I've been teaching guitar, keyboards, and songwriting privately in the Seattle area since 1988, and I love helping my students achieve their musical goals.

My students include everyone from amateurs who play for fun with friends and family, to musicians who tour the country performing professionally.

Since I was 16, I've worked in the Northwest scene as a multi-instrumentalist (guitar, keys, bass, vocals), a bandleader, an award-winning singer-songwriter and recording artist, a sideman and session musician, a composer, and a music writer. I've performed and recorded in a wide range of settings and styles, from R&B to rock to jazz to folk to experimental.

I earned my BFA in Jazz Piano Performance from Cornish College of the Arts in 1989 (Summa Cum Laude), where I had the privilege of studying with Northwest jazz luminaries such as Dave Peck, Randy Halberstadt, Julian Priester, Jim Knapp, Jerry Granelli, Jay Clayton, and Hadley Caliman, as well as noted composers Janice Giteck and Jarrad Powell.

As an instrumental sideman and collaborator, I've worked with many highly regarded independent artists, including Reggie Garrett (25 years on lead guitar and keys), Erin Corday, Kym Tuvim, Joanne Rand, Joe Jencks, Larry Murante, Magdalen Hsu-Li, Jim Vick, Kathryn Mostow, and Carrie Clark.

I've taught songwriting for over 25 years, including both private students and semester songwriting courses at Cornish College of the Arts. I was a Top 5 winner in the Lakefolkfest Songwriting Competition in 1998, and served as one of the judges for that contest in later years. I've studied with some of the most respected songwriters/teachers in the industry, including Steve Seskin, John McCutcheon, Jai Josefs, Jerry Vandiver, Rick Carnes. and Robin Holcomb, as well as storytelling/screenwriting teacher Brian McDonald.

I'm the author of the music instruction books "Rhythm Guitar Essentials" (2009/2017) and "Reading Rhythm" (2018), and editor/designer of Jim Knapp's comprehensive jazz theory textbook, "Jazz Harmony" (2009/2015).

My music writing has appeared in Victory Review, SingOut!, Dirty Linen, and Smithsonian magazines. My column, "Inside Music," ran in Victory Review for four years, and continues to attract readers around the world through the Inside Music archive.

I've composed and performed music and sound design for many dance and theater productions, including works by Consuelo González (On the Boards, Intimate Stage), John Stone (On the Boards), and Jeff Bickford (Broadway Performance Hall), and several productions with Youth Theater Northwest. I've also performed my own solo "sound stories" at On the Boards and the Seattle Fringe Theater Festival.

Learn more at richardmiddleton.net

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