The Kurzweil PC88: My Present-Day Gig Instrument

Today I’d like to talk about my present band practice and gig instrument, the Kurzweil PC88 Performance Controller Keyboard. Why would I do so? Because I like this instrument very much, plain and simple. For any of you out there looking for a review of this fine instrument, read on.

Before I discuss the ins and outs of this instrument, I’d like to tell a brief history about how I stumbled across this “portable” stage piano and eventually became its owner. I was looking for a portable 88-key replacement for a Yamaha SY-77 I had sold a few years back. In July 2012, I browsed through the Philmusic classifieds and found a seller who was selling a PC88. The price seemed reasonable, and then I thought to myself I could use something a bit similar to Jordan Rudess’s Kurzweil K2600. To cut the long story short, I bought it and have been using it since then.

The Kurzweil PC88 was exactly what I was looking for, a keyboard with a pianistic range and some very good sounds. My favorite patches in it are “Classical Piano”, “Suitcase E. Piano”, a number of organ sounds and the “Slow Digital Pad”. In my mind, these sounds should serve as my bread and butter presets. My particular unit is the “MX” variety so it also has a general MIDI bank and a generous 64-note polyphony. Because it’s not a synth, its selection of sounds is limited but it has powerful layering capabilities via the “MIDI Setup” mode where you can layer four sounds, each of which has its individual volume slider. In a limited way, you can create some fantastic patches with real-time control over each sound. Whether I’m playing progressive rock, praise and worship music, or jazz, I can pretty much cover good ground.

I’m not really doing multitrack orchestral stuff with it so 64 notes is pretty generous for my purpose. The feel or touch of its key bed is definitely weighted, similar to the feel of a Yamaha grand I had used about 4 years ago in a company Christmas party, but has a bit of a springy bounce that you will never find in an acoustic piano. How would I know? It’s because it feels very different from the acoustic upright piano I use at home. The rugged metal casing provides me with confidence that it would withstand the rigors of playing out.

As much as I love this instrument, it is not without its faults. I bought this particular PC88 used, and so some of the lead weights were loose. I had to hire a technician to have all the weights of the key bed fixed with a stronger adhesive. My technician said that the original adhesive used doesn’t hold up well to tropical weather, and that’s why they would become loose as the instrument ages. Given the fact that it’s not a synth, I could not use the sort of analog-ish lead sounds I enjoyed in my former Yamaha SY-77, and so I have to stick to organ or piano sounds for my leads.  Lastly, the PC88 is heavy! You will not enjoy climbing up stairs lugging this keyboard on your own. When I set this up in the church (UCCP-MCCD) where I occasionally play, I usually have to ask for assistance from friend and bandmate Pastor Chaz to carry it inside the church. Yes, Kurzweil didn’t lie when it said that the PC88 was portable. They forgot to write down a caveat that it’s only portable if you have a car, if a buddy to help you carry it, or strength comparable to a well-trained athlete. If you plan on carrying it around while commuting, I’d probably laugh at you.

So, in summary, other than the initial key bed lead weight issue, the lack of decent synth lead sounds, and the weight of the instrument, the Kurzweil PC88 is a great piano analog and an impressive MIDI controller.

Acoustic Blues Guitar by Steven Dahlberg to be Launched January 30

Steven Dahlberg is one amazing blues guy. I’ve had the pleasure of working with him on the latest GuitarZoom course entitled “Acoustic Blues Guitar”. If you want to go beyond the very ubiquitous Mississippi Delta Blues style, you got to check out this course.

“Acoustic Blues Guitar” is a fingerpicking style course that intends to teach aspiring guitarists performing acoustic blues in a solo fashion. This is the sort of blues that you would hear prior to World War II. Steven teaches a variety of styles as used by blues legends like Mississippi John Hurt, Mance Lipscomb and others.

This is a four DVD and sheet music package covered by GuitarZoom’s “Learn in 90 days or get your money back” guarantee. As usual sheet music transcriptions have been worked on by yours truly.

All I can say is expand your guitar playing horizons and get into the blues with Steven Dahlberg’s “Acoustic Blues Guitar”

The Church Pianist Experience versus the Prog Rock/Jazz Keyboardist

Last New Year’s Eve was very memorable for me. It was one of those rare occasions that happens a few years or so when a church requires a pianist. It’s another case of a regular pianist/organist becoming unavailable and I’m asked to fill in. It’s no accident that such times happen, and I do think it is God speaking through those people to call me up and help in their worship service. Therefore, December 31, 2012 became the second time that I was able to perform some music at the United Church of Christ in the Philippines – Makati Church of Christ Disciples (UCCP-MCCD for short). This piece is actually for people who are interested or called into becoming a church organist or pianist, and I would like to share what little experience I have in this field.

