ArtistWorks, LLC is an online music learning education platform based out of Napa, CA. ArtistWorks was founded by David and Patricia Butler in 2008. The company developed a proprietary patented system for interacting with teachers based upon online Video Exchange Learning which students use to upload videos of themselves playing and ArtistWorks instructors respond with video feedback with both videos paired together and made visible for all students in the online course. ArtistWorks has enlisted over 35 different well-known master musicians including Paul Gilbert, Nathan East,

Tony Trischka Anthony Cattell Trischka (born January 16, 1949) is an American five-string banjo player. Sandra Brennan wrote of him in 2021: "One of the most influential modern banjoists, both in several forms of bluegrass music and occasionally in jazz and ...

Peter Erskine Peter Erskine (born June 5, 1954) is an American jazz drummer who was a member of the jazz fusion groups Weather Report and Steps Ahead. Early life and education Erskine was born in Somers Point, New Jersey, U.S. He began playing the dru ...

, Mike Marshall and many more, who have recorded extensiv
online music lessons
that players can learn from, whether or not they submit a video.

Headquarters

ArtistWorks, LLC.'s main office and headquarters are located at 68 Coombs St., Suite C1 in Napa, CA 94559

Background

After his retirement as an executive from AOL in 1999, David Butler began his quest to learn jazz guitar but had difficulty finding an adequate local instructor. He turned to many books and tapes but found those resources frustrating and inadequate. The idea of ArtistWorks stemmed from his desire to democratize access to master musicians. His wish to connect students from all over the world with accomplished players was the basis for developing ArtistWorks. In 2008 the company was launched by Butler and his wife, Patricia Butler, who went on to develop this platform for quality interactive online instruction. In 2018 ArtistWorks launched the "ArtistWorks Music Certificate Program," a 12-week structured online learning experience with four skill levels. The Program uses both patented technology and academic accreditation from th
Western Association of Schools and Colleges
as a Supplemental Education Provider(2017). ArtistWorks has also made this program available for high schools, offering school credit to students. Courses include instruction in blues guitar and ukulele. ArtistWorks has developed an industry-unique automated scoring rubric that will be used for mass assessment of Certificate Program students’ performance skills. In 2019 ArtistWorks launched a new podcast focusing on interviews with master musicians called th
“ArtistWorks Music Series.”
The first episode includes an interview with Mike Marshall and is titled “The Blurring of Bluegrass.” On June 25, 2021 ArtistWorks joined the world's leading online music education and instruction alliance, committing deeper to their mission to "Teach the World Music". The company was acquired by
Growth Catalyst Partners
portfolio company
TrueFire Studios
, a consortium of major online music instruction companies. ArtistWorks will remain an independent entity and Video Exchange Learning continues to be exclusively and uniquely found only at ArtistWorks.

Patents

ArtistWorks applied for the first patent on its video management system referred to as the Video Exchange Learning® platform in 2008. The first patent (US 9,165,473) that was issued in June of 2015 provides for online students of any subject to learn from an online video lesson library that has within it, a request for students to submit a video to the teacher for evaluation. When students upload a video for review, the teacher receives their video in a management queue and responds with a newly recorded video of instruction and guidance specific to the needs of the student who submitted the video. The system then keeps both videos tied together and displays the paired videos to a library that is visible to all online students of the course being offered. The second patent (US 9,812,025) issued in November of 2017 broadened the original claims pertaining to the teachers’ end of the video management system. The third issued patent (US 10, 147,333) in December of 2018 further broadened other existing claims pertaining to the processing of the two videos. The current Video Exchange Learning® platform teaches music to learners within 35 different music courses offered at ArtistWorks, LLC although the underlying concept of the patented system is subject agnostic.

Launch and Courses

ArtistWorks, LLC. was founded on September 25th, 2008 but the first online music lesson course did not launch until May of 2009. The first course was led by artist

DJ Qbert Richard Quitevis (born October 7, 1969) known by his stage name DJ Qbert or Qbert, is an American turntablist and composer. He was awarded America's Best DJ in 2010, was DMC USA Champion 1991 (solo) and achieved titles as DMC World Champion in ...

. Following the launch of the DJ Skratch Lessons school, ArtistWorks proceeded to launch the following schools: * ArtistWorks Jazz & More Guitar Lessons with

Andreas Oberg Andreas ( el, Ἀνδρέας) is a name usually given to males in Austria, Greece, Cyprus, Denmark, Armenia, Estonia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Finland, Flanders, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Romania, the Netherlands, and Indonesia. The ...

in June 2009 * ArtistWorks Banjo Lessons with

in July 2009 * ArtistWorks Piano Lessons with Christie Peery in September 2009 * ArtistWorks Harmonica Lessons with

Howard Levy Howard Levy (born July 31, 1951) is an American multi-instrumentalist. A keyboardist and virtuoso harmonica player, Levy "has been realistically presented as one of the most important and radical harmonica innovators of the twentieth century. ...

in December 2009 * ArtistWorks Fingerstyle Guitar Lessons with Martin Taylor in April 2010 * ArtistWorks Mandolin Lessons with Mike Marshall in June 2011 * ArtistWorks Bluegrass Flatpick Guitar Lessons with

Bryan Sutton Bryan Sutton is an American musician. Primarily known as a flatpicking acoustic guitar player, Sutton also plays mandolin, banjo, ukulele, and electric guitar. He also sings and writes songs. Biography Early career Sutton's grandfather and ...

in June 2011 * ArtistWorks Fiddle Lessons with

Darol Anger Darol Anger is an American violinist and founding member of The David Grisman Quintet. Career Darol Anger entered popular music at the age of 21 as a founding member of The David Grisman Quintet. Anger played fiddle to David Grisman's mandol ...

