How Sky Academy “works” - Sky Academy in action:

All Sky Academy seminars are different from one another, but all of them are working towards the same goal and are similar in their approach. The length of the seminars can vary from one to five days, depending on the logistics of the event.

We are offering One Day Introductory Courses, which are designed to give a broad overview, as well as a close-up insight into the world of Sky Academy. These are very effective, because the teaching comes, of necessity, in a highly condensed form. One day– or two day-Sky Academies can be a real eye-opener for a musician. While obviously not as comprehensive and leisurely, they will contain most of the main ingredients of the more extensive seminars.

On the other end of the spectrum there are sometimes three- to  five-day events, which may include a series of concerts in the same location.  The overall dynamics in the longer events are different and more challenging, but also – for those who participate – more rewarding for many reasons.

The seminars are always held in suitable locations, which include a stage and decent acoustics. The actual Teaching is imparted in several ways, which are designed to complement one another – it is the big picture that counts.




Guest speaker Leon Hendrix discussing the music and life of
his brother Jimi with Uli during Sky Academy 2008 at Redondo Beach
 
A very important aspect of Sky Academy is to provide an environment of inspiration, which fosters genuine sparks of creativity. The teaching is imparted in an atmosphere of friendship, and there is always a palpable sense of community in the air. Musicians don’t come to Sky Academy in order to out-play one another like in a sports game – instead, we are working together and we are helping one another.

The most important features of the seminars are:
 
1)    Informal lectures by Uli Jon Roth, covering many different aspects of Sky Academy teaching and knowledge

2)    Personal demonstrations by Uli regarding musical principles of rhythm, harmony, tonality and melody - using either the guitar or the piano – this includes group interaction.

3)    The art of guitar playing – Uli gives a very close and detailed insight into his personal approach and philosophy of guitar playing.
This ranges from technical aspects to the finer points of phrasing, vibrato, articulation and tone production.

4)    Master classes – students, who want to perform on stage, are always encouraged to do so. Uli then comments on their playing or may demonstrate possible alternative approaches. The players choose their own music. This can be an interpretation of someone else’s music, or it could be their composition. They can do this in any style of their own choosing and on any instrument. Some students decide to play “a capella” – that is without accompaniment – some are improvising, some have prepared a piece to a backing track. Sometimes Uli will accompany on the guitar or on keyboards.

5)    Group tuition - but also sometimes one-on-one tuition during the down time periods. Sometimes several students decide to link up with others of their own accord in small groups to go over things together and work as a team during the breaks, or even after hours.

6)    Accomplished guest speakers, teachers, and artists from other fields are often a part of Sky Academy. There are also frequent cross-disciplinary approaches. Often the guest artists are demonstrating or performing something in order to clarify things. Frequently Uli also improvises with the guest speakers onstage during the seminars.

7)    Improvisational classes and musical interaction between students

8)    Concentration, visualization exercises - listening and perception exercises

9)    Sky Academy Concerts – These are always a very special event. They are designed to celebrate the free spirit of music. They are always quite extensive and wide ranging – almost like a mini-festival - and are usually featuring a variety of guest artists. The list of talented performers, who have honored us with their participation is quite extensive, and all of them have contributed something special to the spirit of Sky Academy.

 

                             Uli jamming on stage with Doors guitarist Robby Krieger
                             at the Sky Academy Concerts 2006 UCLA - Los Angeles.
                              Robby was also a guest speaker at the 2007 academy. 

The philosophy and approach of Sky Academy is consistent with the ideals of its founder, Uli Jon Roth. His teaching centres on achieving the student’s transition to a noticeably higher level of ability. This includes raising their general and specific musical awareness, as well as facilitating an increase in their technical abilities. The participants are  receiving invaluable direct insights into the way Uli approaches the art of guitar playing, as well as concerning his philosophy of music in general. Perhaps most importantly,Uli is imparting knowledge about how to enter the elusive realm of genuine inspiration. 
Uli Jon Roth: “I guess I've always had a knack how to spot the talent of others and to help make it grow by pointing out certain things which are apparent to me, but not necessarily to the eyes and ears of the student. Knowledge and understanding about oneself in relationship to the music are worth far more than mindless practising when it comes to achieving practical as well as artistic results and quality.” “My own journey through music and life has revealed to me a way of approaching the instrument and music in such a fashion that maximum progress can be achieved in the shortest amount of time. I don’t know whether I have stumbled upon a secret here, or rather just a series of interactive laws, but whatever it is – it sure works, and it’s about time that I share some of that knowledge with the younger generations.”
“A lot of musicians – perhaps even the majority – will get to a certain point in their playing and then start to stagnate. From that point on their technique and musical awareness simply do not improve and they hit a brick wall and they run out of steam - rather like an airplane which stalls. I aim to take gifted players to the level where the magic starts – the inspiration zone – and to show them how to stay there.
With some people it is enough to point them through the right gateway and then it suddenly opens for them as if by magic – that’s the moment when everything falls into place …and this is something they couldn’t necessarily see of their own accord, because we tend to develop blind spots when it comes to certain things. For some others it may be harder to get to that place, simply because they are further away from it to begin with, or because of circumstances, but I believe that anyone who is serious can be helped to overcome those barriers…”
“My teaching is not designed to be of much help to those with a casual attitude towards these things – that’s why I work best with people who show some dedication and determination - those who are really motivated. I am convinced that - given the right attitude - the sky’s pretty much the limit.”The more advanced you are the more you will be able to benefit from Uli’s teaching, but his method, which he claims is NO METHOD, will also work for those who have not been blessed with a strong natural talent. Uli says: “Talent is relative… it is actually frequently those players with ‘less’ initial talent who overtake those with an easier access to the goods. There is also a difference in my vocabulary between someone who has a talent and someone who is gifted, which is much more rare. Talent has a lot to do with how much someone actually loves that which they want to achieve. In my phraseology ‘to have a talent’ basically means “being naturally in tune with something” – but there are ways to increase talent by becoming more in tune.” This is one of the central and most pivotal points of Uli Jon Roth’s teaching philosophy.”
In the words of Uli “the number one pre-requisite to benefit from Sky Academy is to arrive with an open mind and to leave with an even more open mind, but filled with inspiration…”