Good gig pic

Got this just now from Jojie Alcantara who got it from Tommy Iñigo who took pictures during the 18th birthday party of his niece Issa Gempesaw where my band 220 played Saturday night, November 26 (don’t you just hate long sentences?). Ellen at left is belting out her part in “Summer Breeze” by Seals and Croft (I can tell that’s the song from the position of the capo; the only other song we sing in that capo position is “Cool With You” by Jennifer Love Hewitt, but Ellen has no solo part there) while Kukie in the middle waits her turn.

Good gig!

I’m always a little giddy after a good show, with all that energy left over from performing still flowing through my veins. Tonight is no exception: I still want to play guitar!!!

I just came from a good gig, and I’m holding out on calling it a great gig only because the sound system left much to be desired (more on that later). It was Carissa Gempesaw’s 18th birthday, and we performed at the party because about four months ago when she heard 220 play at Basti’s Brew during our first show there she liked us and subsequently asked her mom Maite (who happens to be the manager of Basti’s Brew) to hire us. Issa is a great gal, a singer, songwriter, and guitar player all rolled into one beautiful person, and it was a real pleasure performing for her (and her family) because she loves music so much.

The sound system was provided by SoundChaser again, but we were alarmed when we saw that it wasn’t the regular sound guy who was there. Our fears were confirmed when we had a hard time doing sound check because the guy apparently didn’t really know what he was doing: he couldn’t get the mix right for the instruments and vocals, and he couldn’t get the reverb to work at all. Finally in frustration I texted the owner of SoundChaser, who promised he would come with a proper technician to work the sound.

Fortunately they did come and were able to fix the sound before Issa and her group and then Carlos Castaño (more on this great guy in a later entry) and his group played; unfortunately the proper technician left as the bands were playing, leaving the first guy to fiddle around with the sound in his own uniquely inexperienced way. Still, it was better than during the sound checks, so the groups were still able to give good performances.

When 220 played I was afraid the same thing that happened in the Jollibee gig last night would happen again, that is, that the audience wouldn’t dig us and get bored with our music. Fortunately this was a more appreciative crowd and soon we were all having a good time. We also managed to pick the songs that many in the audience knew, so a lot of people were singing along with us as we performed. When you get into the zone like that time just whizzes by, and pretty soon it was time to call it a night and pack up.

That’s why I still have all this music energy flowing in me, and the only thing that will shake this off is playing more guitar. So excuse me for a while as I take my guitar off the case and strum a few…

Bad gig!

We finished a gig at the local Jollibee store just a few minutes ago and I have to say it was a struggle the whole time. (For those who don’t know, Jollibee is the Filipino version of McDonald’s). Here’s a list of the things that went wrong:

1) The amplifier that SoundChaser provided was not for acoustic guitars but for electric, giving my acoustic a rather harsh and tinny tone. I think it also had some digital effects because it made my guitar sound a bit out of tune, but by the time I figured that out we were already playing.

2) My DL4 wouldn’t loop! I was doing my intro to Clapton’s “Change The World” but no sound came when I lay down my first track. Since we were already starting the song I couldn’t stop and fiddle with the thing, so I had to make do with a rather boring rendition. No leads, no solos, just plain rhythm. Good thing my singer Ellen has such a great voice it really didn’t matter.

3) Which brings us to actually the first thing that went wrong: we sang minus our other singer Kukie. Jollibee had limited budget so we felt it wasn’t worth singing as a trio because we had to split the money three-way, but on hindsight we really should have performed as a complete group even if it meant settling for a small talent fee each. We shouldn’t have sacrificed our sound just because the pay was small.

4) The people were not into our music! The crowd was mainly composed of Jollibee crew from various stores in Davao City, and they were mostly young people who liked R&B and rap and that kind of thing. Since 220 is basically pop-rock-blues they couldn’t dig it.

The last item was probably the most crucial, and I am now thinking if we have to change our lineup or stick to what we like and just hope enough people like us to keep us in the running. I’m inclined not to because a large part of why we do what we do is because we love the type of music we play. I’ve never liked R&B and rap and I think we’ll be doing ourselves and our audiences a disservice if we include songs in those styles just because some people like them.

Oh well, at least there’s still the gig tomorrow night. That’ll be the debut of Carissa Gempesaw, daughter of the manager of Basti’s Brew where we’ve played several times. Here’s hoping that’ll turn out better…

Vibes

Anonymous posts this question: Is it true that the more you play an acoustic and the more stress you put on it, the better it will sound after some time? Does that mean the more stress we get and overcome, the better we’ll be?

