I ‘ve known Mardk for quite sometime in the blogsphere and I kinda compliment him for the way he expresses himself. No fuzziness in his writing, straightforward and from what I read, puts music as one of his emotion of regard. Am I right, bro?...hehehe. But for the first time…I must disagree with you, I don’t feel I am a veteran with metal riffs. Magagalit nyan si namayapang "Dimebag" Darrel, one of the respected axeman in the scene. But thanks for the mention, bro…nabigla ako sa post mo at sa pangalan ko.
I’ve been playing the guitar for quite a while…started caressing the frets at the age of twelve or thirteen (if my memory serves me right) with an original Cebu acoustic brought home by my bisayang uncle. The first song that I first tried was the “Ako’y Isang Pinoy” by apo Florante with a D-A-G-A perpetual chords. I was so hooked on folk and country songs then with the likes of Peter,Paul & Mary, Bob Dylan, Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell, CSNY…a lot of them. And I was hooked on guitars that I wouldn’t miss a practice for a day.
Second year high school when my dad bought me my first album…a KISS “Alive II” double live album and that was the start on my metal addiction per se (si daddy kasi, siguro nakita niya kahiligan ko)…sinundot pa nya ng ibili nya ako ng second-hand na electric guitar…it was the time of playing like there was never tomorrow. Everyone in the house hated me for the dissonance but that was what I like…and I’ve dreamt of being a rockstar…hahaha, ambisyosong pagong si metal. But I was a kid then. Prior to college, i’ve tried getting an exam for the UP with a dream of taking up the conservatory of music pero di kaya ng utak, bagsak sa entrance and that was my first frustration. It ended me taking up engineering in Baguio but that did not stop and frustrate me with my guitars…I’ve considered music as my life then…and heavy metal at that time was prospering and propagated by Sabbath, Priest, Whitesnake, Dokken, Maiden and the like…the era of sex, drugs and rock & roll which fuelled the young and the restless, the era of free spirit and crossing a lot borderlines. Pinoy Rock and Rhythm dominated the air thru the DzRJ 810 with Howlin Dave, Stoney Burke and others at the captain's cockpit...some of the legends Maria Kapra, Chikoy Pura's The Jerks, Anakbayan's late great progressive drummer, Edmund "Bosyo" Fortuno were sending shivers to the worried mothers of the rebellious spirits of their sons and daughters.
Up to now, as much as possible I practice with a minimum of 3 hours daily…it would complete my day. I do a lot of sweep picking, appregios with Down Up Down Down, etc, low to high, over and over just to improve the speed and practice the pinky or the small finger in a 120-bpm funky-fusion metronome. Bro…try to learn the licks in small chunks. Try to break up what you’re learning in small pieces. You’ll discover that you’ll get a lot farther that way and it is easier to connect many little bits into a bigger piece than to swallow a big piece all at once. Practice is the key…what is important is to find a healthy balance of discipline and the desire to play.
Metallica…uhhmmm, I once loved them but when they started to become commercialized...completely gone are the heavy riffs and speed demon guitar solos, replaced by short, simple, catchy little ditties, I started shying away…Sandman was the last song I liked. Blind Guardian, Iced Earth and Edguy are some of the awesome bands I like…the underrated, underground masters.
Bro, one thing I could share: Even though we see guitar as our life’s focal point, have fun with it and try to experience the music as something beautiful without weighing it down with unnecessary seriousness. Music is fun. You are one of the best, bro!
I’ve been playing the guitar for quite a while…started caressing the frets at the age of twelve or thirteen (if my memory serves me right) with an original Cebu acoustic brought home by my bisayang uncle. The first song that I first tried was the “Ako’y Isang Pinoy” by apo Florante with a D-A-G-A perpetual chords. I was so hooked on folk and country songs then with the likes of Peter,Paul & Mary, Bob Dylan, Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell, CSNY…a lot of them. And I was hooked on guitars that I wouldn’t miss a practice for a day.
Second year high school when my dad bought me my first album…a KISS “Alive II” double live album and that was the start on my metal addiction per se (si daddy kasi, siguro nakita niya kahiligan ko)…sinundot pa nya ng ibili nya ako ng second-hand na electric guitar…it was the time of playing like there was never tomorrow. Everyone in the house hated me for the dissonance but that was what I like…and I’ve dreamt of being a rockstar…hahaha, ambisyosong pagong si metal. But I was a kid then. Prior to college, i’ve tried getting an exam for the UP with a dream of taking up the conservatory of music pero di kaya ng utak, bagsak sa entrance and that was my first frustration. It ended me taking up engineering in Baguio but that did not stop and frustrate me with my guitars…I’ve considered music as my life then…and heavy metal at that time was prospering and propagated by Sabbath, Priest, Whitesnake, Dokken, Maiden and the like…the era of sex, drugs and rock & roll which fuelled the young and the restless, the era of free spirit and crossing a lot borderlines. Pinoy Rock and Rhythm dominated the air thru the DzRJ 810 with Howlin Dave, Stoney Burke and others at the captain's cockpit...some of the legends Maria Kapra, Chikoy Pura's The Jerks, Anakbayan's late great progressive drummer, Edmund "Bosyo" Fortuno were sending shivers to the worried mothers of the rebellious spirits of their sons and daughters.
Up to now, as much as possible I practice with a minimum of 3 hours daily…it would complete my day. I do a lot of sweep picking, appregios with Down Up Down Down, etc, low to high, over and over just to improve the speed and practice the pinky or the small finger in a 120-bpm funky-fusion metronome. Bro…try to learn the licks in small chunks. Try to break up what you’re learning in small pieces. You’ll discover that you’ll get a lot farther that way and it is easier to connect many little bits into a bigger piece than to swallow a big piece all at once. Practice is the key…what is important is to find a healthy balance of discipline and the desire to play.
Metallica…uhhmmm, I once loved them but when they started to become commercialized...completely gone are the heavy riffs and speed demon guitar solos, replaced by short, simple, catchy little ditties, I started shying away…Sandman was the last song I liked. Blind Guardian, Iced Earth and Edguy are some of the awesome bands I like…the underrated, underground masters.
Bro, one thing I could share: Even though we see guitar as our life’s focal point, have fun with it and try to experience the music as something beautiful without weighing it down with unnecessary seriousness. Music is fun. You are one of the best, bro!
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