Sam Davis Guitar Lessons

Just about 4 months ago I was sitting in my room and took a good look at my old Jasmine guitar. Propped against my wall and poorly decorated with a thick layer of dust. Bored as she had been for a long time. Sadly, I didn’t know how to bring out the best of Jasmine and thought that I better look for some kinda guitar guru to help me lead Jasmine out of her silent, dust ridden doom.
This is when I stumbled upon Sam Davis. I could tell he had a great reputation and was very knowledgeable based on previous reviews online. I decided to find out for myself what this guy is all about. Sam is every bit as knowledgeable, energetic and fantastic with his students as you could hope for. He is the first guitar teacher I’ve had and I feel fortunate that I can learn from someone with so much passion, experience and knowledge. I am developing more skills and am starting to understand how the guitar works more and more each lesson. Even when it feels like something just doesn’t quite click, Sam is patient and full of creative explanations. He has even built 3D models of musical scales to assist with what he is teaching you. He makes every lesson worthwhile and fills your time with tons of musical knowledge and practice. I have so many helpful, print out copies of songs that he is teaching me and he always writes thorough notes with each song he gives me. This makes it easy to practice in between lessons and helps me remember strum patterns and fret placements for various chords. His apartment is colorful, in a great location and very welcoming! He has tons of students and it is no surprise why so many people continue to invest their time and money into taking lessons from Sam. To anyone hoping to both improve your guitar skills and increase your musical knowledge, I highly recommend taking lessons with Sam Davis.

I’ve improved so much under Sam’s guidance. My playing is so much more advanced than when I started with him 3 years ago. It’s really amazing. Sam is the perfect teacher for me because I am a slow learner and not exactly musically talented, and he has a tremendous amount of patience! Sorry for making your ears bleed Sam! In all seriousness, I look forward to my time with Sam each and every week because I know that a.) I will learn something b.) I will have a ton of fun. I wouldn’t want any other teacher but Sam. I would definitely recommend him to anybody. You will not only learn to play guitar but you will understand the guitar and all its mysteries!

I’ve been «playing guitar» since I was thirteen. I use finger quotes because that describes fifteen years of picking up a guitar, awkwardly pounding out the three Dar Williams songs I memorized, complaining that my fingers hurt, and snapping shut the case. One day, I woke up, thought I CAN BE MORE, and decided to call up the phone number that was serenading me from that whacky ad I see everywhere in Davis.
Lo and behold, it’s three months later, my calloused fingers can deftly Travis pick, and Dar finally sounds the way she should. You know how lessons can be scary, how teachers can stare you down and force scales on you and make you feel like no matter how much you’ve practiced, it’s NEVER ENOUGH?! Eff that noise. Sam is fantastic, a whimsical mix of teacher and former rock star, organized and mellow and can actually freaking teach; none of this «those who can’t, teach» silliness. He can (just hand him your guitar and watch those fingers dance up the neck, the show-​off), does, and invites you to share in the groove with patience, good humor, and a wonderful, if slightly whacked-​out sensibility.
His apartment is easy to get to (Broadway, between Harvard and Central, just up the wee hill from Broadway Market/​Harvard Art Museum), I’ve always found parking in front (he’s got guest passes), the «Commitment to Excellence» package is a steal, and my grateful binder is slowly but surely filling with red and black marked-​up handouts of rhythm and tabs made clear.
And seriously. Ask about the cow.

Found Sam after seeing his posters around Harvard for nearly a decade. A great guitar teacher! He was very flexible about the content and format of the lessons — he even let me and my friend take lessons together. Very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the musical theory behind the chords, but was also very good about teaching particular songs and guitar styles. An offbeat, great dude, and a great choice as a teacher.

Sam is an amazing guitar teacher and player, plus he’s a pretty cool dude in general. I’ve had lessons with him for almost a year and he has helped me develop as a player. I’m a recent college grad who has messed around with guitar for several years, but never got really far because I didn’t know what I was doing. Sam taught me the stuff I wanted to play, but more importantly he always explained the theory behind everything so that I was learning concepts and techniques instead of just songs. He’s also very good about catering the lesson to your specific needs or interests at the time. I would recommend him to beginners or any experienced player that needs more guidance in their guitar journey.

Taking guitar lessons from Sam is a completely different experience than any other guitar teacher I have ever had. Sam is nowhere near your average guitar instructor teaching out of a back in room in a cheesy music store. He teaches out of his apartment in Cambridge and he has a cow themed décor that really adds to the surreal experience. Sam is a wonderful guitar teacher and his understanding of music and his ability to communicate it is on par with any instruction you would get in a formal music program at a university. He is a bit of a local celebrity and he has the whole cow thing going on but don’t let that take away from the fact that you will get really good musical instruction here.

