Student Testimonials
Watching and learning from Ustadji up close for the past few years has been a very exciting and wonderful experience for me. As a teacher and Guru, Ustadji has had a tremendously positive effect on my thinking in both music and life. Ustadji's ethics are a huge inspiration that I draw from everyday. I really cherish being one of his shagrids, and value each moment I get to spend with him. With each visit that passes, I am always amazed to see Ustadji's playing grow and evolve to new heights. I truly believe that Ustadji has taken the instrument to an unprecedented level of performance excellence. With regards to the hard work he has put in to music, it is a continually growing prodigious source of material and inspiration to draw on. Ustadji is a true Guru in every sense of the word.
| Adam Duncan Ottawa, Canada |
The opportunity to learn from Ustadji, is one of the most fortunate privileges in my life, even though I am starting rather late. It is not easy to summarize briefly, or even in words, all the great qualities of Ustadji as a teacher. Ustadji is extremely patient. He listens and watches very carefully and catches every error I make, and then usually without saying a word, he will show the correct way. Sometimes I am too slow to learn and he will patiently repeat, until I get it right. His instructions are always simple and direct. They are at the precise level of my ability and with emphasis not only on the method of execution, but also on the musicality. All of the gats and taans he teaches, are beautiful musical expressions that are much more than just technical exercises. Hence, practice becomes very enjoyable. Perhaps the most important thing I have learned from Ustadji, is the fact that there is no short cut: rigorous and regular practice is a must, and specifically, working hard on sargams is extremely important.
| Nimesh Patel Boston, Massachusetts |
Those familiar with Ustad Shahid Parvez are certainly aware of him as a brilliant articulate musician, a true virtuoso who performs with an uncommon spiritual depth and mathematical genius. I have found him to be an equally gifted teacher, sharing his brilliance openly and patiently with his students. From the very first lessons, Ustadji develops an intricate musical language illustrating how simple elemental gestures can be combined and permuted to ultimately form the eloquence of his musical performance and compositional genius. He openly shares deep aspects of his musical technique, theories and philosophies, and the student can clearly observe that what he teaches is truly what he performs and lives. Ustadji's teaching has attracted hundreds of students around the world; a truly global community transcending boundaries of country and culture.
Especially valuable and unique for non-Indian students is the opportunity to experience and participate in the depth of India's teacher/student oral tradition (Guru-Shishya Parampara) from a true master -- the seventh generation heir to the sitar's first family, the Etawah Gharana. While maintaining the depth of his traditions, Ustadji has expanded the scope of his teaching practice to encompass a contemporary international perspective, embracing students of all backgrounds. As with his performance, his teaching is a mixture of the deepest traditions and the most thoughtful and brilliant innovations. He is a valuable Ambassador spreading the awareness, influence and beauty of his music to the world. As he tirelessly and generously offers us his brilliance in all forms it is clear that he truly lives what he shares with all his students -- music is his life. Ustadji is a unique and inspirational figure, his music and teaching are a true gift to us all.
Especially valuable and unique for non-Indian students is the opportunity to experience and participate in the depth of India's teacher/student oral tradition (Guru-Shishya Parampara) from a true master -- the seventh generation heir to the sitar's first family, the Etawah Gharana. While maintaining the depth of his traditions, Ustadji has expanded the scope of his teaching practice to encompass a contemporary international perspective, embracing students of all backgrounds. As with his performance, his teaching is a mixture of the deepest traditions and the most thoughtful and brilliant innovations. He is a valuable Ambassador spreading the awareness, influence and beauty of his music to the world. As he tirelessly and generously offers us his brilliance in all forms it is clear that he truly lives what he shares with all his students -- music is his life. Ustadji is a unique and inspirational figure, his music and teaching are a true gift to us all.
| Curtis Bahn Ph.D. Assoc. Prof. of Music Composition Rensselaer Polytechnic institute Albany, New York |
I’ve studied with various musicians over the years, and with them I had the wonderful experience of being taught many ragas, many compositions and many taans. My experience with Ustadji was different. He stressed the importance of sargam, he showed exactly how disciplined riaz is done, how compositions are developed and how taans are connected to compositions, among other things. The difference is this: while I learnt a lot of beautiful music from other musicians, Ustadji took on the task of teaching the fundamentals that generate beautiful music. It is rare to find such a dedicated teacher in such a serious musician. His students are unbelievably lucky.
| Jawwad Noor Boston, Massachusetts |
My experience of learning with Ustadji has been wonderful. He is an extremely generous teacher as well as being the world's greatest sitar player at this time. I found that he was a very good judge of the students' capability and would give material to suit all levels. Although Ustadji comes from such a prestigious gharana where music has remained mainly within in the family, I was amazed at his openness and willingness to teach students outside of his family. Ustadji took a keen interest in me and was very encouraging. Whenever he would visit the UK, he would phone me and inform me that he was here! I felt very blessed that a musician of his caliber was taking time to teach me. He really motivated me as he would always push me during the lesson to play challenging compositions and taans. He would always finish a lesson by playing what he had taught me at an extreme level of speed, accuracy and sweetness - something which always left me really inspired. There is certainly never a dull moment with Ustadji !
| Rupinder Phull Licester, UK |
It was the great Indian mystic Vivekananda who once said ---
"Music is the highest Art‚ and for those who understand is the highest worship."
Music is, in fact, the highest Art. But it is only after I got to know Khansahab up, close and personal that I understood that Music‚ is actually the highest worship. The world knows him as an awe-inspiring musician, but I know Ustadji also as a great human-being and a loving Guru. After submitting myself to Ustadji, I understood that his very method of teaching is an unique phenomenon. Because of his truthfulness and tremendous understanding of Music, Ustadji's words are powerful and true and they burn their way into your brain and you will never get away from them! I have seen that under him even the weaker learners have been able to achieve things that they themselves could never have dreamt of achieving in their wildest dreams. Ustadji took me under his tutelage a decade ago and it has been a life-changing experience for me. Ustadji, for me, is not just the world-renowned Sitar maestro and Guru Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan, but also someone very special and close to my heart. He is my God-father, my 'Abbah'.
"Music is the highest Art‚ and for those who understand is the highest worship."
Music is, in fact, the highest Art. But it is only after I got to know Khansahab up, close and personal that I understood that Music‚ is actually the highest worship. The world knows him as an awe-inspiring musician, but I know Ustadji also as a great human-being and a loving Guru. After submitting myself to Ustadji, I understood that his very method of teaching is an unique phenomenon. Because of his truthfulness and tremendous understanding of Music, Ustadji's words are powerful and true and they burn their way into your brain and you will never get away from them! I have seen that under him even the weaker learners have been able to achieve things that they themselves could never have dreamt of achieving in their wildest dreams. Ustadji took me under his tutelage a decade ago and it has been a life-changing experience for me. Ustadji, for me, is not just the world-renowned Sitar maestro and Guru Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan, but also someone very special and close to my heart. He is my God-father, my 'Abbah'.
| Suhbrnil Sarkar Kolkata, India |