First, I’d like to provide a little disclaimer: I am not an authority on being a church pianist or organist. I have much more experience as a keyboardist/pianist in a progressive rock band than a pianist/organist for a typical Christian worship service that favors hymns from centuries past. There are many similarities yet there are notable differences.

1. First obvious similarity is the instrument. ‘Nuff said.
2. Second similarity is the need for repertoire knowledge and technical keyboard skills. Just like playing in a progressive rock or a worship band, you need to have some good chops because hymns are not easy to play. The ability to sight read is also a necessity because unless you have impeccable memory you only have a few hours to practice and get your repertoire for the service at a considerable level.
3. Third similarity is the the need for improvisation. In certain sections of the worship service, the need to improvise becomes apparent such during certain sections for prayer, offertories on occasion, etc.
4. The last one and most important similarity is the need for synchronicity between pianist and choir/congregation. In a worship service, almost everybody will sing, and the church congregation is always an active participant in the music making experience. Just like the prog rock or jazz keyboardist, a church pianist must be able to play in sync with the congregation’s flow and momentum.

When I say playing in sync with the congregation’s flow and momentum, I mean to say that a pianist should have the attitude that the congregation would become a band or ensemble member and that the pianist will treat the congregation as such. This goes both ways:  Sometimes, a church pianist will dictate the tempo and overall mood of the piece/hymn through his playing (unless the choir conductor takes charge of that). There are also times when the pianist has to adjust his playing in accordance to how a congregation would typically sing. One example I can think of is this: There are congregations that are used to singing a hymn in a particular key other than it was originally written. A church pianist must be able to transpose such hymns on the fly. A church pianist would have an easier time playing a hymn as written when a congregation consists mostly of members with some form of musical training. In cases where a congregation has little or no training at all, a pianist must be prepared to adjust accordingly. The worst experience I had regarding this was a congregation that tends to sing hymns in different keys after each stanza. Whew! That was challenging.

Now, let’s take a look into some differences between being a church pianist and a prog rock or jazz keyboardist:

1. The instrument: A church pianist playing in a service where old-style 16th- to 18th-century hymns are in order only has a piano and/or an organ. Prog rock and jazz tends to be free and experimental, and therefore they can call upon a wide array of sounds as their instruments can call up. Keyboardists in a contemporary worship band have the same options as guys who play in prog rock bands.
2. Repertoire: Church pianists would typically play the classic hymns. Prog rock keyboardists go anywhere from renaissance-era music to contemporary.
3. Improvisation: While church pianists have the need to be able to improvise, their improvisations cannot be indulgent! No shred piano for me while in a church service. When I function as a church pianist, I can’t play blindingly fast and aggressive a la Franz Liszt. Prog rock and jazz keyboardists can be all over the place and blaze away with solos that rival Spinal Tap proportions.

Being a church pianist is an exercise in restraint and control. While I am required to have some considerable chops and precision, you need to be able to hold back and only play what is necessary. You can improvise but you cannot chop up your keyboard like Keith Emerson stabbing his L-100 Hammond organ. Such control is VERY important because the goal of being that sort of musician is to facilitate the congregation to focus on God through music and not focus on the musician.

Here’s some advice for aspiring church pianists and organists:

Learn the material: Get into the habit of sight reading hymnals every day. Make it a goal to commit to memory popular hymns like “Amazing Grace”, “How Great Thou Art”, etc. even if you can manage to play the melody at minimum.

Learn how to improvise: Improvisation helps in many ways. First, you can compose some lovely pieces on the fly and on the spot for sections of the worship service like the prelude/postlude, prayer time, offertory, etc. Second, given the fact that playing all four voices of hymns can be difficult to manage at times (e.g. intervals that go up to the 12th and 13th, unless you have really huge hands like Rachmaninoff!), being able to improvise an accompaniment based on the melody of the hymn is VERY important.

Brush up on music theory and ear training: This helps prepare you for improvisation, which is essentially an application of both disciplines.

The most important thing to take note of is pray to thank the Lord for such an opportunity to serve. Thank the Lord for allowing you to become an instrument for his glory. Also ask the Lord for necessary strength for the task. All that preparation will always fall short without the strength of God.

