Gitara Sa Kanto

A seasoned classical guitarist once told me that at a certain point in my guitar self-studies, I should stop referring to myself as a "classical guitar player" and start letting people know that I'm a "classical guitarist". It took me a while to comprehend it because the play on wordings are subtle and yet the implications are potentially huge. It's the difference between a DIY dad who can (read: barely knows how to) use power tools to fix a fence and a licensed contractor who can construct a house with the same power tools because he knows how it's done. In very simple terms, a classical guitar player is someone who plays music on a classical guitar. That music can be a mix of classical music or other types of genre (jazz, alternative, rock,etc.). On the other hand, a classical guitarist specializes in the classics and uses the classical guitar as a medium for expressing the music. Still don't get it or don't agree? You're not alone. Whi...

Like anything that we care for in life, music that we study should be nurtured and given the time and effort necessary to bring out its message and beauty for people to appreciate. When I choose a piece, I often try to learn as much about it and its composer as I possibly can. Any background information helps me understand the context of the music and how I should play it. This process can be quick (mostly for lack of info) or occur all throughout the time I'm studying the piece. At the same time, I go through what I call "stages" of playing which is pretty much a measure of how well I know the piece and how good I can play it. There is not a cut-and-dried criteria for judging where one stage ends and the other begins, but I tried to define what generally happens in each one. This is all from my personal experience and not based on any intense scientific study.  1. Analytical - I slowly read the score while having a cup of coffee; no guitar in hand. At this stage, I t...

"No tabs were used in this video" ang madalas kong mabasa sa mga ibang nagpo-post ng guitar videos nila. Naalala ko tuloy yung disclaimer na "No animals were injured during the filming of this movie" . Para bang gusto nilang ipangalandakan na super galing nila at hindi nila kinailangan ng tabs para tumugtog. At para bang ang tabs o sheet music ay para lang dun sa mga hindi marunong gumawa ng sarili nilang arrangements.   "This piece was played by ear" ang isa pang disclaimer na nakikita ko sa mga guitar videos. Nagtataka lang ako kasi akala ko kamay at daliri ang ginagamit sa pagtugtog ng gitara at hindi tenga :-)  Ano nga ba ang tamang paraan sa pag-aaral ng isang kanta o piyesa?  Nota o tenga?  Para sa akin ay pareho itong kailangan.  Samahan mo na rin ng utak, puso, atay at balunbalunan!  Ang pagbabasa ng nota (o tabs kung hindi ka marunong magbasa ng standard notation) ay parang pagbabasa ng libro. Ang pagsusulat ng isang arrangeme...

Lately, I took the time to record Maestro Jose Valdez' composition, Philippine Medley. The back story here is that we were preparing for my daughter's 18th birthday party (also known as a debut) which is a big deal for Filipinos. I was so stressed out from all the daily preparation so to relieve my stress, I fell back on playing the guitar every night to study a bit of this 20-page piece until I was able to record all parts within almost a month. In the end, I was able to put it all together in one video and even created this blog to recount my journey. This work is a string of various Philippine traditional music arranged for four guitars. I considered it a pipe dream to play it the minute I saw the arrangement because not only was it long (about 20 pages), it also required advanced guitar skills. Of course there's that minor detail wherein I needed three other guitar players to play it :-) With no luck in finding others who can help, I decided to designate myself the task...

Nung mga binata pa kami, mahilig kaming magkita-kita pagkatapos sa trabaho at mag-inuman sa mga nakapaligid na karinderya sa Makati. Isang gabi lumabas kami nila Dyords at Ariel at tulad ng nakagawian, nag-inuman kami. Nung paubos na yung pinupulutan naming mani (mga kuripot kasi kami), biglang um-order si Ariel ng " isang buong manok ". Nagulat ako kasi mahal yun at baka hindi namin mabayaran. Sabi ni Ariel wag kaming mag-alala at sabay tinanong ako kung " saan ba galing ang manok? " Sabi ko " ...sa itlog ." Saka niya nilinaw na itlog ang ino-order niya kasi isang buong manok ang laman nun...kung napisa. Yun pala ang code word ng itlog doon sa loob ng karinderya :-) Ang pag-aaral ng isang piyesa ay parang itlog ng manok na nililim-liman at inaasahang mapisa matapos ng 21 days (alam ko ito kasi nag-alaga kami ng mga manok noon sa gilid ng bahay namin). Depende siyempre sa ating kanya-kanyang talento, puwedeng mabilis o matagal (o habambuhay) nating inaara...

"Magaling ka bro!" "O talaga? Salamat." "Oo, magaling ka kasi wala kang sakit (sabay ilag)." Karaniwang nakaka-insulto ang ganitong biro pero may katotohanan ito kung pag-iisipang mabuti.  Bakit ko nasabi ito? Para sa akin, ang pag-aaral ng gitara ay parang pag-gamot sa sari-saring sakit.  Kung magagamot natin ang mga sakit na humahadlang sa paglago ng ating kakayahan, gagaling tayo at masasabing "Magaling ka!"  Mahalaga din sa akin na alamin ko kung tinatamaan ako ng sakit habang nagpa-praktis ako para magamot ko ito kaagad. Ano naman ang ilan sa mga sakit na ito? Isa-isahin natin. 1. Unang sakit na dapat gamutin ay kawalan ng oras sa pag-ensayo. Dahil sa dami ng iniisip o inaasikaso sa buhay, hindi mabigyan ng panahon ang pag-praktis o pag-aaral ng gitara. Dapat   nating isaayos ang priorities at schedule natin para makapaglaan ng kahit 30 to 45 minutes sa isang araw sa pag-aaral ng gitara. Ginagawa ko itong pampagising sa umaga o kay...

Sa kasalukuyan meron akong 15 video tutorials ng complete pieces at isang tutorial sa pagbabasa ng tabs. Bilang katunayan ay eto ang link sa playlist na ginawa ko ==>  Pasigenyo's Guitar Video Tutorials Bakit ko nga ba ginagawa ito? Sa totoo lang, hindi ko alam.  Kung tutuusin, mas maraming dahilan para huwag ko itong gawin. Una sa lahat, napakahirap at napakatagal gawin. Pangalawa, wala naman yatang nagtitiyagang panoorin ito. Oo nga may nagpapasalamat, pero hindi ibig sabihin na pinanood nila ito. Pangatlo, kung meron mang manood, kailangan itong panoorin sa hi-def mode para makita ang lahat ng detalye. Pero karamihan sa mga nanonood ay walang sapat na bandwidth ang internet connection nila. At pang-apat, wala naman akong kinikita dito. Baka ako pa ang magbayad at magmakaawa para lang panoorin ang mga ito. Ang pag-gawa ng video tutorials ay hindi biro. Mabuti na lang at marami ang nag-a-appreciate ng pinaghirapan ko.  Pero siyempre hindi pa rin mawawala an...