Have you been dreaming about being able to play
those captivating medicine songs, but are you:
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Struggling to create a consistent practice routine?
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Feeling overwhelmed by all the resources out there, not knowing where to focus?
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Left feeling discouraged from not seeing immediate progress?
No worries: the MMA has got you covered!
MMA Program Elements
Some techniques we will work on, include:
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basic fingerpicking & strumming
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bringing rhythm by adding hits
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guitar positioning, finger placement & buzzing
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finger strength, endurance & dexterity
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smooth chord transitions
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usage of metronome
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hammer-ons
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walking bass
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combining different techniques to create “gears” within the song
Step-by-step Practices
The MMA focuses on teaching rhythm guitar techniques: fingerpicking, strumming and rhythmic hits.
Each song is broken into short incremental practice steps and optional variations, making it easy to master the song over the course of the month.
For the 2025 MMA round, we will be working on the following songs:
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🎸July - Like the River
🎸 August - Te Nande
🎸 September - Gajumaru
🎸 October - Astral Dawn
🎸 November - En el Cielo y En la Tierra
🎸 December - Be Beautiful
LIVE!
Medicine Music oriented
With Shai’s medicine song tutorial repertoire reaching 200+, he’s being seen as an authority in this musical genre.
Chances are that you have also started learning your first medicine songs through one of his (free) YouTube tutorials!
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For this new offering songs have been chosen by our community and carefully selected to include various techniques and gradually expand the range of different skills and their difficulty.
The Shai Guitar Video App offers a safe, encouraging space to express your creativity and share your music with like-minded community.
Let yourself be inspired by others, as well as by Shai’s guidance and creative practice modifications to tackle the most common technical challenges!
Interactive Learning
The MMA program follows a very unique interactive learning model.
Using the asynchronous Shai Guitar Video App, participants get to consume and practice Shai’s practice steps and upload their own practice videos for feedback whenever suits them.
This allows students from all over the world to make their practice fit their schedule and still “be on the journey together”.
Masterclass & Bonus Materials
Once a month, you are invited to join the Masterclass, where Shai will take you through some of the practice steps in more detail, as well as share some foundational knowledge about scales.
As an added bonus, you will also receive access to past Masterclass recordings & Musical Performances by various artists.
MMA Pillars
Focus & Structure
The MMA program provides step-by-step exercises that teach you how to build a consistent practice routine. Many beginning guitarists experience an information overload online, which makes them feel overwhelmed and easily distracted, hindering actual progress. The MMA’s step-by-step structure helps you know where to focus as you expand your musical skills.
Success & Fun
​Let’s be honest: new beginnings are not easy, and certainly learning a new instrument can be very challenging and confronting. There is no way around it: teaching our fingers the chord shapes and fingerstyle techniques takes time. However, if you use music you love and focus on achievable short-term goals, you can experience a repeated sense of achievement. Experiencing progress and having fun are both key to staying motivated.
The Power of the Group
Ever heard the saying, "when you want to go fast, go alone; when you want to go far, go together"? This is ever so true for learning to play guitar! It simply helps to learn alongside others. No struggle you experience is unique; there’s always someone else facing the same battle. Learn from their mistakes and feel less alone in your struggle. Use the momentum of the group to elevate your learning journey. Support & learn from each other and enjoy the togetherness.
What Students Say
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How long it takes to complete a song?The mini-courses are designed to take 2-4 weeks to complete the whole song.
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How much time should I practice?The recommendation is 20-30 minutes a day of practice, following the practice steps as instructed.
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Will I get the tabs & chords?Yes! Each song includes also tabs, chord diagrams and lyrics / chords sheet that you can download and print.
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Can I post my practice videos for feedback?Shai is currently offering interactive group coaching only for "Master The Fretboard" program participants. Therefore - it is not possible to post practice videos for feedback anymore. You can, however, watch, comment and share your own musical videos on the app with the other academy members!
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I am a beginner. Is my level suitable for these mini courses?The fingerpicking & strumming mini courses are ideal for beginners (2-3 months of experience). The pre-requisites are: - Basic terminology (strings, frets,) - Reading tabs & chord diagrams - Familiar with the basic 7 chords: Am, Em, D, Dm, G, C, E -------------------- The Improvisation mini courses are for more experienced players (at least 1 year of experience). The pre-requisites are: - Reading scale diagrams - Confident with basic fingerpicking & strumming patterns - Basic understanding of the concepts of scales & chords
MMA Members Play
Shankara plays Pachamama