The question touches on a truism I heard as a new guitarist many years ago and which I repeated to others for a long while before I understood what it meant: that as an acoustic guitar ages its sound becomes better and better. That is actually only part of the story, since it is not merely age that improves an acoustic: it has to be played, and played constantly, because it is not time that enhances the sound but the vibration of the guitar as it is played.

Why is this so? Luthier Rick Turner explains it this way:

The reasons for the improvement have to do with subtle changes in the stiffness and flexibility within the cellular structure of the wood, as well as the hardening of resins within the cells themselves. Also, the finish ages, changing the flexibility of the surface of the top. With lacquer, the most common finish on guitars, the finish film loses plasticizers, making the finish more brittle over time. These changes usually take many years. In the final analysis, it seems that the major change is to the wood itself, with the top leading the way as the major tone-producing element.

We know that guitar tops vibrate in distinct patterns at different frequencies; some areas (nodes) hardly move, while other areas move in and out dramatically. These Chladni patterns, named for the first researcher to do a scientific study of plate movements, are predictable and have been the subject of intense study for disciplines ranging from lutherie to rocket science (really!). It is not a stretch to see that as a guitar is played, certain nodal patterns are continually flexed and thus loosen up while other areas move little and get stiffer. Those patterns are "set" as the wood ages and the cellular structure takes on a certain memory of the vibrational frequencies most often encountered.

Some guitarists actually place their guitars against speakers that play music all day long so that the wood would vibrate constantly, thus speeding up the process. There is also a machine (pictured at right) that shakes the guitar and gives it the equivalent of years of use – in just 45 minutes! Since this machine is not available here in the Philippines, all we can do is do it the old fashioned way, that is, to just keep playing. After all, that's what guitars are for!

By the way, this improving-with-age thing only works for acoustic guitars with solid tops. If you have a guitar with a laminate or plywood top, expect its sound to worsen as the years go by, which is the main reason I always advise those who are in the market for acoustic guitars to go for quality (i.e. solid tops) even if they’re more expensive.

And yes, Anonymous, the spiritual parallel here is that the more we allow the Lord to “play” us, the better we will become.

A life lesson from guitars

The University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia has a great article on how guitars work. If you’re like me – and I sincerely hope you’re not – then you’d be curious as to just how that hunk of wood, steel, and plastic you cradle in your arms can produce such a sweet sweet sound.

One of the things I find amazing in a guitar – particularly a steel-string acoustic – is that its strings actually apply about 180 pounds of pressure on the structure. That means I who weigh 160 pounds can actually sit on the headstock of an unstrung guitar and the instrument would hold me up! In fact, for a guitar to produce a sound it has to have that kind of pressure on it; if not for the pressure a guitar would just be a hunk of wood, steel, and plastic.

And that’s kind of what life is all about, right? We all dream of living without pressure, without stress, without problems, but in reality these are the very things that allow us to be who we are. We are daily tested, and it is in how we respond to these tests that we see what stuff we’re made of. It is also in problems that we see how great God is. Jesus said: “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (Acts 14:22).

So if you feel like you can’t stand the pressure, look at your guitar. It’s constantly under pressure, and it may even show in how it looks, but because of that pressure it’s able to make beautiful music.

Tune town

I found this product while surfing the net:

The String Master Robotic Guitar Tuner is unlike any guitar tuner you’ve ever used. Our robotic technology makes String Master the easiest, most fun to use guitar tuner available. The String Master Robotic guitar tuner is the cutting edge in guitar tuner technology.

All you do is hold the String Master robotic guitar tuner on each tuning peg and pluck the string. String Master listens to the sound and its powerful gear motor actually turns the peg for you until that string is tuned to perfect pitch. (Keep reading at www.actiontuners.com)

KEEP IT IN TUNE

One of my pet peeves when I listen to bands is hearing out-of-tune guitars. Most people don't hear which individual string – or even which guitar – is out of tune, but I suspect everyone knows there's something amiss in the band. Any string that's out of tune is bound to mess up the entire band's music, and people will simply chalk that up to the group's ineptness. It is our duty as guitarists to keep our instruments in tune and to maintain it through the gig even if it means stopping between songs to fiddle with the tuning keys (more advanced players can do it in the middle of a song).

Tuning up is easier said than done, of course. Gig time means we are either caught up in the moment or are distracted by a number of big and small details (feedback, volume, cables on the ground, beer bottles flying around) – and out-of-tune strings can be the last thing on our mind. I have found that the answer is to simply listen, because when we pay attention to the music we will know what's wrong, whether it be feedback or volume or guitar strings going astray.

