Reviving the Band Part IV: Rodell’s Wedding

I just got home from a special event in the life of a dear friend: my band’s bass player, Rodell. He just got married this afternoon in a very picturesque location, a colonial town called Taal, Batangas.

I’m very happy for my friend as he had finally found someone whom he’d be with for an entire lifetime. Big things and big changes are really going to go his way as he’s on the road to building his own family. Here’s a fancy shot of some people with the groom:

Here’s another fancy shot of our drummer, Archie, giving an impression of a despotic ruler of a third-world former Spanish colony with the groom:

And so Rodell’s wedding is the primary event of the day. This day is indeed a wonderful experience given that there were other things that happened.

Perhaps the next most important thing that happened is that we got to see Erick again. After a long, long time of being unable to respond to any of our messages, he finally showed up. I was mistaken that had lost any interest in our lives; it’s just that he was busy settling more immediate personal matters. For that I offer my apology for being rash about what I had previously thought of him. All that matters to me is that he’s happy and that he could rise above the challenges of a rather complex situation he is in, the details of which I’m at no liberty to disclose. Another thing is that he seems to be interested in playing with the band. If he could make the time, perhaps our band could be something like King Crimson: two drummers/percussionists similar to the kind of dynamic that Bill Bruford and Jamie Muir had during the “Larks’ Tongues in Aspic” era. Would that happen any time soon? I wouldn’t know yet.

Third thing that happened is a realization of sorts. I would even say it’s a humbling experience. I finally was able to perform again in front of an audience, namely Rodell’s wedding guests. Prior to the wedding, I had been preparing a number of songs, a few of which were supposed to be sung by Pastor Chaz. Most of these were covers of songs from other artists and another one was an original composition called “promises”. This day confirmed my suspicions: I could only focus well on one musical task at a time. While I could consider myself competent behind the keys, playing piano and singing lead at the same time is something I wouldn’t consider doing again.

Pastor Chaz’s vocal performance with my piano accompaniment was good in my opinion. My solo performance, however, was utter crap. If I had just played some instrumentals, it would have been better. I should have shut my mouth. You see, “Promises” is a complex vocal and piano piece. It features really busy piano work with stride/march-style left hand accompaniment, right hand leads plus vocals. I tried doing all of them this evening and it was a mess.

Yesterday, I had resigned myself to the fact that I wouldn’t be able to sing and that I wouldn’t get the chance to perform “Promises”. During rehearsals, Pastor Chaz was singing it, but he wasn’t confident enough to go through and perform it. Around that time, I thought the possibility of playing the song live was lost.

Moving on to the wedding reception, after having performed a song well with Pastor Chaz on vocals, I resigned myself to the fact that I’m not performing again that evening. That was until the emcee announced an event called a money dance i.e. some sort of waltz or sweet dance where guests begin sticking paper bills into the bride and groom’s clothing. The emcee called me out, to my surprise, and then Rodell started asking me to play “Promises”, a song I wrote as a wedding gift for them.

There were a few problems with this. “Promises” is not a waltz. Another thing is that the song originally had a virtuosic middle section with octaves, Phrygian scale runs, etc. which I conceived as a part of Rodell’s story during his time in the Middle East. Since I was put on the spot to perform it during the money dance, I wouldn’t sound right if I had played that crazy instrumental section.

And so, with no singer to sing “Promises”, I started to play and sing along. I was able to finish the song, improvised a somewhat generic sounding instrumental section that I thought would have been better for the money dance, and then play a couple of more improvisational passages just to keep the dance going until I got the signal from the emcee to end the set. Despite being able to complete the song, I knew very well that I messed up. It wasn’t the same piece I was rehearsing without the vocals. Maybe I should have just played a pure instrumental set for that money dance. I felt like a big joke afterwards.

Just as Pepe Manikan of Eternal Now fame told me some 12 years ago, I got to either stick with the keyboards or stick with vocals. This day’s performance mishap proves that he’s right. I was trying to do too much. I’m not impressed by my own voice (why o why did I get the idea to sing lead in the first place?) so perhaps it’s best to stick to my keyboards rather than try to do vocals, especially in a live setting.

Lesson learned? If I’m gonna do my best to revive the band, I better find a frontman/lead singer. Somehow, I’m imagining Pepe say, “I told you so.”

