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Jim
Fitzpatrick, Guitar Instructor |
My father John Fitzpatrick was a well-known jazz musician, past President of the Musician's Union, and the head of the Columbia Basin College's Fine Arts and Music Department in the 1960s & 70s - so you could say I was born into music! My early training began on clarinet and piano, but by the 5th grade I had discovered the guitar, so my father introduced me to a couple of great teachers to get me started. After studying with a fantastic instructor - John LaChappelle - I soon began playing in my first rock band. In high school I was a member of F.T.A. - Future Teacher's of America - and working with younger students at Captain Gray Elementary School. After high school I went to Columbia Basin College in 1980, where I studied Music Theory, Guitar, Piano, and Woodwind Techniques during the day, and at night I was playing in rock bands, and my main goal in life was playing, performing, teaching, and studying the guitar. |
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the 1980s I taught guitar students, continued on with my own training,
and built a solid foundation of musicianship by putting in long hours
with various local bands. For a short time in the 80s I was worked as
a roadie for the MTV rock band "The Romantics" ("What I Like
About you!" and "Talking in Your Sleep"), and I travelled around with
them in the Pacific Northwest putting on shows. Eventually I decided it
was time to pack up and move to the big city! I wanted to expand my musical horizons, and be part of a bigger musical community. Seattle was the biggest city near me that had what I was looking for - an outlet for my music. In
1991 I moved to Seattle in the beginning of it's infamous "Grunge" period.
Seattle has always been a great guitar player's city since the birth
of it's favorite rockstar son Jimi Hendrix. From Quincy Jones to Kurt
Cobain - Seattle has a In 1995 I began studying at Edmonds Community College in Lynnwood, WA. In my first year there I was hired to be the schools music theory tutor, and I was also the T.A. (Teaching Assistant) in the Guitar class and the Instrumental Jazz Improvisation class. At night I was working for the school running the Electronic Music Department's MIDI synthesizer lab, teaching my own private students, and working on a degree in Music and Digital Film Scoring. Along the way I met Jan Jessen. Jan gave me a job working at his music store in Shoreline - the Aurora Music Center - and it was a great place for me to soak up music knowledge. Lots of older teachers and experienced musicians of all types hung out there, and I gained a lot from my time there. I started studying with another good instructor - David O'Suna - and continued on with my education. I became the store manager overseeing all of the company's daily operations, and taught there for three years. Saddly Jan passed away in 2000, and the store passed on with him, but the lessons I learned there are still with me, and I try to pass these "old school" skills on to my students. While I was out playing in various Seattle-based bands like "Raincage" and teaching over 40 private students a week, I was also producing my own weekly public access cable television series in Seattle/King County - "Guitar Lab" - for two seasons. Continuing on with my education I went back to school to study computers and web design, and to work for two more years on a new degree in Computer Information Systems Web Application Development - my specialization being in Visual Communications. I started doing work with video and audio production, creating DVDs, building websites for companies and private clients, doing animation, and developing some overall multimedia skills to help put Guitar4you.com together - and here we are! I now have the ability to offer my students something more than they can get from the average music instructor. My skills as a graphic web designer allow me to create easy-to-understand picture graphics, audio clips, video movies, and Flash animations to help my students learn at a faster rate. Using the Internet I can send my students lesson information, and they can study this material and use these tools to accelerate their prowess on the guitar. I've been very fortunate to have met and trained with some exceptional people - my father John Fitzpatrick - and my teachers and friends - Al Galante, John LaChapelle, Keith Evans, Barney McClure, Jan Jesson, Paul Wolf, David O'Suna, Carl Holt, and Tyler Tullock just to name a few. Throughout the last 30 years I've had over 15 guitar instructors, and I've tried to take the best things I got from each of them, and incorporate them into my own teaching style. I'm a musician, a teacher, a student, and always a lover of the guitar. It's not only a fun instrument to play, but it can also be a part of your lifestyle. Guitar4you.com is my website dedicated to my love and study of the guitar. I currently offer private guitar instruction in the Lynnwood, WA. area, and soon you'll be able to purchase my guitar educational products here online at Guitar4you.com as well. I hope you've enjoyed your visit here. I've tried to make this website interesting, informative, easy-to-navigate, and always a positive, FUN experience! "Playing guitar is - and always should be - about having FUN!" Jim Fitzpatrick, Guitar4you.com Music Instructor |
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