Sam is an excellent guitar teacher. He is extremely knowledgeable, talented, and fun! I have taken lessons with Sam on and off for the past four years. He has a lot of experience and is a great musician. He is also very organized. Whether you are working on songs or theory, he’s either already got it all written up or will write it down for you on the spot on 3-​hole-​punch paper so you can build a guitar lesson binder. I know other teachers who don’t give their students anything to take home, and this (I believe) is detrimental to the learning process. With Sam, you will never forget what you are working on, and he also encourages you to call him if you have any questions. He is very responsive via phone, email, or text. Sam is very methodical about how he proceeds with lessons, but always also gives you a choice as to what you’d like to work on depending on your mood that day. He can make a lesson light and fun, just jamming out some songs with you. He is also very intelligent and can delve into all the subtle nuances of guitar theory if you are interested. He has several songs in his repertoire, and will teach you any song you want to learn if you bring sheet music or even an iPod. He is patient and compassionate, and always answers questions thoroughly. He will go over the same thing with you as many times as it takes for you to get it, giving you honest feedback without making you feel bad if it takes a while for it to sink in. Sam has worked with people of all ages — I believe he has a four-​year-​old student and he teaches adults as well. He can get along with anyone: he loves people, and people love him! He teaches individuals as well as small groups.
Sam is a joy to be around, and I think he relates exceptionally well to children due to his great sense of humor and fun, free spirit. He teaches out of his home, which is a very interesting experience in itself, housing a life-​sized ceramic cow named Darla among other things. It is in a convenient location, easily accessible by public transportation and on-​street parking (with Sam’s visitor’s pass). I give Sam the highest recommendation as a guitar teacher, whether you are a total novice or have been playing for years. You won’t be disappointed.

Up-​front information: I’ve been a student of Sam’s since January 2010. I suggested that he create a Unilocal page, since he was awfully difficult to find otherwise!
Getting there: Sam’s location on Broadway is fairly easy to get to by T, walking distance from my apartment, or by car (he has guest parking permits).
The space: Sam’s pad-​cum-​studio is a reflection of his personality. Fanciful, eclectic, colorful, and bovine… I don’t want to ruin the experience, but I suggest you suspend all disbelief before entering his domain. Oh, and ask him about «the cow.» Enjoying surrealism will help you enjoy the space.
The instruction: I’ve been a student of Sam’s for 4 months now, and it has been going very well. Sam and I discuss where I want to focus my learning effort on, and he tailors our time together to help me achieve my goals. In addition to being an excellent guitarist, he can comfortably teach important musical theories, helping me move from «sort of guitar player» to «guitarist» and «musician.»
Sam’s style: Sam is really friendly and easy to get along with. Given the nature of a one-​on-​one teacher-​student relationship, this is critical. Though he can definitely be, «fanciful, eclectic, colorful, and bovine,» he takes his music very seriously. His style naturally puts you at ease, and makes you feel comfortable with trying some new or difficult concept. Sam is a great teacher, no doubt.
Logistics: Sam will schedule lessons any day of the week, from roughly 9AM to 9PM. Lessons are $ 50/​hr. with a discount if you book 10 lessons at a time.
So why 4 stars, and not 5? There are two reasons:
1. I’ve only been a student for 4 months. In time I might revise my rating — you can rate a restaurant on Unilocal having been once, but I feel like this is different.
2. $ 50 per lesson is a little more than other instructors in the area. However, I believe that in this case you get what you pay for.
If you’re looking for a great guitar instructor, I recommend you talk to Sam and schedule a lesson.

Sam Davis is the guitar teaching guru of Cambridge. His resume goes back over 20 years of teaching full time and even longer of running a music store and playing in many bands. But its not just his guitar talent that makes him an excellent teacher, its his personal connections Sam makes with each of his students. Sam is a people person, and his eccentric style takes the student from the strict sterile learning environment and places them onstage front and center having the time of their lives. Take a quick moment, stop reading this review and go check out «Darla the Cow» on YouTube from when he was on Chronicle and the HDGTV. Then come back and continue reading.
So what makes Sam Davis the best guitar and bass teacher in all of Cambridge? Yeah he is a great guy and truly cares about each of his students, and yes he can learn just about any song in a few minutes of listening to it and then play it back for you. But any trained musician can regurgitate rock n’ roll. Sam presents the song you want to learn at your level. Two years ago I learned how to play Johnny B Goode by Chuck Berry using simple bar chords and an easy strumming patterns, as my skill improved we switched from rhythm to lead guitar and I started soloing in scales and being more creative with my finger picking. If he showed me the way the artist wrote the song I would have thought it was way too hard and gave up back then.
I’ve been going to Sam Davis for guitar lessons weekly for over two years now and I see myself continuing to go as long as I am still playing guitar. He made the guitar fun again, built my confidence, my skill, and even came out to see me play my first gig, what a guy!