In this week’s episode of the ArtistWorks Music Series podcast, our co-founder Patricia Butler sits down with legendary jazz guitar player and ArtistWorks fingerstyle guitar instructor, Martin Taylor, for the latest installment of our Artist Bio Series.

In the “Bio Series” episodes of our podcast, Patricia chats with members of our world-renowned faculty about their lives, careers, and experiences that led them to become the master musicians that they are today.

This week, Patricia and Martin Taylor discuss Martin’s musical upbringing, how his father inspired him to play the guitar, the elements that drew him to fingerstyle guitar playing and jazz music, and more. The show is available wherever you listen to podcasts, or you can listen here at ArtistWorks.

LEARN MORE: Want to learn how to play fingerstyle guitar from a master musician like Martin Taylor? Try a free online guitar lesson now!

Naturally, Patricia and Martin start the conversation at the beginning—discussing Martin’s childhood, his father’s skills as a guitarist and upright bassist, and how Martin’s musical household influenced him to begin learning to play the guitar at the age of five.

“I can remember very clearly the day my father’s first guitar arrived,” explains Martin. “It was a Hofner President model. When my dad opened up the case, I remember seeing the guitar for the first time and I remember it smelling so wonderful and new, like fresh wood and glue. From then on, I was hooked.”

For many of us, learning and fully understanding the mechanics of music and music theory can be tremendously tedious and challenging, especially as children. For Martin, that wasn’t the case during his early years.

“I just picked up music instantly. I just got it,” Martin explains. “There were a lot of things that I was a little bit slow in learning as a child at school, but music just made sense to me. Music helped me understand this world that I’d been born into.”

As Martin grew older and continued to progress on the guitar, he became drawn to jazz music, particularly the genre’s improvisational element. As early as age seven, Martin and his family began hosting small performances at their home to showcase the young musician’s talents.

“As a child, when I watched jazz musicians improvise, I remember thinking, ‘I can do that,’” Martin explains. “As I got better at it, all these people used to come over to our house to watch me play the guitar and improvise at the age of seven, and I remember not understanding what all the fuss was about.”

To learn more about Martin Taylor, his life, musical career, and approach to teaching, listen to the full podcast here:

If you’re interested in studying fingerstyle jazz guitar and learning even more about Martin’s approaches to developing as a guitarist and musician, check out his online guitar lessons right here at ArtistWorks!

ABOUT THE ARTISTWORKS MUSIC SERIES:

On the ArtistWorks Music Series, CEO Patricia Butler speaks with master musicians across all genres who teach at ArtistWorks. Join them as they dive deep into topics like becoming a musician, playing at all skill levels, and the journey of learning music.

Looking to dive into more music podcasts? You’ve come to the right place. Investigate previous episodes where plenty of topics are explored with fantastic, hand-selected, and knowledgeable guests.

Tune in for new episodes released every other Wednesday on all platforms, and don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review the show!

Want to get started on overcoming the roadblock on your musical journey with our online music lessons? Try out some free sample music lessons with any of our master musicians and learn from the best!

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