About Friendly Frets

ALL About Gordon

Owner/Instructor - Friendly-Frets

Aboutt Gordon Tibbits - Instructor and owner of Friendly Frets located in Everett WA 98208

Biography

Gordon began teaching private music lessons in 1987 out of his Shoreline home. He transitioned to teaching at a local music store in Shoreline which used to reside on the parking lot of the 185th St. Fred Meyer in Shoreline.  His desire for growth and change led him to move to Upstate New York where he taught at two local music stores and was thrown into the deep end of the learning curve when He was given the opportunity to play guitar as the youngest, least-seasoned member in a wedding band. In early 2003 Gordon returned to the Seattle area and resumed teaching private lessons and overseeing guitar classes in the Edmonds and Seattle school districts.  In addition to teaching He also performed in many bands, theater productions, and houses of worship on guitar, bass, and vocals. Gordon has performed with bands such as Commander Mojo and the Horns of Discontent.  He also has continued to work on recording projects with local musicians – some which are featured on his Soundcloud page: G-Tibbits-Friendly-Frets music. Outside of teaching music Gordon enjoys working out, biking, walking the neighborhood with his wife, hiking, reading, practicing music, and keeping in touch with his adult children.

Personal Qualities

  • Compassion, patience, and flexibility when working with students
  • Awareness of developmental facets surrounding different student age groups.
  • Creativity applied to music and finding new ways to present information and give students new experiences applying what they learn.
  • Openness to new music forms, culture, technology, art, and finding new ways to more effectively teach music.
  • Ongoing interest in the stories, experiences, challenges, and thoughts of his students.

Skill Sets

  • Performing and teaching many different types of music.
  • Transcribing student songs by ear and creating music that is understood by the student.
  • Applying music theory concepts to real-world music situations.
  • Developing collaborative goals with students and helping them reach those goals.
  • Developing teaching handouts providing resources that are relevant and timely for students.
  • Providing students and families with clearly defined weekly practice objectives.
  • Organizing all lesson materials for quick retrieval and use for students on Google Drive.
  • Integrating technology within the learning environment.

Professional Experience

  • 36 years experience as a music educator.
  • Performing vocalist/guitarist/bassist in bands, theater productions, houses of worship.

Education

  • Puget Sound Christian College – B.A. in Social Science. Summa Cum Laude
  • University of Washington – 1 year of Jazz Studies and Guitar Performance
  • Shoreline Community College – A.A. Music Theory Emphasis

Schools/Stores

  • 4/4 School of Music
  • Kings Schools
  • Edmonds Heights - Edmonds School District
  • Mopop
  • Cascade Parent Partnership/Seattle School District
  • Trinity Lutheran College
  • Seattle Rotary Boys and Girls Club
  • Saratoga Guitar, Saratoga Springs, NY

Philosophy

Learning music should be kept fun, structured, and closely aligned with a student’s needs, interests, and goals.

Mission

Gordon’s ongoing mission at Friendly Frets is to consistently provide empathetic, person-oriented instruction that is aimed towards empowering each student’s growth, vision, and musical participation in their local community.

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