Stephanie Olinger (she/her)

Stephanie is a guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, and producer who lives in West Seattle. Stephanie began studying classical and playing piano in elementary school and started playing guitar in college, when she also began busking and playing in bands. She is active in the Seattle music scene with her band Overripe, playing indie rock music infused with emo and grunge influence. Her writing approach is based around considering the whole band, with guitar and bass working together to establish harmonic movement while leaving space for lyricism. In addition to her musical experience, Stephanie’s background includes extensive study of geophysics, which was the focus of her undergraduate and graduate education. Her scientific experience manifests in her love of effects and production, and she is endlessly fascinated by how mathematical tools like filtering are integral to scientific data analysis and music production.

Stephanie teaches guitar, music production in logic, piano, and bass. Her approach emphasizes melodic thinking that follows the ear, with music theory acting as an important tool to communicate and describe music but not as a template or rulebook. She believes that jamming is an integral part of learning to play music, and that becoming comfortable with improvisation and exploration helps form the basis of successfully playing with other musicians. In her teaching, she aims to help students grow as musicians and achieve their goals, whether they be on the stage or in the studio, while always centering whichever aspects of music bring a particular student joy. Stephanie is particularly enthusiastic to teach students who want to express themselves by writing their own music.

Tip Your Teacher! Venmo @stephstrums