Despite stressing out myself and breaking into hives, I’m happy overall.

Reviving the Band, Part III

There’s a side of me that feels like a parrot when playing cover songs. It’s not my voice and it’s not my art. The art aspect of it only falls into place with my playing, and that aspect even suffers. My bandmates and Pastor Xiaui had noted my playing to be very mechanical and emotionless. I could nail the songs without a hitch. It’s just that as a composer, it’s really hard to try and put some emotion into performing a song I never had a hand in writing. I will still try to put on my game face to sort of “own” those songs, even if it’s just for a day.

I’m still very thankful that this opportunity came. Nothing could ever beat performing with a band regardless of whether you’re playing originals or covers. The energy between each musician is something you can never experience jamming with a MIDI file, audio track or sequence. You can expect me to perform at my best at our scheduled performance. Since we’re playing as a worship band at this point and NOT a prog band, you can’t expect me to pull out stuff like crazy synth solos. However, you can expect some piano and organ playing from me, maybe some occasional strings here and there, perhaps a harpsichord sound even.

Because of this event, talks between us band members about rehearsing for a PROG album are underway. We have two songs that we will be rehearsing and recording over the next coming months, and then I’ll continue to write music for the band as usual. I hope that this new project would push through.

We are currently rehearsing for a special performance on October 21, 2012, 6 p.m. at UCCP J.P. Rizal, Makati City. We will be performing a very short set with three songs. For those of you who are in the area interested in supporting a growing church, I’d like to invite you for that special evening of praise and worship.

Reviving the Band, Part II

Going back to our rehearsals, most of them have commenced with one or two members being absent due to scheduling difficulties. Some of the rehearsals have been in my home facility with Chaz and Rodell. During the times when I was unavailable, they were rehearsing with Archie and Mike. We were rehearsing and trying to polish original prog compositions here at home while at some sessions we were rehearsing some alternative plus praise and worship songs. This week was the closest I got to having a rehearsal with only one member not present. Yesterday, I was able to rehearse with Chaz, Rodell and Mike. Just this evening, I finally got the opportunity to rehearse with Archie along with Chaz and Rodell (Mike was away because of work).

This evening we were able to play a couple of alternative songs and then we tried working on our prog compositions, namely a rearranged “Ignite Your Fire” and a new one tentatively entitled “I Have Seen the Light”. The church’s administrative pastor, Chaz’s wife whom the band affectionately calls Xiaui, was rather quick to point out that there doesn’t seem to be any point at playing some prog songs for a Sunday evening praise and worship event. She said it would be very difficult for many churchgoers to have any appreciation for those songs. She remarked that the music would be too heavy and too aggressive for the crowd (take note that the heavy and aggressive aspects of the song are important for the points being described in the lyrics I wrote).

I am somewhat disappointed that the band gave in to the suggestion that we play some praise and worship songs instead (even though our prog songs have very overt Christian themes). However, she was also very much keen on telling us that at this stage, the church is still trying to win over the conservative crowd towards giving merit to songs involving contemporary instrumentation. After all, we’re playing a benefit gig, and (as they say) we need to try and pull in more members to our cause. I am still happy about the fact that I still got an opportunity to play with my band even though we’re no longer playing any of our originals. It seems like circumstances are pulling us towards playing praise and worship music a la Jacob’s Ladder rather than all-out prog a la Blue Fusion. It’s two sides of the same coin except that the face with the praise and worship set in 4/4 and 3/4 won in the coin toss rather than the prog face in 7/8, 5/4, 13/8 and all of those crazy time signatures.

Reviving the Band, Part I

Since the last week of September, I have once again started rehearsing with humans. Away from the metronomic precision of robots, I feel very alive as a musician. The last time that I was able to perform music with my band was back in 2000. It took another 12 years before I got the opportunity to make all of this happen.

It seemed like everything fell into place nicely for my group, the band formerly known as Jacob’s Ladder inside church walls and Blue Fusion outside of it. There are some people who would believe that it’s God’s will that it should happen. Some would say that the stars have aligned for us to start playing again. After having rehearsed with an almost complete lineup (as far as instrumentalists are concerned), I feel very excited.

