Hi, I’m Dylan Kay

I’m an improvising guitarist, composer, and educator with over 35 years of experience and a deep love for musical exploration.

I have played everywhere from tiny restaurants to the O2 Arena, and my current work blends performance, recording, composition and mentoring .

“Dylan Kay is a badass slide player and anyone who’s interested in slide guitar would greatly benefit by taking lessons from him.”

— Scott Henderson, legendary US jazz/blues/fusion guitarist

I studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston (with Mick Goodrick and slide guitar pioneer David Tronzo, amongst others) and the Guitar Institute in London (where I later became a faculty member for many years).

Originally from the UK and now based in New Zealand, I work with self-motivated guitarists who are ready to go beyond scale shapes and tabs — and want to make music that truly sounds like them.

My focus is on helping students develop their own voice through improvisation, songwriting, and creative practice — whether they play with a slide or not.

If that’s you, I’d love to hear from you!

A Change Is Gonna Come

Here’s an excerpt from an arrangement I did of this great Sam Cooke song. I’m playing my 1964 Silvertone 1457 guitar, with a custom Diamond bottlenecks slide, in standard tuning.

God Only Knows

Here’s part of a duo performance (with bassist Richard Pratley) of my arrangement of Brian Wilson’s incredible song. This is in Open C tuning, on my Danocaster Strat, through my Two Rock Studio Signature amp.