By: Chuck Stanley for Music Saturday
Some folks seem to think child prodigy talent suddenly appears full blown without apparent effort. Unless the talent is an autistic savant, that simply doesn’t happen. It takes work, dedication, and practice. Lots of practice. This is Tina S, a young woman from France. She is now 15-years-old. She started playing the guitar about eight or nine years ago. She appears to have impressed her mentor enough that he started making videos of her early on. This is Tina S. back when she was about seven years old. Her guitar seems bigger than she is.
Watch her grow into a beautiful and talented young woman over the fold.
One of my favorite Beatles tunes has always been Norwegian Wood. Tina S. is about 9-years-old when this was recorded.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ILbTttLyvY
Jump forward a few years to age 14. She does a cover of Steve Vai’s Paganini 5th Caprice. The video is by her teacher, Renaud Louis-Servais.
Another year older, Tina S. is now 15. She is ready to take on Yngwie Malmsteen’s Arpeggios From Hell. I notice in the comment sections of her videos, many criticize her for “not showing emotion” in her face. Um….nope. She seems to be in a kind of trance, which given her talent, is not surprising.
I have been privileged to watch several young people come of age musically. The first time I saw Alison Krauss, she was fourteen years old. The moment she picked up her fiddle, I knew she was going to be a star.
The first time I heard LeAnn Rimes sing Blue, she was thirteen. It was as if she were channeling Patsy Cline. Eerie experience for me, because I worked in radio at the time Patsy Cline was at the peak of he powers. I was on the console when word came of Patsy Cline’s plane crash, and that she had been killed. I had to read that awful news bulletin on the air.
Have at it in the discussion. This is Music Saturday.
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Chuck Stanley
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As someone who has tried (emphasis on “tried”) to play the Vai version of Paganini’s 5th Caprice, anyone who doesn’t think it requires concentration hasn’t seriously tried to play the guitar or they are simply so gifted as to be from Planet Hendrix. Kudos for her. Not an easy play.
Great stuff, Chuck!
“. . . many criticize her for “not showing emotion” in her face.”
This from the legions that probably can’t even tune a guitar properly given the tradeoffs of equal temperament. Oh well, critics abound.
I just watched the last video again. Where does she go from here? She is only 15. If this is how far she has come since the age of seven, what will she be at 22, or 32?
Her enemy is going to be the health of her joints and tendons. Leo Kottke is in his 60s. He has had at least one tendon injury and says he has arthritis in his hands. This is Leo about 1972 when he was in his 20s. He is still good, but can no longer play with this relentless intensity.
“Where does she go from here?”
Where her muse leads? Who knows? Notice, though, the last two videos you posted were done with electric guitar, which, if set up properly, requires much less pressure from both hands.
I’m a huge Leo fan. I’ve listened to his music since ’73 or so. His style was really hard on the thumb of his picking hand.
But then again, so is Vicente Amigo’s use of the right thumb harsh. By this I mean the angle of attack in the thumb, the constant pressure on it even if nothing for positional reference. It is what the instrument requires, unless one goes the plectrum route.
Note in the video below how the right thumb is constantly bent, even when not in use.
Skip to 0:30 to avoid the graphics of the intro.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNgylQeNzw8
She is a very talented musician who has gotten to the level she is at through hard work. A pleasure to listen to!
Amazingly accomplished.
Tina S. released a new video today. It has already been picked up by the Chonday video blog, which features some of the most interesting videos on the web.
This is Tina’s cover of Dragon Force’s Through the Fire and Flames.
Yes, the “no emotion” silliness. Easily disproved by her big smiles you can see here and there in the videos.