Guitar Center Dallas7814 N Central Expressway Dallas, TX
From Arlington, Texas, John Carter started playing music in elementary school in band and orchestra before picking up guitar in high school where he played in his school jazz band, churches, and performed his original music around the Dallas/Ft. Worth area.
John shortly studied music at SNOW college in Utah where he performed with the school's Commercial Music Ensemble and also at the Benny Golson Jazz Festival. He studied with Guitar greats Rich Dixon (The Osmonds) and Rodney Jones (Dizzy Gillespie, James Brown, Maceo Parker, etc.)
John then returned to Texas where he started writing songs for various artists in the Dallas/Ft. Worth music scene, such as Alex Owens and John Christen, soon after gaining tens of thousands of Spotify streams as a co-writer. While doing that, he was still performing at various churches, in cover bands, jazz bands, and also finishing his Bachelor's degree at the University of Texas at Arlington.
John continues to write and perform while educating the next generation of musicians. He is a living encyclopedia of music, and specializes in jazz, bluegrass/blues, rock, metal, sight reading, and music theory.
Guitar Center Dallas7814 N Central Expressway Dallas, TX
JJ started playing music at nine, and never really stopped - he just kept upgrading the toolkit. With formal study at NYU (composition/performance) and UNT (jazz studies), plus a life spent playing on real stages in more than one zip code, he brings both scholarship and street-smarts into the lesson room. JJ teaches drums, piano, bass, music theory, and home recording, because modern musicians don’t live in a single box, and neither do his students. His lessons feel like a guided expedition: you’ll make music immediately, learn why it works as you go, and leave with something you can practice that same day. Expect clarity, momentum, and a teacher who can translate “big-brain music stuff” into plain language without ever talking down to you.
Guitar Center Dallas7814 N Central Expressway Dallas, TX
Tim McCoy came up in Shreveport, Louisiana, then turned music into a life: 15+ years as a musician and choir director, plus time in the classroom teaching K–12 band and choir. He studied at Centenary College of Louisiana and Southern Methodist University, releases original music as a recording artist, and still travels and performs as a worship leader. His lessons blend detail, jazz freedom, and hip-hop groove - clear upbeat and built for real progress. Tim is a master musician, and we guarantee you’ll leave with new tools and a big smile on your face, regardless of skill level.
Guitar Center Dallas7814 N Central Expressway Dallas, TX
Kevin Castaneda’s musical story starts in Mesa, Arizona, and it’s been in motion ever since - performing since 1999, gigging the local punk circuit since 2007, and building a toolkit that stretches from tight rock pocket to jazz nuance. After graduating from the Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences in 2015, he took that curiosity to the Bay Area, working in Oakland and sharpening his ears as both a player and an engineer. Along the way, he expanded into gypsy jazz guitar and deepened the “whole musician” side of the craft: rhythm, theory, reading, and how to make music sound great when it hits the speakers. Since 2018, Kevin has brought all of that into teaching—hands-on, structured, and always focused on real progress you can feel. Whether you want to learn your favorite songs, level up your technique, or start recording at home, Kevin’s lessons are built to get you moving fast - and keep you moving.
Guitar Center Dallas7814 N Central Expressway Dallas, TX
Broly Granado is a bilingual multi-instrumentalist (guitar, bass, ukulele, keys) with a Bachelor’s in Music Business from UT Arlington. He lives where rock riffs, jazz color, R&B groove, pop hooks, classical touch, and mariachi fire all shake hands. He performs weekly in a mariachi band, has shared stages with Natalia Jimenez, and has opened for Ensiferum and Alestorm. Lessons feel like a friendly workshop: clear goals real songs, and fast, confidence-building progress for all ages from day one. Broly is also a master shredder, so if you want to play until your hands and fretboard melt, he's the one to go with!
Guitar Center Dallas7814 N Central Expressway Dallas, TX
Everyone knows one - that congenial friend with an aura of humility who, unbeknownst to anyone, picks up a guitar one day at a party and makes everyone's jaw drop in disbelief. Meet Kerry Kellett. Kerry started playing music at the age of five years old, having originally studied violin with a teacher who attended Juilliard. Unlike that teacher, who had the thousand-yard stare and demeanor of a sleep-deprived drill sergeant having a bad hair day, Kerry took the path less taken - a compassionate but rigorous musical journey involving a lifetime of thorough experience and understanding on his primary instrument, guitar. Kerry plays all styles, ranging from rock and metal to blues, country, pop, and jazz. He has been playing his whole life, and, thanks to the the lessons he learned from his first teacher, knows both what not to do and teach his students in a patient, fun, and exciting environment, all the while having a blast.
