Meeting Shailendra

From the moment I saw Shailendra play at one of our workshops, I knew that I was seeing an exemplary illustration of a "Principled student". I was struck by his perfect hand positions, and admirable development of strength and stretch (without tension) as he moved into chords, and when doing the walking exercises.

I started to question him on his background, I knew he was a beginner, and I was curious as to how he had come along so well. His hand positions were better than many of the long time players there. So, I asked him how he did it, and he smiled at me and said "The Principles!"

Well, naturally, I started to develop a soft spot in my heart for Shailendra!

I was elated at seeing such successful use of my book and methods by someone who did it all on their own! Indeed, Shailendra's technique was better than many of the long time players at that workshop, many of whom would have to work hard to get rid of bad habits and ingrained tensions they had been playing with for years, just to get to where Shailendra had gotten in his first few months.

Since that time, he has come for a private lesson every two weeks, and will continue to do so until his job calls him back to his native India in a number of months. (Note: See below, Shailendra has since quite his job, as of 9/06, and become a full time musician!)

It has been almost a year of lessons, and the ground we have covered has been extensive. I am packing him full of every bit of knowledge and ability he can absorb, so that he will have a strong and broad foundation from which to expand himself when he must study alone again, or perhaps with another teacher. And best of all, Shailendra is taking it all in about as fast as I can deliver it!

In fact, the incredible skills and knowledge base he is developing are my ideal of what a well educated guitarist should be achieving, and I wanted to share some details of our work together with you, to guide and inspire you in your own efforts.

The Ideal Guitar Student

My vision of the ideal guitar student is to create a player
who embodies these elements:

Complete understanding of the dynamics of technique, coupled with complete understanding of the practice methodology that enables those dynamics to be continuously reconciled, so that movement in the direction of skill is the constant experience of the student. As time goes on, the student is increasingly able to create this movement without the active intervention or even presence of the teacher.

Perfect functioning of a fully developed left hand for both basic positions; the pentatonic based "rock" position, and the acoustic based "classical" position. This places the student in the enviable position of having access to playing music of ANY style with ease.

Perfect functioning of a fully developed right hand for pick style AND fingerstyle. There will be none of the all too common and completely unnecessary technical flaws that are the agonizing experience of so many aspiring players. Pick and fingerstyle technical development will be guided by the single most important dynamic: ability to apply maximum force to the string with minimum body reaction, and instant tension release after the application of force.

Fingerstyle development will bypass the limited "folk" style right hand functioning, and the fully efficient "classical" hand position and finger use will be learned. This way, everything possible with the folk position will be more easily played, and with better sound, and the student will always be able to progress to classical or related repertoire if desired, without having to unlearn years of accumulated inferior habits.

A continually growing grasp of music theory. This includes learning to read music, understanding harmony, learning all scales, chords and arpeggios in all keys, in all positions (fingerboard harmony). A constant cross-reference should be made by the teacher to material being worked on, so that the theoretical concepts are constantly reviewed, and seen in light of the actual musical experience of the student.

A nurturing of the "artistic" self of the student. The students relationship to music must have a strong EMOTIONAL base. The student must be playing, as well as practicing. The student must be developing a repertoire, and learning how to maintain and improve that repertoire. A spiritual and "egoless" attitude toward being a musician should characterize the entire endeavor, and that will be an ever deepening reality for the student, as the student learns to move closer and closer to the ultimate state of musicianship: the ability to "become the music"

Here is Shailendra's comments on his experience as a developing musician and guitarist:

"....In the beginning, it took me more than a month to get over the dilemma whether to start the lessons or not, but now I must say that this is the most intelligent decision I ever took in my entire life. 

Without lessons with Jamie, I'd have definitely given up playing after trying for a few months or may be a few years. I had never even imagined that so much thought, so much analysis goes into every single piece we work on.

I think that these things can never be written down into words, either you experience them on your own (which may take years and years) or they are possible to be transferred by coming into direct contact with someone who has already experienced them and is capable of transferring them (needless to say Jamie is a genius in that - the first time I understood the meaning of developing strength into fingers was when I just saw her fingers working over the fret board).

Another great part of the lessons is that all the responsibilities of 'what to practice', 'how to practice', 'how much to practice' etc. etc. have already been taken care of, and I am left with just to practice at home. I'm just grateful to Jamie for the kind of interest she takes in her students, and because of which the kind of knowledge I've gained, the progress I've made in just these 6 months which was probably not possible in even 6 years if I was left on my own."

Regards,
Shailendra.

A New Life!

As of 9/06, after 4 years of lessons, Shailendra has decided to change the course of his life. He has quit his job in the computer field, and enrolled as a full time music student at Dutchess College in upstate New York. He will continue his lessons with me, and increase his own teaching (he has been teaching guitar for a number of years).

GuitarPrinciples applauds Shailendra's courage and dedication. We wish him all the success in the world as his new life unfolds, and we know, and he knows, that he will be successful in creating his new life as a full time musician!