If you wish to kind of look into the beginnings of the band, you can click on this link. It describes an abridged history of the band from 1995 to 2000 highlighting the band’s experiences and struggles. It appears that our history as a band has just opened a new chapter. The newly revived band consists of myself on piano/keyboards and vocals, Pastor Chaz Romero on lead guitar, Rodell Tolentino on bass, and Archie Padolina on drums. We’ll also be introducing Mike, a new lead singer for the group as I wish to concentrate on the keys rather than having split duties singing lead as well.

As much as we’d like to have him play along, Erick, our (now former) rhythm guitarist and drummer, has not kept in touch with us. It’s sad really that he isn’t returning any of our band’s messages. He even seemed to have ignored the invitation to Rodell’s wedding. I really do not understand what’s going on with him. As much as I don’t want make an assumption, it seems like he doesn’t want to have anything to do with the band anymore.

Kidoteca’s Magical Music Box: iPads and Android Tablets as Instant Mega-Music Boxes

Have you received a music box as a gift during your childhood years? Now you can go back to those sweet childhood memories filled with wonder and excitement through Kidoteca’s Magical Music Box. I would be quick to admit my bias when m writing this review (I worked on its music after all), but I just can’t contain my excitement over it. Truth of the matter is that I really love it, and I think most of you will too.

I just received a complimentary copy of the software from Stanislas Hauptmann of Kidoteca. As soon as I had it installed in my iPad, I couldn’t help but be filled with awe and excitement as all of the 16 piece of music that I arranged for this instrument came to life.

The present version of the Magical Music Box gives you a total of 6 different music box styles. Instead of a single diorama you might find in an actual music box, you can actually “dress up” your music box depending on your mood or whatnot. However, (again, here’s my bias going off), the most important thing about the Magical Music Box is the music itself.

I arranged a total of 16 pieces for this instrument. These piece range from the most serious of classical music pieces like “Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5”, children’s classics like “Old MacDonald” and others. Of all the selections in the Magical Music Box, “Swan Lake”, “Beautiful Dreamer” and “Invention No. 8” are my favorites.

One more great thing about the Magical Music Box is the interactive interface. Upon opening the music box, you can start cranking it up to produce sounds from it just like the real thing. If your iPad has a folder-style case, you’ll see that if you cover up the screen, the music box is going to stop playing. Again, this is the same as real music boxes where closing the lid would stop the mechanism from playing. If you’re not in the mood to crank up the music box, you could just press the gramophone icon so that it would play as if it was a player piano. Another cool thing about it is that you can access tiny bits of history regarding each piece of music in the Magical Music Box.

At the present time, there are two versions of the Magical Music Box. You can try out the Lite version for free before you decide to purchase a copy. I think you can get way more for your money if you purchase the full version, which is only $0.99 on the App Store at the present time.

You can get a copy of Kidoteca’s Magical Music Box through the following links:

iOS Users

Android Users

Kidoteca’s “Magical Music Box” to be Released on Apple’s AppStore Tomorrow

About a few weeks ago, I was working with Kidoteca, a publisher and developer of iOS and Android apps aimed at children, on a project called the “Magical Music Box”. My job consisted of arrangement and transcription of various pieces of music from standard notation or audio and into a special worksheet that Stanislas Hauptmann (one of the top guys at Kidoteca) and his crew developed. I can’t wait to be able to try out on the iPad and hear for myself the results of my work.

To give more details about my experiences while working on this project, Mr. Hauptmann provided me with a list of various pieces of music that he wanted for the app to run. The challenge for me was to rearrange a variety of music with varying complexity into versions that would work for an instrument with barely 3 octaves in range (C3 to C6). This component of the job is indeed challenging, especially when I had to slim down complex pieces like Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake Act 1 Finale and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 into simple 1-minute pieces with a maximum of just 2 parts. It’s hard to do justice to such classics with those conditions, but I’m guessing I was able to pull that off.

The second challenge of the job was that I had to convert what I hear in my piano and read in the sheet music into Mr. Hauptmann’s specific code. He supplied me with a worksheet that essentially became a vertical step sequencer. I had to input notes according to scientific pitch notation, set a tempo and set a note value per beat. Seems easy on first look. The difficult part, however, was that I had no way of verifying by audio the results of my coding unless Kidoteca renders the worksheets as MP3s. I had to kiss the expectation of working like I do with FLStudio or Sibelius goodbye and instead try my best to accurately write down on the worksheet what I was hearing whenever I sight read or listen to the pieces that are assigned to me.

