Instructor Info
Alan Bowen owner/instructor
Alan began taking guitar lessons with Tom Patitucci in the Bay Area of California at a young age and fell in love with playing and performing music. By age 11, he was in a band touring around San Francisco and the surrounding counties. As he grew older, he played in a number of different ensembles with a wide array of styles. In his high school years, Alan's growing interest in teaching lessons to others gave way to his parents letting him offer sessions from home, beginning his lifelong connection with teaching.
He studied music at Southern Oregon University and Portland State University prior to earning a degree from the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco. After college, Alan returned to PDX and began a series of shows with his band. Offstage, he focused primarily on songwriting and the craft of teaching fretboard theory to others. From there he moved to the Californian foothills of the Sierra Nevadas where he taught music at the High School level. During this time, Alan was a resident performer at restaurants, weddings, wineries and theater halls. He began to move into American roots music expanding his instrument focus to include banjo, dobro and mandolin, while still finding time to dig deep into metal riffs and straight forward rock guitar. His musical focus further expanded to include Spanish classical and fingerstyle techniques.......rounding back to dirty blues and southern rock grooves.
Upon returning to the Northwest, he continued his musical education with Toshi Onizuka, studying flamenco fusion. Alan has taught alongside Ron Hurst (SteppenWolf), recorded with Dennis Carter (Falcon) and Sean Flora (the Shins) and was the sole NW teacher for CA. based Guitars in the Classroom.
He's owned/operated Hear And Now Music PDX as the principal teacher since 2003 and has been performing/teaching in Portland for over 25 years. Alan has taught in numerous music studios, has recorded several albums as a sole contributor, and is a sought after session player, lending his insights to the artistic endeavors of others. He has been the Band/Guitar Director for the Portland Waldorf School and a Lead Instructor with Portland Music Company. From 2020 through 2025, Alan was Co-Director of the International School of Portland's music department. Currently, Alan teaches classes at the Catlin Gabel School in NW Portland. He enjoys teaching students in a wide array of styles on a variety of instruments and enjoys helping other aspiring musicians along their own journeys.
Student Testimonials
Discover what our students are saying about their sessions......
"Alan is dedicated to finding what works best for my learning style, which means I get a lot out of just one lesson. He makes sure that I'm learning what I am genuinely interested in and he is always finding ways to help me grow with my music." -Sylvia L.
"Alan has been my teacher for twelve years. Finding him as a teacher was serendipity. He has knowledge of a wide variety of styles, instruments and a crazy catalog of music in his head. His aim is to make learning what ever you are working on fun. And it always is. He will adapt his lesson plan to any new songs I have suddenly taken a shine to, or changing which instrument I want to focus on, but always keeping track of where he would like to take me next." -Anne HC
★★★★★
★★★★★
"I have taken guitar lessons from Alan for over five years now and I have enjoyed our involvement immensely. He listens to you and goes in the direction you desire. He makes learning theory concise and understandable. Most of all, he is very encouraging, flexible and fun to work with. I would highly recommend him if you're serious about progressing your guitar playing." -Joe P.
"My two boys absolutely love their lessons with Alan, both before the pandemic when lessons were in person, and now via Zoom, it is the one Zoom call that I do not have to remind my high school student to attend! Alan is enthusiastic, knowledgeable and his positivity is infectious. Thank you, Alan!" -Sasha GP
★★★★★
★★★★★
" 'He is awesome and you guys will totally get along', she said. My good friend's encouraging words to take my budding 80's power chords to the next level. She and her family have known and learned from Alan for many years and I am so grateful I joined the family of guitar enthusiasts who know and have learned from Alan. He has the professional experience to accurately assess abilities, the depth of knowledge to create a plan to target gaps at any skill level and the teaching finesse to be an encouraging, warm demander of expectations. He is a skilled, compassionate and engaging instructor who is indeed, 'awesome' ." -Craig A.
"I've been taking lessons with Alan for almost three years now and I feel like I've learned a lot in that time! I always look forward to lessons and always have fun practicing. Can't wait to keep learning." -Daniella Y.
"Lessons with Alan are very informative and I learn something every lesson. He makes his lessons fun and easy to understand while also teaching a lot of material. I feel like I have progressed a lot this past year and I'm excited to continue taking lessons with Alan!" - Matteo G.
Professional Instruction for Today's Musician
503.716.2049
hearandnowmusicpdx@gmail.com