Ryan Taylor
About
Ryan is a composer, author, pianist, music producer, and teacher. Ryan is the author of a music theory and composition textbook entitled The Theory and Creation of Music. He has won awards for his original music, such as his first place award for Best Original Film Score in the Montgomery County Film Festival in 2011. He also has performed at prestigious venues like the Takoma Park Jazz Festival and Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium. Ryan has written music in orchestral to electronic styles and performed as both a classical and jazz pianist.
Ryan holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Berklee College of Music in Contemporary Writing and Production. He was accepted in 2013 with a scholarship and finished the four-year program only two and half years later. He has studied with great teachers such as the amazing composer and concert pianist Jeffrey Chappell. He has also studied guitar performance on the side and experiments with different instruments whenever he can.
Ryan has been teaching music lessons for over five years and has taught individuals and groups at schools like Bach to Rock and the School of Rock. He has also taught workshops on music improvisation at Dance New England, New Culture East events, and through his own meetup group.
My emphasis is on creativity and deep understanding of the craft. I have always been drawn to composing and improvising. Consider that when we learn to speak a language as a young child, we first listen and improvise! Only later, do we read, write, and memorize the writings of others. In this philosophy, there are two primary activities: listening and creating your own unique expressions. To me, this means composing and improvising your own music is essential to this art.
I also have a focus on theory. The more you understand, the more power you have to create music the way you desire. However, I avoid getting stuck on mundane aspects of theory like naming systems and rules. To me, theory is much more about the deep understanding of how music translates sounds into emotions -- how we can predict this process, understand its principles, and use that understanding to more intentionally create our own music.
Within the guidelines of the general philosophy I've been outlining here, I also bring in many other important tools to help you become an effective musician depending on your interests: piano technique, ear training, reading skills, production using DAWs (music software) & more!
Music can be a lot of fun, and it can be a beautiful expression of the human spirit! I hope to see you soon on this journey.
Bachelor of Music, Contemporary Writing and Production -- Berklee College of Music
Learning from my book in conjunction with lessons can be a good strategy for many students. However, it is not required. During our first lesson, we will go over your goals and preferences, and create a personalized curriculum of study from there.