Guitar Lessons in Everett, WA
Personalized guitar, electric bass, and ukulele lessons for students ages 10 through adult—in person in Everett and online.
At Friendly Frets Guitar Instruction, lessons begin with where you are, what you enjoy, and what you want to accomplish. Whether you are just getting started, returning to music, or building on existing skills, I provide clear structure with enough flexibility to ask questions, explore the music you enjoy, and build skills and confidence that support your continued growth as a musician and lifelong learner.
Explore Lesson Options
Choose the instrument that interests you and learn through music you want to play. Lessons are shaped around your starting point and goals while helping you build practical skills and a stronger understanding of music concepts.
Acoustic Guitar
Electric Guitar
Electric Bass
Ukulele
Students I Teach
I work with students ages 10 through adult at beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels. Whether you are learning an instrument for the first time, building on previous experience, or returning to music after time away, we can start where you are and focus on what you hope to accomplish.
Beginning Students
No previous musical experience is required. Beginning lessons focus on creating a comfortable foundation in technique, rhythm, and musical understanding while putting those skills to use in songs and music that interest you.
Intermediate & Advanced Students
If you already have experience, we can identify what is working well, what feels limiting, and where you would like to go next. Depending on your needs, lessons might focus on technique, repertoire, improvisation, music theory, fretboard knowledge, rhythm, or other areas that support the musician you want to become.
Adult & Returning Learners
Adults are welcome whether you are taking up an instrument for the first time or reconnecting with music after years away. Returning musicians do not need to fit neatly into a particular skill level—we can start with what you remember, identify what feels comfortable or unfamiliar, and build from there.
Different Ways of Learning Are Welcome
My teaching is neurodiversity-affirming and respects the different ways people learn, process information, communicate, and build skills. Students of varied identities, backgrounds, abilities, and learning styles are welcomed, respected, and supported. I work to understand what helps each student learn effectively while providing enough structure, flexibility, and support to keep moving forward.
How Lessons Work
Lessons begin with what you want to work on and what you already bring to the process. Together, we identify useful next steps and create a direction that gives your lessons purpose while remaining responsive to what happens along the way.
Clear Structure with Flexibility
I provide enough structure and direction to keep lessons focused while remaining flexible when questions, challenges, or new interests arise. As your needs change, we can adjust the pace, approach, or material rather than following a rigid, one-size-fits-all curriculum.
Questions are always welcome, and I view mistakes as a normal part of learning and as opportunities for deeper understanding and retention. There is room to slow something down, try a different approach, experiment, or spend additional time with a concept when that helps it make more sense.
Learn Through the Music That Interests You
The songs and styles you enjoy provide a practical context for building technique and musical understanding. Depending on your instrument and direction, we may work with chords, rhythm, scales, improvisation, fretboard knowledge, music theory, ear training, repertoire, and other concepts relevant to what you want to play.
Whenever possible, I connect these concepts with music that is meaningful to you so you can hear, understand, and use what you are learning rather than practice skills only in isolation. This also leaves room for curiosity and exploring new musical possibilities.
Music I Teach
Want to hear some of the musical styles that inform my teaching? This short video offers a sample of my playing across a broad range of genres and gives you a sense of the musical background I draw from in lessons.
Growing as a Musician
Learning an instrument involves more than completing songs, techniques, or exercises. My goal is to help you build the understanding, confidence, and independence you can carry forward as you continue growing as a musician.
Build Skills and Understanding
Gain practical technique and musical knowledge that help you make sense of what you are playing, recognize patterns, solve problems, and apply what you learn to new music and situations.
Grow in Confidence
Confidence grows through experience, experimentation, and steady progress. As you work through challenges and recognize what you can do now that once felt difficult, you begin to trust your abilities and your own musical decisions.
Become More Independent
Develop the tools to make your own musical decisions, practice more effectively, explore new material, and continue learning beyond the lesson itself. Over time, the goal is for you to take increasing ownership of your musical growth as my role gradually shifts from direct guidance toward support as needed.
Keep Music Meaningful
Music can remain a continuing source of creativity, self-expression, enjoyment, and connection. Whether it becomes a lifelong hobby, a way to make music with others, or something you pursue more seriously, I want what you learn to help music remain a meaningful part of your life.
Meet Gordon
Gordon Tibbits
Pronouns: He/Him/His
I’m Gordon Tibbits, the musician and educator behind Friendly Frets Guitar Instruction. Music has been a lifelong source of curiosity, creativity, and connection for me, and that ongoing relationship continues to shape the way I learn and teach.
I enjoy getting to know each student as an individual and helping them find meaningful ways to grow through music. My experiences as a musician, educator, and lifelong learner have taught me to value curiosity, empathy, and the many different ways people learn and express themselves.
What Students & Families Say
Students come to lessons with different backgrounds, interests, and goals. These perspectives from students and families offer a glimpse into what learning at Friendly Frets Guitar Instruction can look like.
Rebecca Houghton
“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!”
Parent
Jeff Hazen
“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. … 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.”
Parent
Wonda Emmert
“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.”
Online Student/Parent
Prabhu K
“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.”
Parent
Miranda B
“Gordon was a great teacher for teaching me bass as a beginner! He was very patient, thorough in putting together the learning material, and even went through a playlist of all the songs I was interested in learning, and picked out ones he thought were suitable for me to learn, created tabs for them, and provided recordings at different speeds.”
Adult Bass Student
Alicia M
“Gordon has the flexibility to customize lessons to match the student experience level. This is valuable when adding a new instrument or an older student. He also modified a couple of my favorite songs, which I am able to add to my practice. I am totally enjoying learning the ukulele!”
Adult Ukulele Student
More Reviews
Helpful Resources
Learning often continues between lessons. I’ve created articles, practice materials, downloadable handouts, and other resources to give students and families practical support along the way.
The collection includes lesson- and video-related materials, getting-started guidance, and tools for exploring musical ideas and reinforcing what you’re working on.
In-Person Lessons in Everett
If getting to Everett isn’t practical, online lessons are also available and offer the same personalized approach from wherever you are.
Ready to Explore Lessons?
Next Step: Register for Lessons
If you’re interested in lessons, the first step is to complete the registration form. This gives me a chance to learn about your musical background, what you’re interested in working on, your learning preferences, and what you hope to get from lessons.
After I review your registration, we’ll schedule a brief discovery call to talk about what you’re looking for, answer questions, and see whether Friendly Frets seems like a good fit. Completing the registration form begins the conversation—it does not commit you to lessons.
If we decide to move forward, we can take care of the remaining lesson information, scheduling, and getting your first lesson on the calendar.