The third challenge was to curb my urge towards making complex arrangements. Complex arrangements do not work well most of the time when writing for the Magical Music Box as the notes tend to get muddy. There is a great emphasis on making the melody prominent and writing a simple yet driving bass line. There are at times when Mr. Hauptmann and I had a few differences over how the arrangements should go. Fortunately, we were able to settle things and figure out what works.

I also had the opportunity of writing descriptions for the pieces of music I arranged. It’s kind of like writing program notes for a recital except that this time it’s for an iOS app.

It seems to me that things are working out well as we’re going to see the release of Kidoteca’s “Magical Music Box” tomorrow. I just watched the YouTube promo video and it seems to have a really stunning interface. Of course, the music is *ahem* wonderful as well. Do check out the “Magical Music Box” by Kidoteca at the AppStore and Google Play. Turn your iOS and Android devices into a lullaby station or a mesmerizing kid’s music machine.

P.S. With this music box, you never have to wind it up to start playing plus it’s always at a constant tempo so the music doesn’t die down slowly.

The iPad as an Amazing Musical Tool

Just last week, my wife and I bought a new iPad from one of the shops at the SM Mall of Asia. I had been contemplating about getting a tablet computer or e-book reader for years given the advantages they have. I always thought that I could at the very least have one as a library or sheet music stack on the go. Upon getting an iPad, it opened up a whole new world to me.

The first thing about the iPad that was obvious to me was that I can use it as a musical instrument. This is due to Jordan Rudess’s influence, having seen him on many Dream Theater videos that feature the iPhone and then the iPad as an alternative to his Haken Continuum. Taking cue from that influence, my first app purchase was Wizdom Music’s Tachyon and MorphWiz. These two apps simply blew my mind away as it transformed my iPad into a new musical instrument, sort of like a fretless instrument with more controls. More toys for me to make a noise with then.

The second obvious application for the iPad was as a sheet music reader. I have plenty of sheet music in PDF format and so I got Adobe Acrobat Reader installed in the tablet, loaded up some of my sheet music in it, and there I go. I now have most of my sheet music with me in just a small package. No more folders or extra envelopes to bring with me then.

Reading all over the web, I realized that I can do more with it that those things I’ve mentioned. I have GarageBand in my iPad so theoretically I can perform multitrack audio and MIDI recordings with it. I have most of the things required to make that happen such as a couple of keyboards (from the massive Kurzweil PC88 to the Korg Nanokey), my trusty Technics digital piano, some guitars, and my Zoom H4n recorder. All I lack now is the digital camera connection kit for the iPad (essentially an iPad port to USB adapter). Since the Zoom H4n and the Korg Nanokey has been confirmed to work with the iPad, if I get that connector then boom! A recording studio on the go that’s more mobile than my laptop rig.

Since I’m a music transcriber, I’ve also thought about how the iPad would work as a scorewriter. It’s unfortunate that Sibelius for iPad hasn’t been written yet. However, there’s Symphony Pro and Notion for iPad. Since I’ve been reading reports about how both iPad scorewriters are prone to crashing, I held off the decision to purchase one or the other.

The iPad’s WiFi connectivity can turn it into a remote control surface for DAWs like Sonar, Logic Pro, Cubase, etc. This I haven’t tried yet but I’m assuming that it would be a good alternative to getting an actual control surface. I would have to admit though that nothing beats the actual hardware. But if you’ve got an iPad, it maybe worth trying out.

Having spent only a few days with the iPad, I now have an understanding of why a number of musicians prefer to use the iPad, iPhone, Mac Books and other Apple products for their music production needs. It’s easy to use, and it’s already optimized. I didn’t need to do any tweaks of sort to get things like MorphWiz running. With my PC-based music production gear, I had to spend hours tweaking various aspects of it to get them running smoothly. The big turn off for Apple products is the price. The iPad is not cheap, though I got mine lower since the New iPad just got released and I got the iPad 2. If I’ve already seen that much from just spending a few days with the iPad, I suppose there’s still a lot of exciting things for me to look forward to as this new device helps me in creating new music.