My pastor friends tell me that that particular instance of being a church pianist/accompanist is God’s calling. I have no doubt that in that particular day, God led me to that path in order to serve. However, I still don’t know if God would want me to go towards that direction in the long run. What I am certain is that that it’s one sign that the Lord has called me to be involved in a very musical life. I’d like to emphasize once more that it is not out of my own strength and skill that has made me capable. It’s only through the Lord that I gain the confidence go ahead and be a church pianist, even it if it’s just for one particular day. This experience always reminds me of Philippians 4:13 which says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

The Year That Was 2012

How would I sum up the year 2012? I would say that it was blessed and fulfilling. A lot of things have happened this year, and I could go on to say that this was one of the most musically fulfilling years I have experienced in my life. More than that, I would go further in saying that I really am happy that this year will come to a close with a bang.

The year 2012 started to be a very challenging time for my small family of three. My wife was unemployed and freelance projects for me were slim. We were feeling somewhat desperate as it seemed like it would be a financially difficult year for us. However, I’m very happy and thankful that despite all that difficulty, God still provided adequately. We had no debts and we still were able to manage living a rather comfortable lifestyle albeit rather slim pickings. It was also this year that I decided to go work in music full time, and I’m happy that somehow my decision is paying off.

Blessings came in gradually this year. This started off with getting some funding to upgrade my home studio. Around the middle of this year, my wife also finally landed the job of her dreams: a stint as an operations manager in Accenture. I was able to play once more with the band of my youth (the formerly named Jacob’s Ladder) and got involved in some more music projects as well like a string of guitar tab transcription projects for GuitarZoom as well as some music composition and sound design projects on the side.

This year had its bittersweet moments as well. I was experiencing what I believe to be bouts of depression during this last quarter of 2012, October to be particular. My beloved cat Scheherazade gave birth to three healthy babies in June but then passed away 3 months later. Although it was a great learning experience, writing music for a7records turned out to be a bad financial decision. such things caused me to feel a lot of self-doubt and I questioned my competence as a parent, as a husband, as a musician along with everything else. God never left me though and gave me the strength to carry on.

I do think that the Lord had reserved the best for last in 2012. I was suddenly tapped to be the pianist for UCCP-MCD’s New Year’s Eve worship service! I was so surprised when I got a call from my dear friends, Pastors Chaz and Xiaui Romero, when they had indicated that they were in dire need of a pianist since their regular accompanist was unavailable. My pastor friends were telling me that the sudden unavailability of their regular pianist was no accident; it did seem like God wanted me to be there to play some music for the congregation. Over the past few days, I was not feeling confident about being up to the task but I did prepare to be at my very best. To cut the long story short, I was able to play through the entire 2-hour service. I would go to claim that it was not out of my own power and ability that I was playing. I feel certain that it was God that was utilizing my personal playing style to deliver music so that the worship service would be a success, the same way He did guide my band through last October’s fundraising concert. According to Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” By my own power, I will not be capable of anything, but it is He alone who has saved me from sin and gave me strength this day to share my faith through music.

In conclusion, I’m very thankful to The Lord for the year 2012. It was indeed a very good and prosperous year. I look forward to see what God has in store for me, my family, my band, and with all the other people in my life this 2013.

Happy New Year dear readers and I hope that next year would be a blessed one for you as well.

“Archery” by Pixel Delight Studios, LLC Now Available

About a month ago, I was hired by Pixel Delight Studios, LLC as a sound designer for their latest game available for Android devices. This game is called “Archery – Shoot the Apple”. If you have dreams of shooting arrows towards a hapless individual with an apple on his head, this would fulfill such a wish.

The rules of Archery is simple: shoot an arrow towards an apple placed upon the head of a young man, and do your best to avoid hurting (or killing) said young man. As you advance in level, the distance between the archer and the apple increases.

To download this delightful game (and enjoy some sounds I had created for it), go to http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/archery-pixel-delight-studios-llc/1113938850?ean=2940043936332. It costs only $0.99 to download and be like William Tell.

