for Smash Mouth at the Cherry Blossom Festival in Tokyo. Vinyl Soul toured playing at all the major American Navy bases in Japan. Taylor also interviewed and played live on the radio show for Japan’s number one English magazine, “Metropolis.”
Upon return from Japan, Taylor continued his studies at Musicians Institute where he studied with some of the world’s top drum educators and became proficient in playing all styles of music. Additionally, Taylor learned the fundamentals of drum programming, playing along with tracks and loops, and basic Pro Tools and Ableton Live skills. Taylor graduated from Musicians Institute in the Spring of 2010 with an Associate of Arts degree from the Drum Program at Musicians Institute.
Taylor currentlly continues his studies with head of University of California Irvine’s jazz drums department, Jason Harnell, as well as world renown Latin and funk drum set educator, Chuck Silverman. Taylor is the drummer and background vocalist for indie dance rock band, BIG MOVES, as heard frequently on KCRW 89.9 FM, KPFK 90.7 FM, and KXLU 88.9 FM. Big Moves can also be seen on the cover of past issues of magazines such as Music Connection and The Deli. Taylor has performed live with Big Moves all across the country and at all of L.A.’s major hot spots such as House of Blues, Henry Fonda Music Box, Spaceland, The Echoplex, and The Roxy. Taylor also just recently joined up and coming indie alternative rock band, WHITE LIGHTS, who have broken out on to the L.A. music scene playing at venues such as Spaceland and Hotel Cafe. When he’s not out playing with his bands, Taylor spends most of his time passing on the great information that was given to him by world class educators by teaching private drum and guitar lessons in the L.A. area and working as a drummer for hire doing session, rehearsal, and live performance work.

Lesson Details

*Lessons are different according to each student's needs but generally include the following*

DRUM SET LESSONS (Taught up to advanced level)
-Warm ups, hand + foot technique, rudiments and how they are applied to the drum set in musical situations
-Stick control and 4 way coordination exercises
-Drum set reading & chart interpretation including appropriate set ups and fills for section and ensemble figures
-Time feel, playing with a metronome.
-Groove, fill, and solo ... vocabulary for any style including Rock, Jazz, Latin, Funk, Blues, R&B, Hip-hop, Reggae, Country, Punk, Heavy Metal and more
-Correlation between grooves, fills, solos, and phrase lengths
-Orchestral and marching snare drum reading and techniques
-Dynamics, playing musically, getting different sounds out of the drums and cymbals. Utilization of brushes, bamboo "hot rods," and mallets
-Philosophical aspects of drumming and musical in general as well as helpful music business advice
-Learn to play any song you want! Come to my studio, plug your ipod or my computer into the P.A. and play along to your favorite songs!

GUITAR LESSONS (Taught up to advanced level)
-Tuning
-Picking and finger control exercises
-Introduction to music theory. Finding any note on any string of the guitar
-Reading guitar tabs as well as formal music notation
-Chords from triads to 4 part harmony and beyond
-Chord inversions and their application to jazz and other styles
Learn any riff and/or chord progression from any song of your choice!

Taylor has been a Chatsworth private music instructor for TakeLessons since 2010. Taylor is a certified local music teacher.

How It Works

Lessons are paid for in advance and purchased through our monthly or quarterly plans. All plans come with our 100% Money Back Guarantee. We accept payment via credit card (Visa, Mastercard, Discover), debit card or electronic check.

Monthly Plan

Schedule and pay for lessons on a month to month basis. Lessons are paid for and scheduled on the 25th of every month.
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Quarterly Plan

Purchase 12 lessons upfront and receive your 13th lesson for free. Over the course of a year, you receive a month of free lessons!
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Pricing

Lesson rates vary depending on the length of the lesson (we offer 30, 45, 60, and 90 minute lessons), and the actual location of the lesson (we offer lessons in your home or our teacher's studio). Lessons are paid for in advance by Visa, Mastercard or Discover. Sorry, no cash.

Please call 877-231-8505 for details.

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Raymond St

Teacher Studio | Details »

Equipment:

Recording room; drum set, latin percussion including timbales, amps, guitars, recording equip, etc.

Travels within 8 miles | Details »

Equipment:

I expect drum students to have a drum set, electronic drum set, practice pad drum set, or practice pad. Snare drum technique students should have a snare drum or practice pad. I expect guitar students to have their own guitar, tuner, and picks. However, If they don't have these materials, I can provide for them at lessons. I am not willing to bring my drum set to students' houses.

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