Music Theory Mastery for Guitar on Guitarzoom

A good knowledge of music theory allows any guitarist to vastly improve his or her skills, and one of the best courses out there is “Music Theory Mastery for Guitar” by Steve Stine. I have started working on this new project as a music transcriber and chart maker for the past couple of weeks, and I could definitely say that Steve is one of the best teachers out there. His new music theory lesson is currently hosted at Guitarzoom.com.

Music theory can be a daunting subject to tackle. However, Steve breaks it down to practical tidbits that are most useful for any guitarist. It follows a kind of hear-before-you-read approach in that his theory lessons emphasize hearing and recognizing notes, scales, chords and patterns and practical performance advice over reading sheet music. I know that teaching sheet music first could easily turn off a lot of people, especially those that want to get some practical music skills fast. It appears that this approach to learning music theory offers easy transmission of knowledge and skill that learners would eventually want to learn how to read sheet music as soon as they get better.

The main benefit any guitarist can get from Music Theory Mastery for Guitar is that it provides an overall understanding of how music works as it relates to guitar without having to read sheet music. I can say that it’s a very suitable course for guitarists who learned how to play by ear and would want to advance their skills further. If you are interested in enrolling for Music Mastery for Guitar, sign up for the course at Guitarzoom.Com. It’s an ongoing class and week 4 of the course starts next week. Even if you missed the following weeks, you can go and backtrack the previous weeks as many times as you want with your subscription.

P.S. if you’re a Guitarzoom member and you have any questions about the courses, music theory or guitar playing in general, you can send in your questions to me and I’ll gladly offer my help in the Guitarzoom member forums. That’s because I’m the new guitar Q&A guy as well.

Again, if you want to push your guitar playing skills to another level, go sign up for Steve Stine’s “Music Theory Mastery for Guitar” at Guitarzoom.com.

Defining the Kind of Music Known as Prog

The term “progressive rock” or “prog” as a genre of music is very difficult to define indeed. From 1995 to 2000, I sang and played piano and keyboards in a band known as “Jacob’s Ladder” to UCCP Ellinwood-Malate Church insiders and “Blue Fusion” to very few people, some of which are now prominent figures in today’s  Filipino progressive rock scene (they probably have forgotten all about us by now). It was difficult for me to explain what prog is as most of what I would tell people would deem insufficient. Fast forward to today’s day and age, being way more knowledgeable now than when I was playing back then, I can try and attempt to define what prog really is.

Back in those days when I played with Jacob’s Ladder/Blue Fusion, I recall some people asking me, “Pare, ano ba ang tugtugan nyo?” (rough English translation: “Dude, what sort of music does your band play?”). I would typically answer three words: Gospel, Alternative and Progressive Rock. The followup question to that would be, “Pare, ano ba yung progressive rock?” (“Progressive rock? What’s that, dude?). I would then cough up some cliche answer like, “It’s the most unique kind of rock music there is,” “It’s like classical meets jazz meets rock”, blah, blah, blah. I would also give some examples like Dream Theater, Rush, Yes, Kansas, Genesis, etc., etc., all to the confusion of the person who I was talking to.

Sometimes there are people who would say something like, “Oh, and so it’s like Arkarna, Incubus…,” and that kind of crap. I would respectfully reply, “No. Arkarna is not prog. Think of something like Dream Theater and all the crapload of bands I talked to you about.” I then receive a blank stare afterwards until me and my bandmates  start playing whatever horrible prog composition we had just concocted.

Anyway, before you get sleepy from all my anecdotes, let us examine what people typically say about what prog is and then see if that is really a unique quality in progressive rock:

