Stephen Taylor is the founder and owner of TheArtofPractice.online and StephensDrumShed.com. He has a passionate focus to bring online music education to musicians around the world. Stephen has written and self published three drum method books and is the creator of multiple online music courses. His passion for seeing success in his students has led him to study the strategical side of practice. After multiple requests over the years, Stephen created and published his online course The Art of Practice for Musicians in late 2016/early 2017.
Stephen began playing professionally at the age of 16. In his late teens and early twenties, he cut his teeth playing nightly in clubs on Bourbon Street, in New Orleans, LA. After three years of gigging up to ten hour days, he relocated to pursue his education. While obtaining his degree in Jazz Studies from the University of Southern Mississippi, he studied under Dr. John Wooton and Larry Panella.
Stephen currently maintains a busy teaching and playing schedule in Nashville, TN. He has played and toured with independent and major label artists including Danielle Peck (Big Machine Records), Jason Jones (Warner Music), Meshach Jackson, and many others. In late 2008, Stephen began playing with an original project, Lovers and Liars. They signed with Universal Republic Records between 2010 and 2011, had several songs featured on MTV, and had the opportunity to share the stage with Hoobastank, Finger Eleven, Civil Twilight, Candlebox, Hurt, Cavo, Hinder, Fuel, Eve 6, Hawthorne Heights, Red, Thriving Ivory, Theory of a Deadman, Saving Abel, Framing Hanley, 10 Years, Seether, Shinedown, and many others. Stephen has a passion for teaching with current and past students having achieved or been featured on MTV, NBC, The Grammies, VH1, The Real World, the Dove Awards, and various college scholarships.
Stephen proudly endorses Zildjian cymbals, Vic Firth drumsticks, Alclair in ear monitors, Tama drums and hardware, and Aquarian drumheads.
He currently lives just outside of Nashville, TN in Spring Hill with his wife, Kelli, and their 3 awesome kids: Jackson, Carter, and Brooklyn.