Daniel Corder

Guitar | Bass | Piano

I'm passionate about music and teaching for a few reasons. I've always had an interest in listening to all types of genres and understanding their inner workings. In my household growing up, I was exposed to classic rock, grunge, hip-hop, smooth jazz, doo-wop, classical, and musicals. As a teacher I thoroughly enjoy seeing a student grasp the knowledge I share with them. Sharing my perspective on why different types of music are compelling to the human spirit accounts for a lot. Catching the flame in your hands and self-identifying with the notion that a song can "make you feel something" plays an important role in being able to learn and develop the technical abilities needed to make your instrument sing. If a specific song or genre ignites excitement within your soul, IT IS WORTH EXPLORING.

I first got into music at age eight by way of classical piano lessons and continued until age sixteen. I began playing guitar when I was thirteen, mostly self-taught with a few lessons here and there and a ton of online guitar tablature - Jimmy Page, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix were the holy musical trinity that made me thirst for guitar. I played guitar in my highschool's jazz band from sophomore year through senior year. I formed my first original music project right before I graduated college - an acoustic duo. Both the singer and I moved back to Houston and eventually turned the duo into a full band that played hard rock music. After I graduated from college I got back into piano through learning a few Pink Floyd songs and began listening to a handful of Herbie Hancock's funk jazz fusion records from the 70s. Those albums opened up a whole new universe to my mind of what music, rhythms, and melody could sound like. Along with the jazz fusion influence, I was exposed to more new music knowledge through my bandmates who were heavily influenced by pop-punk and post-hardcore music aesthetics. Shortly before I decided to leave Houston for Austin, I got my first electric bass guitar and learned/performed an 11-song cover set as a bassist with a new band lineup that included one bandmate from my own project.