1. It’s rock that is heavily influenced by classical music rather than blues – It’s true that progressive rock is heavily influenced by classical music with some examples being Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Genesis and Yes. However, it would be difficult for me to find a prog fan who would classify Yngwie Malmsteen, ABBA and The Polyphonic Spree as progressive rock acts. Yngwie Malmsteen is obviously classically influenced with his Nicolo Paganini posturing and Baroque-inspired compositions. ABBA? Just listen to “Money, Money, Money” and you’ll hear the classical influence. The Polyphonic Spree have that symphonic flair. The point is that you can argue the classical influence but if you define progressive rock in that manner, you might as well classify all sorts of music as prog. After all, plenty of stuff that you hear from radio-friendly pop to obscure prog basically follow common practice period tonality.
2. It’s rock that features heavy use of odd time signatures. Okay. Progressive rock does indeed use a lot of odd time signatures like my favorites 5/4 and 7/8 as well as 11/8, 7/4, 15/16, etc. Would you consider a band like Soundgarden to be prog just because “Spoonman” is in 7/4? Many prog rock fans won’t.
3. Prog features virtuoso musicianship . Again, we see virtuosos even in radio-friendly genres. For example, certain J-Pop songs feature virtuosic musical passages within a radio-friendly format. A die-hard prog fan, despite his appreciation, wouldn’t call that prog at all.
4. Prog incorporates influences from musical disciplines from all over the world. Isn’t that what people call “World” music nowadays?
5. Prog music is typically lengthy and would not fit the radio format. So does classical music, jazz, and jam band music.
6. Prog has lengthy instrumental passages. And so does “real” jazz and a lot of classical stuff.
7. Prog is the kind of music that the masses don’t hear every day. Hmm, in today’s time, most of what we call “art” or “classical” music fits this description along with avant-garde jazz, “ethnic” music, etc.

I can go on and on about how people would typically define what prog is and any inquisitive music lover will offer up a counter-argument that would state that such a quality may also apply to other kinds of music as well. Have you heard of something called “Pronk” (prog combined with its former antithesis, namely punk)?

As you can see, can you really say that progressive rock is a definite genre? In some respects, yes, but the qualities that are said to make it distinct are not exclusive traits. No wonder why Robert Fripp and bands like The Mars Volta and Porcupine Tree have reservations about calling their music progressive rock.

In my personal opinion, if there would be a real definition of what progressive rock is, I would go back to why the term was coined in the first place. I would take into account the adjective “progressive”. I would say that progressive rock is a kind of music that features change and growth. It’s the kind of music that takes you on a conceptual journey. Its artists are not afraid to push boundaries and try out new things and approaches whether it be attempts in using unique/niche musical instruments, extended instrumental techniques and controlled physiological noises. It’s the kind of music that “progresses” that’s why it’s called progressive rock in the first place. It simply cannot be a genre that can be confined within a musicological discourse or a record executive’s marketing scheme.

As a parting word, any serious fan of progressive rock should think about this. If we define progressive rock according to parameters that have been historically established as being prog, aren’t we confining prog into a sort of a box and therefore causing it to stop being progressive at all? Maybe this is the kind of thinking Rush had when they decided to go for shorter songs after finishing “Hemispheres.

The Music You Need, The Music You Want, The Music You Love

Is playing the music you love a worthwhile endeavor? The optimist musician would instantly answer a big YES! The pessimist would say NO. Both views have their equally valid points that are worth exploring. By evaluating such things will we find answers to what’s the kind of music a musician needs to write and perform and the sort of music he/she would want and love to write and perform.

Why do certain people such as myself become musicians in the first place? The first reason that comes to my mind is that music expresses what mere words could never express. The second reason is that music is universal. Life is simply dull without music. Can you keep paying attention to a movie or a TV series that doesn’t even have a tone or a chord hit of sort? Unless you are deprived of hearing, you would never even consider such media to be entertainment. Even some people who have been deemed clinically deaf like Ludwig Van Beethoven and virtuoso percussionist Evelyn Glennie have very deep appreciation for music. The third reason is that music provides both mental and physical stimuli that would excite any person on the planet. Even the most tone deaf of people love hearing a single song or two. You could easily say for these reasons and many more that writing and playing the music you love is a noble and worthwhile endeavor.

The deepest aspiration of every composer (such as myself) would be to receive appreciation for the work he or she personally believes is his or her real musical voice. The sad reality in this world that’s ruled by the whims of many is that only a very few could make a living off of it. More often than not, composers are forced to compromise their musical aspirations in order to be able to pay the bills. Otherwise, composers like myself would be the starving artists upholding Bohemian ideals. In many regards, ideals are worth holding on to but this nagging question still remains: What worth would ideals be when your stomach is rumbling from hunger?

