Welcome to my website! This is the main place on the internet where I share my music and writing. (I'm not really a social media guy.) Have a look around and enjoy. Thanks for visiting!
—Jonas
Welcome to my website! This is the main place on the internet where I share my music and writing. (I'm not really a social media guy.) Have a look around and enjoy. Thanks for visiting!
—Jonas
I have been writing stories since I was a kid. That early love led to a BA in English from Whitman College and an MFA in Creative Writing from Oregon State University.
I published my first short story in 2025, an apocalyptic satire called “War Games,” in the online publication Short Story, Long. I am actively sending out several other short stories to literary magazines. Fingers crossed. I aim to put out a collection of my stories someday.
For the last decade, I’ve also been writing an email newsletter. I now put these out via Substack to nearly 700 subscribers. My newsletters are mostly updates from my life as a small-town musician, but I also write about things I love—like bicycle travel, the wilderness, baseball, fishing, books and movies—or just whatever I happen to be thinking about. Check out my Substack by clicking on one of the links below.
Favorite authors include George Saunders, Denis Johnson, Annie Proulx, Annie Dillard, Thomas Pynchon & Hernan Diaz.
I play regularly in Port Townsend and around the region, both as a solo performer and with several different bands. Piano Bar Friday at the Bishop Hotel runs every week, 5–7pm. I’d love to see you at a show!
Jonas Myers is a Cascadian musician, writer, teacher, and bicycle wanderer. Growing up in Seattle, he played bass and sang in a family band. As a pianist with the Garfield High School Jazz Ensemble, he performed at Lincoln Center, the Montreux Jazz Festival, and the Umbria Jazz Festival.
Jonas attended Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA, where he majored in English with a focus on creative writing and minored in mathematics. He graduated summa cum laude and received the Paul J. Jackson Award for Excellence in Literary Study.
In his twenties, Jonas gained recognition in Seattle as a jazz pianist, composer and bandleader. His group the Walking Hat Trio played a KNKX Studio Session in 2019 and is still played regularly on that station. That same year, he was nominated for the Make Jazz Fellowship at 18th Street Arts Center. He performed twice in the Piano Starts Here concert series sponsored by the South Hudson Music Project. He was also a regular performer at the famous Canlis piano bar.
Jonas has a passion for long distance bicycle travel. In 2018 he spent five months wandering the West Coast on two wheels. These travels, fueled by the generosity of countless strangers, had a profound influence on his music and writing. Immediately upon returning home, he began work on an album of original songs, featuring a nine-piece ensemble. That album, Driving Home, came out in 2020.
During the COVID lockdowns, he created the YouTube livestream variety show North City Almanac, featuring artists and activists from around the Pacific Northwest. Then, in fall of 2021, he moved to Corvallis, Oregon, for a fully-funded MFA program in fiction at OSU, which he completed in 2023. While in grad school, he was awarded the Oregon Lottery Graduate Scholarship. He published his first story, titled “War Games,” in 2025 in Short Story, Long.
Jonas is an experienced educator who has been teaching music for over twenty years. In addition to maintaining a robust private teaching practice, he has organized and led weeklong camps and workshops in jazz performance, improvisation, and songwriting, for both kids and adults. He has also taught creative writing and English composition at the college level.
In 2023, Jonas moved to Port Townsend, WA, where he lives with his wife and their cat. He plays in the bands Holy Carp, CASCADIANS, Myers/Watson/Forsyth, Trio Santiago, and others. He is noted around the region for his musical versatility, extensive repertoire, and joyful approach to performance. He has a popular solo weekly residency (Piano Bar Fridays) at the Bishop Hotel & Bottle Shop. In 2025, he was a resident artist at Doe Bay Resort & Retreat on Orcas Island, and he is the 2026 Artist-in-Residence at Cellar Cat in Kingston, WA.
I had my first piano student when I was 14, meaning I’ve been teaching music for over 20 years. I see my teaching practice as an invitation into the magical experience of making music. It’s really not about imparting information—all the information you could possibly want is available, for free, on the internet. Teaching music is about creating an experience.
What kind of experience? One that you’d like to have again. Music practice should be both enjoyable and frustrating. Enjoyment keeps you oriented toward what it’s really all about. Frustration is the fuel that takes you there. When there’s something you want to be able to do, but you can’t quite do it, motivation is born.
Every person learns differently, thinks differently, and plays differently. Every student who comes to me has a unique history and a unique vision. Part of our work is understanding that history and shaping that vision. Both teacher and student must be willing to experiment in order to find what works. Some people (myself included) love reading music; meanwhile, some of the best musicians in the world can’t read a lick.
Playing music—we don’t focus enough on that first word. If you want to be a musician, you have to play around. You have to invite your inner child along and take yourself a little less seriously.
Playing music is like speaking a language. The best way to learn a new language is through immersion—in the language itself, and also in the culture that comes with it. To become a musician, you must listen to music all the time. Follow your curiosity. Seek out musical community. Play with musicians who are more advanced than you and those who are less. You must be willing to step outside your comfort zone and make a fool of yourself. It starts with feeling comfortable and safe.
My students rarely end up playing just one instrument in our lessons. You will become a better pianist by playing the drums. Harmony makes a lot more sense once you’ve played a bass line. Every developing musician should experiment with singing and body percussion (clapping, snapping, stomping, etc.) Voice and rhythm are the twin foundations of all music. Before we had instruments, we had our bodies.
Music is an aural tradition. I emphasize learning by ear and by repetition. I also believe strongly in the usefulness of music theory. It’s good to know a bit about what’s going on. The intellect is not primary in music, but it is a powerful ally in expanding what you’re able to do, and especially in communicating with other musicians. You can think of “music theory” as a frustratingly inadequate system for translating music into words. It’s a bit like explaining a joke. Good comedians know about joke structure. Audiences just want to laugh.
I love to help students of all ages discover, or rediscover, their passion for music. My specialty is working with adults who have some prior musical experience and are looking for a new and more creative approach. That said, I also love working with kids.
I love to help people gain confidence with improvisation, composing, songwriting, ear development, piano technique, singing, rhythm, harmony, theory. I’m comfortable in jazz, pop, and classical modes. I offer one-on-one lessons and ensemble coaching. Whether you’re interested in weekly lessons or a one-time session, get in touch!
Whether you’re interested in booking a performance, have a question about lessons, or just want to say hello, I’d love to hear from you. I read every message and aim to respond within a few days.