Lessons Close to Home

After talking with Gordon about my 19 year old son who has autism and his interest in playing the electric guitar, he welcomed the opportunity. From the start, he made my son feel at ease as he was able to tap into his strengths as well as challenge him in a kind and considerate way. Jacob is having a wonderful time learning and Gordon has been an exceptional instructor!"

My son Tanner is 8 years old and he loves taking guitar lessons from teacher Gordon! Teacher Gordon is a really nice and kind teacher.! He always tries to follow my son's interests and teach songs that Tanner will enjoy playing on guitar with teacher Gordon during lessons. My son is so lucky to be able to take lessons with teacher Gordon! This is because teacher Gordon tries to keep lessons fun! This helps Tanner enjoy lessons and continue to make good progress on guitar!! Thank you Teacher Gordon!

Our son has been taking lessons with Gordon for the last few years and we’ve seen huge growth in his ability. Gordon adapts the lessons to whatever Tyler is interested in at the moment and is always willing to try new things. When Gordon moved to his new place we were more than happy to follow him even though it was farther away because we knew we wouldn’t find the same experience other places. We appreciate all the work Gordon does to make lessons fun and enjoyable for our son.

Gordon is an excellent instructor; all of the superlatives that get heaped onto everybody's favorite instructor definitely apply to him as well. However, where he really shines is in taking input from you as to what kind of guitar player you'd like to be, figuring out where your skills are, and then building the roadmap/plan to get you from here to there. Of course he knows all of the theory, is an amazing player, will happily correct your bad habits and help your technique along, and has way more patience than mortals are supposed to possess, etc etc -- but the part where so many others fall short (making a personalized roadmap to becoming the kind of guitarist that you want to be) is where he excels. Not only is he great with adults, but he's great with kids, too (my son has also been taking lessons from him for the past year+), and providing enough 'fun-for-them' content to keep them interested. I'd happily recommend him as not just an instructor, but a Teacher-with-a-capital-T to anyone, regardless of their current skill level.

“I came to Gordon as an adult student who was struggling to learn to play guitar. He was very patient with me and made learning fun, easy, and understandable! I had specific goals and he was very good at understanding those goals and helping me achieve those goals and much more. I now play over 200 songs confidently!”

“Gordon is a great guitar teacher. He is knowledgable, flexible and patient. I have been learning a lot from him in such a short time. He is also very nice and understanding!”

“Gordon is a great communicator and has a teaching style that is flexible to our needs. He allows for learning any style music that is of interest while incorporating skills and music theory along the way. Taking lessons online has worked well for us as he has cameras to help with different views for demonstration purposes and we share lesson sheets through Google Drive which is well organized. So grateful to have such easy access to lessons in our busy life and for his flexibility in working with varied interests in music. We highly recommend him!”

“Gordon was my teacher for about two years in the mid 90's. He was the best guitar teacher I've ever had. He encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone and experiment with different types of music to help me better find, and understand the music I wanted to create. I couldn't recommend a better teacher!”

“Gordon has been a wonderful find in the continuation of my musical journey. It hasn’t been easy trying to pick up a guitar later in life, but with Gordon’s patience, understanding, skill and knowledge he’s helped me find my own path through the highly rewarding hobby.”

“My seven year old son is taking ukulele lessons from Gordon. We're so glad we found Friendly Frets! He understands how to work with a seven year old, and I'm seeing a lot of growth in my son's playing ability. Gordon is very knowledgeable, patient, and friendly. We're looking forward to many years of lessons ahead!”

Gordon is an exceptional guitar tutor!! My 10 year old son had learnt so much in such a short period of time with Gordon. As a complete beginner, he had a handful of lessons, and now he's reading tab, picking and strumming. I highly recommend Gordon as a tutor for anyone at any stage to learn or further their skill set on the guitar!! He's simply the most talented guitar tutor i've ever met. !!!

We can't say enough amazing things about Gordon! My 8 year old started taking lessons last year and he LOVES meeting with Gordon each week! Gordon is patient when my son gets frustrated and is so good at explaining things in a clear way. Gordon is extremely organized, creating files and music each week in my sons personal google file, which makes it so easy for him to get on and practice during the week. We commute to see him from Kenmore (YES, he's worth it) and recently we have been doing a few virtual zoom lessons, which have been amazing. Thank you Gordon!!

My 9 year old daughter has been taking guitar lessons from Gordon virtually for the past four months. She has been able to go from a complete beginner, to picking songs and strumming chords in that time, all online. Gordon is patient, and he offers comprehensible explanations for difficult concepts. He is encouraging, and through his instruction, my daughter has found a love of the guitar. We are very happy with our experience at Friendly Frets Guitar Instruction.

I’ve worked with Gordon for a few years now and couldn’t recommend it more. Even recently during our online sessions, it’s an engaging, interactive experience where I always feel like I’m learning. Even if we’re just learning some little 4-chord song, he always manages to connect it to the bigger picture, and often explains how and why the artist did what they did. From the absolute basics like learning how to properly hold a guitar pick to more complex music theory, Friendly Frets offers a personable experience with hands-on education.

Gordon Tibbits is an excellent guitar teacher. He is extremely helpful and patient with those new to the guitar. If you are looking to begin learning how to play from scratch, or have been playing for some time and want to hone your skills as a guitarist, you will not be disappointed here.

My 7 year old son loves his guitar lessons with Gordon! Gordon is very friendly, easy to work with, and my son has grown so much as a musician. Gordon even caters lessons towards my son's song interests, giving him a sense of pride and accomplishment. Thanks Gordon!

Mr. Gordon is an OUTSTANDING music teacher and an EXCEPTIONAL individual. Not only is he proficient in music, he is a very understanding teacher. He takes time to hear students' thoughts and encourages them to set reasonable goals. He is open to suggestions and is more than willing to make adjustments or additions based on parent and / student feedback. Everything in his studio is well organized and set up such that students are successful during lessons. The detailed notes that he provides in student folders (created in google drive) is an added bonus. This system ensures that students will never forget their books / loose sheets of music again. We love how he uses technology to provide the best experience for students. Our family greatly appreciates all the support that Mr. Gordon provides to our children in learning music. Anyone looking for a guitar / string instrument teacher, I would highly recommend Mr. Gordon and Friendly Frets!