For years I used my ears exclusively for tuning, believing there to be no better tool than my own auditory organs to tell me when my guitar was in or out of tune. I swiped a pitch pipe from someone (I forget who it was who owned it, but he wasn't using it anymore so I simply appropriated it for myself) and used it even though its G note was broken and sounded like a goose being strangled. I also developed a system of using harmonics in the fifth, seventh, and 12^th frets because the higher pitches were easier for me.

It wasn't until last year when I decided to try out a digital tuner. I had always derided the gadget, feeling it was for those whose ears aren't good enough to know they're out of tune already. Fortunately I found a very inexpensive tuner at a music store and decided to buy it simply to see if it was any good.

To my surprise it worked like a charm: within a minute my guitar was in tune, unlike the three-minute minimum I used to spend with my pitch pipe. I found it easy to use: when the needle pointed straight up, the string was in tune. And since it was a digital tuner it automatically displayed which note I was looking for. No sweat!

Does the digital tuner make my ears obsolete tuning-wise? Of course not. Playing live often means adjusting tuning on the fly without the benefit of the tuner, and that's where one's ears are still important. But as a tool nothing beats a tuner, and I only wonder why I didn't get one sooner.

If you play guitar, I advise you to buy a good tuner; your friendly neighborhood music store should have one. It's one of the best investments you'll ever make. Believe me.

Guitarists' gallery

Folks, I have an idea. Send me a photo of yourself playing guitar (kinda like the one on the right), plus a little something about yourself and what kind of music you play, and I'll post them here. It'll be our small guitarists' gallery, so that even if we never land in the pages of Guitar Player Magazine, we'll at least have something to show our kids and grandkids. So have your spouse/significant other/best friend/friendly neighborhood kodaker snap a shot of you and email it to me at jonjoaquin@gmail.com. Hey, maybe we'll get famous! Or not.

Gone loopy

A lot of people get confused when they watch my band's performances. There are only three of us in 220, Ellen, Kukie, and myself (on guitar), but our sound is closer to a full band than to the regular one-guitar band/soloista. There are two reasons for this: first, Ellen and Kukie are wonderful singers who can take audiences through a whole range of emotions in one gig, and second, I have a “secret weapon” that lets me sound like I'm playing several guitars at the same time.

The secret? My Line 6 DL4 Delay Modeler. Its main use, as its name denotes, is as a delay gadget, and in this function it shines and gives the guitarist a whole bag of tricks that adds dimension to the sound. It has vintage delays as well as modern ones, and by these alone the DL4 stands out and is worth the money.

But for me and many of those who use it, the DL4's claim to fame is its loop sampler. I can record a bass part, loop that, lay down a rhythm track, loop the two, lay down a few more tracks, loop them all, and then play a lead over the whole thing. This can go on indefinitely (until I get tired), and the net effect is a guitar player jamming with himself. It's great to watch, but even greater to be the one playing the entire solo ensemble.

SOLO JAM
My loopiness began a few years ago when I first saw my idol Phil Keaggy performing at a TV show (I was already a fan by then but hadn't seen any of his performances). I was floored because he appeared to be recording some parts on the fly and layering them to form a background for his solos. He sounded like a full band, complete with drums (by slapping on his Olson's soundboard), bass, rhythm and lead guitars, and vocals. And with volume swells courtesy of a volume pedal, he even spliced in some violin- and flute-sounding parts. The most jaw-dropping part was him singing into his guitar sound hole (his guitar had a built-in microphone) and looping his own voice!

Intrigued, I researched Phil Keaggy's performances and discovered he was using the Lexicon Jamman. Unfortunately by that time the Jamman had been discontinued, and when I looked at other loopers their prices immediately turned me off.

It wasn't until late last year that I began to search for a looper in earnest. That was spurred again by Phil Keaggy, whose live DVD I had just received as a gift from my sister in Canada. I searched the net for products that could let me do loops, and I found a few that weren't so expensive. Unfortunately they were not available in the Philippines, and I was forced to postpone my search once again.

Some time later an American friend, Sean, said he was going to see Phil Keaggy in concert, and I asked him to ask Phil what looper would recommend for me. Phil's answer was quick: the Line 6 DL4 Delay Modeler. Hearing it from the master guitarist himself, I prayed to the Master Of All for a DL4, although I was quite sure it was a long shot. Meanwhile I researched the product and imagined myself using it.