Guitar Center Dallas7814 N Central Expressway Dallas, TX
Zac Brooks is a hybrid guitarist: fingerstyle at the core, pick when the song demands it, and a right hand that can jump from Travis patterns to indie, reggae/ska skank, and flamenco-tinged accents. He draws from classical training, jazz color, R&B feel, indie texture, and early-2000s grunge (with a little family proximity to the original scene). A frequent gigger and recording-minded teacher, Zac is one of our most sought-after instructors - relentlessly practical, and built for fast progress.
Guitar Center Dallas7814 N Central Expressway Dallas, TX
Whether you’re brand-new or already chasing the next level, Tommie Smith makes learning feel less like homework and more like stepping into a room where music actually lives. With 20 years at the piano and years spent playing bass, drums, and voice, Tommie teaches the “full band” perspective - how parts fit together, how groove and harmony talk to each other, and how to make it feel good. His roots include worship/gospel and jazz, and he also brings production into the mix for students who want to build songs, not just repeat exercises. Expect a lesson that’s welcoming, practical, and quietly powerful. The moment you see him you'll have a smile on your face - he's just that kind of person! Go ahead and try to resist - after your lesson, you'll agree that his joy for music and warm personality are contagious, and we promise you'll find it impossible to walk away without having a smile on your face, too.
Guitar Center Dallas7814 N Central Expressway Dallas, TX
Gerardo is the kind of young jazz guitarist who makes you double-check you’re hearing one person. Around 6 years in, he already plays with a rare mix of taste, speed, and real musical intelligence - equal parts swing and lightning. A Booker T. Washington high school graduate and current UTA jazz guitarist performance major, Gerardo brings mariachi-rooted rhythmic instincts, big-band experience, and fusion/alt-metal energy (yes, even Casiopea) into lessons. Expect clean technique, strong right-hand work, and fast progress that still feels fun. All our instructors have been blown away by his natural talent, and several are considering taking lessons with him.
Guitar Center Dallas7814 N Central Expressway Dallas, TX
Legend has it that Rob had a pair of drumsticks in his hands at birth. He is the drummer who sounds like New York asphalt in 4/4 - sharp, loud, and impossible to ignore. He started lessons at 8, hit bands by 12, and has spent 55 years behind the kit, with 40+ years of punk/metal/alt-rock stage time across 8 bands. With 5 years teaching all ages, he gets you playing real songs fast, then tightens your time, tone, and control until it feels effortless. Bring sticks. Leave louder. Influences: Black Sabbath, Kiss, Judas Priest, Deep Purple, Yes, Frank Zappa, the Ramones, Led Zeppelin, and Genesis. Expect better pocket and fearless timing. Weekly.
Guitar Center Dallas7814 N Central Expressway Dallas, TX
Geoffrey Kern is the rare combination of quiet presence and violent talent - a blues guitarist with the patience of a meditation teacher and the hands of someone who used to practice like it was his job before he had a job. He fell for punk at twelve, heard B.B. King in high school, picked up the guitar at seventeen, and then did what most people only talk about: played for hours a day, day after day, until the instrument stopped feeling like an object and started feeling like a second nervous system. Blues is his native language - phrasing, tone, and feel that makes notes sound like sentences - but he’s equally at home in rock, alternative, country, folk, jazz colors, and heavier styles when the song wants weight. He’s gigged, jammed, and paid his dues on stages; now he records his own music and understands what actually translates in the room and in the speakers.
But what makes Geoffrey stand out isn’t just the playing - it’s the mind behind it. He’s deeply into philosophy, higher-level thinking, and meditation, and it shows in the lesson room: calm, attentive, meticulous, and never rushed. He doesn’t bulldoze students with information; he listens, assesses, and then builds a clear path - clean technique, better posture, sharper right-hand control, and musical choices that feel intentional instead of accidental. Students respond to him fast because progress feels real, not theoretical, and because he’s genuinely kind while still demanding the best version of you. And outside of music, he’s not “a guy who dabbles in film” - he’s the real thing: a serious filmmaker/photographer with an eye shaped by the cinematic gravity of Lynch and Tarkovsky, the kind of work that could live on a major screen. Around the store, he’s quickly becoming one of the most sought-after teachers - maybe the one everyone ends up talking about in six months like, “Yeah… that Geoffrey.”
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Discover the joy of music with personalized lessons from experienced instructors at Guitar Center. Whether you're a beginner or looking to refine your skills, we offer lessons for all ages and skill levels in guitar, bass, drums, piano, and more. Our Dallas, Texas network of professional musicians is ready to help you achieve your musical goals. Start your musical journey today and find your perfect instructor at Guitar Center!
