About Derek Marsh
A Pacific Northwest native, Derek is a passionate, dedicated musician and songwriter who has been playing guitar for over 20 years in a variety of styles and has taught players of all levels. At a young age, Derek's father introduced him to Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughn, and Eric Clapton, inspiring Derek to learn blues and classic rock guitar.
In high school, Derek took courses in guitar performance and was further influenced by his friends and bandmates when they introduced him to the many varieties of metal guitar through players like Marty Friedman, Jeff Loomis, Yngwie Malmsteen, Alexi Laiho, John Petrucci, Steve Vai, and others. And while Derek is definitely still a "metal head", many of his favorite players today are jazz musicians including Al di Meola, Allen Holdsworth, John McLaughlin, Joe Pass, and Wes Montgomery. Derek enjoys studying jazz and classical guitar in his free time, and also loves to record, mix, and produce music in his home studio.
Derek has taken college courses in music theory, guitar and piano performance, songwriting, and audio engineering at Shoreline Community College before eventually earning his BA from the University of Washington and MS from Northeastern University in other fields. Guitar has always been the one constant in Derek's life. One of the things Derek enjoys most about teaching guitar is the instant bond that develops between two players who are passionate about their instrument and enjoy the thrill of making music come alive. When not playing guitar, Derek enjoys reading, playing with his dog, and watching baseball.