In April I made a work-related trip to Manila, and on one of the breaks I went to the mall to check out Perfect Pitch for any new offerings. Lo and behold, on display was a DL4, and I immediately tested it. I think all the practicing I did in my mind made me something of a looper already because using the DL4 came naturally to me; pretty soon a small crowd was gathered around me, listening to me playing “I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever.”

Unfortunately I didn't have the money that time, and I had to wait until another trip to Manila the next June. It was just as well since by that time there was a sale at Perfect Pitch and my youngest brother had a P1,000 discount card, so I ended up paying P5,000 less for my DL4.

I've been using the DL4 for about six months now and it has served me well all this time. I should also say that it is what makes my band 220 even possible: as a one guitar-band we need the extra sound the DL4 makes possible. Our shows/gigs are a mix of vocals and instrumentals, and I am able to do the latter through my looper. Why don't I just tap another guitar player? Well that's really stuff for another blog entry, but the long and the short of it is that I have yet to find an acoustic guitarist who thinks and plays like I do. As long as I haven't found him or her, I'll just keep on jamming with myself.

Learning guitar

Another question frequently asked of me is, “What's the best way to learn guitar?” Now that's a tough question, and I guess there are as many answers as there are guitarists in the world, living and otherwise. I don't actually presume to know the answer because the “best way” for one will be the worst for another; it depends on one's talent and inclination as well as on the amount of time one is willing to invest in learning.

There are some people for whom playing guitar is natural, while the vast majority, yours truly included, have to work hard to achieve a even a low level of proficiency. The common denominator would be practice: even the best guitar players have to practice, and it's a discipline one must practice if one is to sound good. Not being a guitar teacher, I often end up telling advise seekers to just do that: practice.

To those who really press me for an answer I give my own struggle to become a guitar player as an example. As I've said before in this blog, I started playing guitar when I was 12 but didn't get serious until I was about 15. At 12 my brother Arnel and best friend Tito taught me some chords and showed me how to strum, but I always got laughed out of our jamming sessions because I, well, sucked.

At 15 something happened that made me turn to the guitar as an emotional outlet: my father died. I wanted to rebel but I also didn't want to be destructive, and God, although I didn't know it then, turned my attention to the guitar. I began to practice furiously, and as near as I can remember these are the steps I took:

1. learn chords – through the chord charts inserted in Jingle Magazine

2. listen to records – mostly Beatles and Apo Hiking Society

3. play along with the records – again, mostly Beatles and Apo

4. play songs published in the old Jingle Magazine, particularly the Beatles edition

Soon enough I was playing better than my brother and best friend (hah!). Two years of this prepared me for the next step, but that will be stuff for another blog entry. For now, let me finish this off by saying I don't recommend to others the path I took in learning guitar because it is too long and unfocused, and it's all too easy to learn the wrong things. I have a hard time shaking off bad guitar playing habits like wrapping my left thumb over the edge of the neck and positioning my right hand diagonally over the strings instead of vertically. What my friends at Windsong say is right: PRACTICE MAKES PERMANENT, and in my case what I have been practicing has been the wrong way of playing guitar, and that's what I've kept.

If I could live my guitar-playing life again I would want to take classical guitar lessons and use that as a starting point to learn other forms of music (kinda like what Ralph Macchio's character Eugene Martone did in the 1986 movie Crossroads). So in the end, that's what I tell those who ask me what the best way is to learn guitar: TAKE CLASSICAL GUITAR LESSONS.

Comment!

My friend, former classmate, fellow Beatles and Paul Simon-Ladysmith Black Mambazo fan, one-time neighbor in Davao City (though we didn’t know it and ended up not seeing each other!) and now-California resident Batjay has the distinction of being the first person to leave a comment in Jambayan. He writes:

so if i were to buy a new steel acoustic guitar, would a taylor be a good choice?

i've been looking at their website and there is a dealer near where we live. thanks for the referral - i might visit them one of these days.

kamusta na pare diyan sa davao? miss ko na ang aking favorite city.

To the first question I reply: Yes, a Taylor is a good choice for a new steel acoustic guitar if you're living in the US. My friend and pastor Jan Drayer has one and I’ve played it often enough to say it is one of the best I’ve strummed and plucked, and I’ve strummed and plucked quite a few guitars in my lifetime. And as acoustic guitars go, Taylors are relatively affordable, priced lower than some Gibsons and Martins. One of the reasons is that Taylor uses automation in some of its steps, whereas Gibson and Martin, at least on their high-end guitars, still claim to do everything by hand. Taylor also breaks tradition by installing a bolt-on neck, and later on we’ll discuss the merits and demerits of such a system. I can only wish I can afford a Taylor one of these days...