“Love Rock” by Emi’s Eve: A Composer/Arranger’s Perspective

About 2 years ago, I wrote some music for Emi Waterson, lead singer and songwriter of Emi’s Eve (an original and covers band from Australia). Fast forward to today, the result of that collaboration is now here for your listening pleasure:

 

(“Love Rock” – Copyright 2012, Emi Waterson/Mark A. Galang/Jeni Wallwork)

 

“Love Rock” is a song that started out as a melody that Emi wrote. She sent me a recording of her singing the melody and I wrote music to accompany that melody. It’s a product of my first musical collaboration with somebody from outside of the Philippines, something that was unimaginable for me prior to the advent of the Internet.

The intro where the strings are sawing away was originally a guitar riff. I even wrote a shredding guitar run in the upper register prior to the part where the vocals kick in. The whole idea that I had in mind for the music was sort of a hard rock song for a pop singer. At the very least I was trying to put some hard rock integrity into the song in the same manner that a J-pop song would have a surprisingly technical twist that you would typically expect from a speed metal piece.

The great thing that I love about this recording is how Emi and the rest of her collaborators have tweaked the arrangement. I think most of the notes I wrote are still there, the most important ones being the riffs, the chord progressions, some of the licks and the basslines. The most surprising thing for me was how the Emi and the other arrangers  turned the main riff and some of the passages into something useful for strings. The string passages gave that sort of chamber music appeal like a Vivaldi concerto.

Since the record is intended for a mass-market/radio audience, I wasn’t really surprised that the guitar solos I wrote were edited although a semblance of which appeared as a lick towards the end. Maybe Emi’s guitar player wrote it himself and could have been influenced by the solo I wrote: I’m not really sure.

To sum it all up, I’m very happy to have worked with Emi on “Love Rock” and a few other songs (regarding which I’ll keep my mouth shut for now). I was really glad how the whole recording turned out. It is a pop song, that’s for certain, but it’s one that requires a good level of musicianship to perform, a rarity in today’s music scene where garbage can produce millions of dollars. Give “Love Rock” a listen and you’ll be happy to hear how amazing Emi and her band are.

To get to know more about Emi and Emi’s Eve, visit http://www.emiseve.com.

Recitals and Canned Music Live

When I was studying piano and classical guitar back when I was still attending classes in Benedictine Abbey School, I remember how it was to line up and wait for my cue to perform. Today, my son is experiencing the same thing for the third time, another step closer to what I hope to be the development of a future violin virtuoso. While waiting for everything to unfold, I’m currently listening to the MSE Orchestra (one of my past clients for sheet music preparation and music transcription). They are performing the kind of stuff they do best: pop songs reconfigured for strings, piano and flute. As expected from professional musicians with years of experience, they are excellent performers. The repertoire, however, is reflective of the sad state of the musical tastes of many Pinoys: instant entertainment that drives the emotions and the feet rather than the mind. Perhaps in as much as MSE and the ensemble would like to perform something artistically gratifying (which they do on occasion), they need to keep a business running, and this is why at this instant they’re churning out what I call canned music. It’s like Muzak being performed live.

Don’t get me wrong. I have great respect for the musicians themselves. It’s impressive how they produce renditions of hits, chamber orchestra style. The pianist’s improvisations are spot on, and the rest of the orchestra play their instruments as if they were just brushing their teeth. However, as much as I’d wish to hear them play stuff like Penderecki, Bach, Debussy, Liszt, or even Wagner, it’s unfortunate that I won’t get the chance to do so. So canned music it is for now.

The set is just bad here at SM Bicutan. If I were Ric and Mariza (MSE’s owners), I’d be really pissed off. First thing is that MSE plans to serve lunch. The assholes at SM failed to provide tables. How are the guests supposed to eat lunch? Minutes after writing this, I see some tables being set up. I’m hoping that they’d put in enough tables for everybody. Second problem is the awful slide in the middle that just gets in the way of the audience. If I was shelling out tons of cash to rent the place for a few hours, I’d expect it to be put out of the way, no excuses.

In a few moments from now, my son would be performing a Gavotte by P. Martini, one of the standard pieces found in the Suzuki Violin School Literature. He could already pull off pieces like Antonio Vivaldi’s Concerto in A minor. However, it seems to me like because of the Suzuki methodology, he has to go through recitals in chronological order of the books. Since it’s his 3rd year of playing the violin, he’s playing something from book 3 I believe. Maybe he’ll have a better chance of demonstrating his skills in the School of Tomorrow’s Junior Student Convention in 2014, an event he’ll prepare for after this.