According to Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, biological needs provide the groundwork for reaching higher goals and aspirations. This is pretty obvious. If you are undernourished, you will get sick and then die without even getting the chance to do anything else. You simply won’t succeed preaching to any person who is suffering from hunger. Satiate his hunger and he’ll probably lend you an ear or two. In a similar light, composers and all other musicians would face such problems too. It’s all good that you would want to be able to express your art, but if you don’t have the financial means to do so then how could you do it in the first place? From my experience, it is very common for many musicians to take on other jobs as an aid to express their art. I used to have a corporate job three years ago while trying to record what I thought for myself are my personal masterpieces of progressive rock and art music. Some would wait tables waiting for that big break to happen.

At the present time, I have all these musical ideas for original prog, classical, jazz compositions but I have to pimp myself into working music jobs that are  far from my ideals. I’m lucky that making music in the multimedia sector provides more freedom but it’s not the exact kind of freedom I would want personally as an artist. It feels like it’s close but no cigar. I got to eat, pay the bills and support my family and the chances of keeping my son from going hungry with the powers of progressive rock is very slim. I would think that many musicians think the same way and then go on to explore things like jingle making, writing the next big hit, and all those sort of commercial music jobs because of more immediate concerns than meeting lofty goals.

This reminds me of my first day training as an independent karaoke MIDI producer. Just a few hours ago, I was being trained by RJ Sy, bassist of the Karl Roy Band. It was a shock for me to hear that RJ never earned a single cent from playing with Karl Roy. With Karl Roy being a legend in the Philippine rock music scene, it is baffling and unfair. While the people who can’t even write a song earn millions with their second-rate versions of hits from the 70s, 80s, 90s and even up to the present time, bands like the Karl Roy Band are performing and writing music pro bono. RJ would admit that playing with Karl Roy was indeed musically satisfying, but it would never take care of his expenses. It couldn’t even pay for a bottle of beer he would enjoy in the venue where he’s playing.

I remember the time that I played with my old band known to UCCP Ellinwood-Malate Church insiders as Jacob’s Ladder and known to the outside as Blue Fusion. Back in the late 90s up until the last quarter of 2000, we tagged along with Filipino progressive metal kings Eternal Now for a couple of gigs. If my memory serves me right, audience numbers would never exceed 20 during those days! I remember having that disappointed look upon seeing how empty looking the bars were. Despite the musical joy and fulfillment playing progressive rock brings, nobody in the Philippines would give the genre the attention and respect it deserves. I still played the gigs just for the love and appreciation I have for prog. It is very likely that people both inside and outside the church have forgotten about Jacob’s Ladder or Blue Fusion or whatever name you would call those five teenaged musicians who thought that they were among the few who played prog rock in the country.

There are times that being coerced into having to write or play the music that you “need” is a good thing in certain respects. You get to learn a lot of things. MIDI production and music transcription provides excellent education by experience. I’ve learned a lot of things since I started transcribing for Kuya Cesar (Cesar S. Wycoco) and Tatay Romy (Romy San Mateo). My experiences writing music for multimedia applications were more than stimulating. I also think my ongoing training as a MIDI producer would add an irreplaceable wealth of knowledge to my expanding arsenal of techniques.

So, what would be the conclusion to all of my ramblings about music? I think that all musicians have to fulfill immediate needs using honest means whether it be in the music sector or elsewhere. It’s stupid to say that you don’t need to earn money. How else could you purchase your musical instruments and gear without it? More importantly, how can you keep yourself from going hungry without earning a single cent?

It’s also important to say that meeting those immediate needs would pave the way towards reaching any musician’s musical ideals. When you no longer worry about how to pay for your house, your car, your child’s college fund, etc., then of course you would be free to pursue writing that magnum opus you’ve been dreaming about. You could say that the Eraserheads would not have been able to write a concept album like “Fruitcake” without first recording “Ultraelectromagneticpop!”. The Who’s “Tommy” would never have come to life had they forgotten to write “My Generation”. Dream Theater would not have been able to write “Scenes From A Memory” without “Pull Me Under” opening up opportunities for them. You could say that it’s necessary to go and delve into the music you need before pursuing the music you want and love. It’s the bitter reality of life as a musician but the rewards awaiting those who persevere are sweet.

When will my reward come? That I do not know but I’m hoping it’s out there somewhere.