To the second question, things are fine here in Davao City. Like I said, Batjay lived here for some time in the late 1990s, having been one of the engineers who built the San Miguel Brewery in nearby Darong, Davao del Sur and the PNOC geothermal plant in Mt. Apo. Unfortunately we didn’t know we were living in the same city and were oblivious to each other’s presence. We were even in the same compound (SMB Darong) during its inauguration (by no less than President Fidel V. Ramos) in – I guess it was 1997, right, Jay? – but didn’t know it. Oh well…

Anyway, things are good here. Davao City is hosting the 2006 Asean Tourism Forum in January and things are picking up. It’s peaceful here, and anyone who gets to spend some time here falls in love with the city (if not with someone special here like I did when I met and later married my wife Dadai). Come visit…

Starter guitars

Every once in a while well-meaning parents would come up to me to ask where they can buy a guitar for their kids. The first thing I ask is how much they are willing to spend, and in a way this is a rhetorical question since I have a pretty good idea what the response would be. “Oh, not much,” they would say, and when I mention figures like 5,000 or 6,000 pesos they would balk and exclaim, “Not that much!!!” So by “not much” they often mean less than 1,000 pesos, and I tell them that’s not nearly enough to get a good guitar that their kid will enjoy playing and learning in.

The thing about starter guitars is that they have to have a balance of playability and low price, but this is not easy to find – at least not here in the Philippines. Cheap guitars are, well, cheap, and this shows in how hard they are to play. Cheap guitars are made of cheap materials, cheap wood, and cheap strings, and they are made cheaply by non-craftsmen (usually carpenters in between construction jobs) who have no idea what they’re doing.

So if your child is serious about guitar, and if you really want to encourage him or her to play well, then invest some money and buy him or her a good guitar. Remember that nothing douses a child’s enthusiasm more than a bad guitar that’s difficult to play. Again in the Philippines it’s difficult to find good guitars at low prices, and in fact I even recommend that you avoid the “Buy Pinoy” syndrome for guitars because I have yet to see a Filipino-made guitar on the market that’s worth the money. What you should look for are the Korean-made ones that are being sold for between 3,000 to 6,000 pesos (hence the figure I cited earlier) in many guitar shops (including SoundChaser and Better Components in Davao City). They’re not great, but once in a while you can pick up a good one if you know how to look.

Here are some things to look for:

1. Good construction. Make sure it’s solidly built.
2. Low action. “Action” refers to the height of the strings clear off the fingerboard. Make sure the strings are low enough to be pressed without much effort.
3. Straight neck. To check for straightness, grasp the guitar with both hands and bring the neck up to your line of sight (looking from the bridge toward the tuning keys -- see photo at right). From that view any bow or warp would be evident. You can also do this from the other end of the guitar (i.e. from the headstock looking down into the body)

Other details like a solid top are present only in mid- to high-end guitars, so there’s no use discussing them here. We’ll devote a whole other article to them.

If you have questions about starter guitars feel free to ask. If you’re in Davao City I can even go with you to the shop to help you find that guitar.

220

Here's my band 220 performing in our first self-produced show, dubbed "Jambayan," at Basti's Brew, Victoria Plaza Mall here in Davao City on July 29, 2005. From left, Ellen, Kukie, and myself.

Jambayan!!!

Hello all. This is hopefully a good start to a blog devoted to one of my favorite things: guitars! I have been playing guitar since I was 12, but I did not really get serious until I was 17. I consider myself an average guitar player, but I would like to believe I play well enough to get some appreciative smiles and an occassional applause.

My current guitar is an Ibanez Artwood, AW100CE. It's a good guitar, expensive for Filipinos but a good investment since it has a solid spruce top -- which means it will sound better and better as it ages. I'd like to have a Taylor someday, and perhaps a Parker Fly on the side, but for now my beloved Irene is perfect for me.

Irene? Yes, Irene. My guitar has a name, and it took me some time to come up with one. Irene is Greek for peace, and at the time I bought my guitar I was troubled and it brought me peace. Also, Ybañez is the last name of a Cebuana friend of mine whose name is Irene, so I just made the connection.

Anyway, I hope to keep this blog as current as possible with my thoughts on guitars, guitar music, and music in general. There should be lots of pictures, too, so do drop by frequently.

Jambayan na!!!