in June 2011 * ArtistWorks Bluegrass Bass Lessons with

Missy Raines Missy Raines (born April 6, 1962) is an American bassist, singer, teacher, and songwriter. She has won 10 International Bluegrass Music Awards for Bass Player of the Year. Missy Raines was the first woman to win IBMA Bass Player of the Year awa ...

in June 2011 * ArtistWorks Bluegrass Dobro Lessons with Andy Hall in January 2012 * ArtistWorks Percussion Lessons with Luis Conte in March 2012 * ArtistWorks Rock Guitar Lessons with Paul Gilbert in May 2012 * ArtistWorks Classical Guitar Lessons with

Jason Vieaux Jason Vieaux (born July 17, 1973, in Buffalo, New York) is an American classical guitarist. He began his musical training in Buffalo, New York at the age of eight, after which he continued his studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music. In 1992, ...

in June 2012 * ArtistWorks Jazz Bass Lessons with

John Patitucci John Patitucci (born December 22, 1959) is an American jazz bassist and composer. Biography John James Patitucci was born in Brooklyn, New York. When he was 12, he bought his first bass and decided on his career. He listened to bass parts in R ...

in June 2012 * ArtistWorks Electric Bass Lessons with Nathan East in June 2012 * ArtistWorks Clarinet Lessons with Ricardo Morales in June 2012 * ArtistWorks Trumpet Lessons with David Bilger in September 2012 * ArtistWorks Flute Lessons with Jeffrey Khaner in October 2012 * ArtistWorks Vocal Lessons with the late Jeannie Deva in October 2012 * ArtistWorks French Horn Lessons with William Caballero in January 2013 * ArtistWorks Art Lessons with

Justin Bua Justin Bua is an artist, author, speaker and entrepreneur. He currently lives in Texas and is best known for his lyrical narrative paintings of musicians, DJs and similar characters who help define the urban landscape. As an artist "for the peopl ...

in July 2013, which later closed in February 2016 * ArtistWorks Music Theory Lessons with Jonathan Coopersmith in September 2013 which is available free to all students * ArtistWorks Acoustic Guitar 101 Lessons with Scott Law in December 2013 which was available free to all students and the public until May 2020. * ArtistWorks Jazz Guitar Lessons with Chuck Loeb in April 2014 * ArtistWorks Blues Guitar Lessons with

Keith Wyatt The Blasters are an American rock band formed in 1979 in Downey, California, by brothers Phil Alvin (vocals and guitar) and Dave Alvin (guitar), with bass guitarist John Bazz and drummer Bill Bateman. Their self-described " American Music" ...

in December 2014 * ArtistWorks Popular Piano Lessons with Hugh Sung in December 2014 * ArtistWorks Violin Lessons with Nathan Cole in February 2015 which later closed in February 2018 * ArtistWorks Multi-Style Cello Lessons with Mike Block in August 2015 * ArtistWorks Jazz Saxophone Lessons with

Eric Marienthal Eric Marienthal (born December 19, 1957) is a Grammy Award-nominated Los Angeles-based contemporary saxophonist best known for his work in the jazz, jazz fusion, smooth jazz, and pop genres. Early life Eric Marienthal was born on December 19, 1 ...

in September 2015 * ArtistWorks Jazz Piano Lessons with

George Whitty George Whitty is an American musician, composer, record producer, audio engineer and music educator, currently living near Los Angeles, California, United States. He won an Emmy Award in 2014 for his work as a composer for the television series, '' ...

in October 2015 * ArtistWorks Electric Country Guitar Lessons with Guthrie Trapp in October 2015 * ArtistWorks Classical Mandolin Lessons with Caterina Lichtenberg in January 2016 * ArtistWorks Ukulele Lessons with Craig Chee and Sarah Maisel in March 2016 * ArtistWorks Bluegrass Vocals Lessons with Michael Daves in June 2016 * ArtistWorks Jazz Drums Lessons with

in October 2016 * ArtistWorks Country Vocals Lessons with

Lari White Lari Michele White Cannon (, ; May 13, 1965 – January 23, 2018) was an American country music singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her debut in 1988 after winning ''You Can Be a Star'', a televised talent competition ...

in October 2016, this course is in archive form only as Lari White passed away in January 2018 * ArtistWorks Classical Violin Lessons with Richard Amoroso in February 2018 * ArtistWorks Jazz Guitar Lessons with

Dave Stryker Dave Stryker (born March 30, 1957) is an American jazz guitarist. He has recorded over twenty-five albums as a leader and has been a featured sideman with Stanley Turrentine, Jack McDuff, and Kevin Mahogany. Career Stryker grew up in Omaha, Nebr ...

in March 2018

Events

ArtistWorks has hosted several onsite master classes. In January 2019 they hosted bluegrass artists Bryan Sutton and Andy Hall at their Napa headquarters and flew contest winners in to participate in the Big Bluegrass Giveaway. The Big Ukulele Giveaway with Craig Chee and Sarah Maisel followed at the end of January 2019. The company hosted the Big Jazz Giveaway with John Patitucci, George Whitty, Eric Marienthal and Peter Erskine in April 2019 and the Big Bluegrass Virtual Masterclass with Mike Marshall, Tony Trischka and Michael Daves in July 2019. In December 2019 the company will host a guitar getaway and master class featuring Nathan East, Guthrie Trapp and Keith Wyatt.

Official Links

ArtistWorks Official Website

ArtistWorks Free Lessons

References

{{reflist 2008 establishments in the United States Music education in the United States