Music with Kevin

Kevin Cason has taught hundreds of music students of all ages, in the Portland area for the past 20 years. His music influences are wide-ranging and eclectic. Everyone from Beethoven, JS Bach, Miles Davis, Paco de Lucía, Ennio Morricone, to Buddy Rich, Jimi Hendrix, Allan Holdsworth, and Brian Eno, to name a few.

Kevin started playing guitar as a kid. Having lived overseas, he was exposed to many varieties of world music. After learning rock and blues guitar, he decided to teach himself classical guitar from old books he’d found at a used book store. During college, he took formal classical lessons and broadened his horizons by learning jazz theory and composition from Ray Brown. He was also reacquainted with world music by teacher Lou Harrison.

After attending Cabrillo College in Aptos, California, he moved to San Francisco to pursue a degree in classical guitar at SFSU. While completing his degree, he studied with master guitarists Manual Barrueco and Saul Gropeman, both students of Andrés Segovia. At the other end of the spectrum, he played in jazz ensembles around San Francisco. After college, he started learning different styles of guitar such as flamenco and reggae.

As a teacher, Kevin is always excited to help his students improve their musicianship, no matter their experience or age. Believing that everyone has untapped talent, Kevin’s teaching style is centered around finding it in each student and nurturing that talent into fruition. Kevin works with each student to build a strong foundation in rhythm, theory, and literacy. These key elements are essential to understanding the language of music, which allows each student to realize their own true voice regarding musical expression. At the end of each lesson, Kevin wants the student to feel inspired to continue their musical evolution.

Here are examples of my teaching style:

Kevin is an exceptional teacher, creating the right mix of rigor and enjoyment for his students. Both my sons have experienced many years of drum and guitar lessons and he has laid the foundational skills for their musical development, giving them a passion and interest in composing and playing music for the rest of their lives.
—Emily Bosanquet

Kevin was recommended to me by my wife’s work-colleague. Apparently, if you were serious about learning classical and/or flamenco guitar, he was the person to see. I had no former training and was looking to learn guitar and learn how to read music. Kevin is a great teacher and is really fun to work with. He keeps me on track, is patient, and handles my progress amazingly. He gives great suggestions on what songs to play next and how to get to the next level of play. I especially appreciate learning the details on musical notation, keys, and how to approach more complex pieces. Kevin is a fantastic choice if you want to learn guitar.
— Matthias Ploetz

I’m 53 years old. I have some experience with music from high school. I lead a fairly busy life but still want to learn how to play my grandpa’s old guitar. Kevin has the musical mastery necessary to assess all the scattered skills, aptitudes and limitations I bring to the classroom. He adapts his lessons to me and my special circumstances. He sets reasonable goals for me and helps me achieve them. With him, I always feel challenged without feeling discouraged. He lets me decide how dedicated I want to be while still encouraging me to aim a little higher. His mastery of the guitar allows him to articulate and demonstrate each fine detail of playing this instrument. I can describe what I’ve learned at the end of every lesson. Because of Kevin, my grandpa’s guitar will continue to make music in my family. Thanks, Kevin!
—Keith Getchell

Our 10 year old son has been drumming with Kevin for two and a half years and still looks forward to every weekly lesson. Kevin takes extra time and effort, designing lessons to match the musical interests and experience level of our son. I believe this personalized approach is what keeps our kid motivated to learn and improve. In addition to improving drumming skill and understanding how to read music, we also see in our son a growing positive self image and confidence based on his musical accomplishments and Kevin’s encouragement.
—Chris Larson

I teach guitar (electric/acoustic), drums, bass and ukulele.  For acoustic guitar, I specialize in classical and flamenco styles.  For electric, I specialize in blues, rock, reggae, and metal shred styles.  I’m familiar with recording software such as ProTools and Logic, and can help teach some recording/production fundamentals if that’s of interest as well.  My lessons are conducted at Avanti music studios, a small private music school in the Ladds Addition neighborhood on SE Hawthorne.

---

Here is an example of my classical playing. For more, please visit my Personal page.

---

My influences are wide-ranging and eclectic. Everyone from Beethoven, JS Bach, Miles Davis, Paco de Lucía, Andrés Segovia, Ennio Morricone—to Buddy Rich, Mike Portnoy, Dave Lombardo—to Jimi Hendrix, David Gilmore, Mark Knopfler, Jeff Beck, Alan Holdsworth, Brian Eno, and Danny Carey to name a few.

“At the end of each lesson, I want the student to feel like he or she got something great out of it, something they can really sink their teeth into.”

I started playing guitar as a kid. Having lived overseas in the Middle East, I was exposed to many varieties of Arabic music. When my family moved back to California, I immediately gravitated towards rock guitar and started playing in various rock and heavy metal bands. While this was my main interest at the time, I was also beginning to teach myself classical guitar from old books I’d found at a used book store.

During college, I took formal classical lessons and broadened my horizons by learning jazz theory and composition from Ray Brown. I was also reacquainted with world music by teacher Lou Harrison.

After attending Cabrillo College in Aptos, California, I moved to San Francisco to pursue a degree in classical guitar at SFSU. While completing my degree, I studied with master guitarists such as Manual Barrueco and Saul Gropeman, both students of Andrés Segovia. At the other end of the spectrum, I played in jazz ensembles with such luminaries as Kirk Hammett of Metallica.

After college, I started learning new styles of guitar such as flamenco and reggae.

Before I learned guitar, I played drums in school band. This fueled my interest for more percussive guitar styles like flamenco, metal, and reggae.

Drop me a line! I welcome all inquiries and students of all skill.