Now I’ll be stopping my critiques and do my best to enjoy the rest of the day. So, I’m guessing that I’ll be expecting the same stuff year after year: classical music from students and canned music from the pros. Maybe if my son goes into another program things might change. It’s a good thing that my son is learning from the pros but I hope I could find an opportunity for him to go for higher artistic goals, the kind of stuff that people like Coke Bolipata would go for rather than play canned music. Well, performing canned music would help pay the bills but musicians need to go for dreams way bigger than that.

Six String Madness Interviews Mark Galang

Just this week, I was interviewed by Scott of Six String Madness regarding my work and insights as a music transcriber for Steve Stine and GuitarZoom.

Read the interview via the links below:

http://www.sixstringmadness.com/exclusive-interview-mark-galang
http://www.stevestine.com/exclusive-interview-with-mark-galang/

For more tips about playing guitar and info regarding getting the best blues, rock and metal guitar lessons on the net, go visit sixstringmadness.com.

Steve Stine’s 96 Blues Licks Now Available

After two weeks of hard work, I’m proud to announce that Steve Stine’s long anticipated 96 Blues Licks course for guitar has already been released by GuitarZoom. If you’ve ever dreamed of playing the blues and all sorts of its derivatives like blues rock and Texas blues, this is the course that you’ve been waiting for.

Steve Stine’s 96 Blues Licks course can be seen as part of a continuity of lead guitar instruction courses by the guru himself. If the first Solofire installment and Music Theory Made Easy provided you with the “how” of guitar soloing and music making, 96 Blues Licks provides you the “what”. You can say that it’s going to form part of your ever expanding vocabulary of lead guitar lines.

One of the most awesome aspects of 96 Blues Licks is that it provides some insights into the music theory behind playing the Blues. The introductory material provides a good method into how any guitar player would approach using the licks and putting them in the context of any song. Rather than just being told how a lick is played, the introductory materials actually provide more by helping learners expand the licks into things more than just soloing.

The sheet music provided (transcribed by no other than yours truly) is in the usual standard notation and guitar tablature format. It covers all of the materials in the DVD and we even went far as including all of Steve’s jam track improvisations at the end of the course so that learners can actually gain insight as to how Steve approaches playing the Blues.

So, to cut the long story short, if you’ve ever dreamed of being like Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Chuck Berry or Stevie Ray Vaughn, check out Steve Stine’s 96 Blues Licks. If you’re a blues guitar fan, I guarantee that you’ll get more than your money’s worth just listening to how Steve gets you going with the Blues.

Reviving the Band Part V: The Outreach Concert

Last night, I was able to perform with my band at UCCP-MCCD in J.P. Rizal, Makati City. The venue was the main sanctuary of the church where a number of acts from nearby UCCP churches performed their guts out for the glory of the one true God. It happened to include us as a last act.

And so, having been censored to perform loud, high energy, virtuosic (I think) prog rock/metal originals, it was decided that we do some CCM covers (to my dismay). Regardless of my somewhat neutral and unenthusiastic opinion about the song choices, it was a good performance filled with interesting twists.

The cast last night (performing as Jacob’s Ladder) were as follows:

The madman behind the keys, yours truly.

On lead guitar, vocals and a fancy outfit, Pastor Chaz Romero.

On bass, newlywed Engr. Rodell Tolentino.

The life saver of the evening on drums, Erick Bejarin.

Now, to those very few who are familiar with the band (and again the very few who are reading my posts), Archie was expected to play with us that evening. Unfortunately, there were personal matters he had to take care of that night. It’s a blessing though that Erick attended the concert, and so we tapped him to play that night without any sort of rehearsal. It turned out to be amazing, granted the fact that he was never around during our rehearsals.

If things turn out well, my vision of a King Crimson-esque version of the band would come to life with two drummers/percussionists, sort of like the Bill Bruford-Jamie Muir partnership.

And so, despite all that turbulence going to and fro in preparation for that Sunday’s event, everything worked out nicely. The people enjoyed music from a variety of performers, and the artists were able to express their faith through music. It’s a testament of how music really is a powerful tool for sharing the good news of Jesus Christ to others. I do hope that this is the start of a wonderful musical journey for myself, but more importantly is that I do pray that my band’s music and those of other artists would pave the way to support local churches in sharing the Gospel to many.

P.S. I suggested the Greek term “Oruomai” to become the new name for the band. At this point in time, since there are already a number of bands calling themselves Jacob’s Ladder and Blue Fusion over the Internet, I felt that it’s fitting that we drop those names already and go out with something new. If you have any other suggestion, please feel free to send them in.