What are the best and worst things about living in Cagayan de Oro City? Please leave a comment.
0 Comments
to improvise with them. I purposely divert the listener away from the music. It is intended as a background music for retreat and recollection so I want them to focus on their prayer and meditation instead of the music. The music will help the listener settle down, set and atmosphere of prayer through the familiarity of the melody and harmony but will slowly divert to improvisation to bring the listener away from the music and make his prayer or meditation experience more personal. The music won't get in the way. I have this idea because I practice yoga for almost three years now. I would like to share that experience of bringing someone into prayer or meditation and being in unity with oneself oblivious of the surrounding whether it is noise or music. Ironically, this music is intended for you to listen to it at first and "not listen" to it later. The Devil's PranksThe problem was I just couldn't get started. Procrastination attack! My composition teacher used to tell us "just sit on the piano and write anything". That's what I did and it worked somehow. I made a few "sketches". Then one early morning I woke up full of inspiration. I turned on the keyboard, put on the headphone, then... suddenly, somewhere in the neighborhood a loud blast of music coming through my padded ear. I could feel the booming of the bass. It was like the speaker was pointed to my direction as the devil's prank for me. There was a wedding. In Cambodia, they play loud music the whole day from as early as 4:30 am to as late as 12 midnight on weddings and funerals. A happy music is irritating when played all day. How much more a funeral music? But all the locals seemed to have gotten used to it. Cambodia may not be a place for musicians to live. In the middle of the project I forgot my list in the church among the songbooks. The devil's prank again because there were many clean sheets of paper around but why my list was chosen and torn to be used as a memo? See the picture. On another day, the keyboard didn't work. The wire came loose so there was no electricity coming into the instrument. I had to wait for a day to get the other keyboard because the custodian was away. I blamed the devil again for this prank. I was running out of time. The launching was set on January 27, 2012 and I was going back to the Philippines in the first week of February. I only had a couple of weeks. So, I declined invitations to go on trips. I secluded myself in my room. And it worked. I only went out to eat meals. When there was a wedding or a funeral in the neighborhood, I went to a coffee shop in the market that served good coffee to edit the reverb, balance, etc. I used to jog before sunset with a Cambodian friend or just hangout with them but I stopped doing it as well. I didn't want to forget the idea while it's still accessible in my brain. Every minute was precious because we wanted to include at least 12 songs. The toughest part is during the editing because I fell asleep in the middle of the music. So, I edited the song by parts. Most of the time, it worked. To get rid of stress, I did Yoga in silence alone below the belfry at about 5pm. I could hear them playing soccer. After that, I took a shower (I adopted the Cambodian habit) and ate dinner. This was an everyday routine for two weeks. When a song seemed done, I would take a walk. Sometimes, a friend would gave me a hand or shoulder massage while we talk about stuffs --- usually about Japan... I worked with a portable keyboard. I bought a very good headphone. The keyboard was connected to my MacBook Pro through USB and I worked with the Garage Band. I haven't done a serious project before so I had to start familiarizing myself with the software, too. A very challenging job for my age. The keyboard was set on a table. The keys were small and there were only about 4 octaves. My position was not ideal for a long period of work. The back hurt. Sometimes, the pedal wasn't working. The project seemed to be impossible to finish but I took the challenge and did it. Why? The inspiration and support.
This is the first CD I release. If I didn't come to Cambodia I might never have the confidence to release one. Thanks to Fr. Totet Banaynal, SJ and the wonderful people of Battambang, Cambodia.
Canvas is to the painter as silence is to the musician. When I was working on the CD "Resting in God." I had lots of interruptions. One of those is the noise in the neighborhood. You see, in Cambodia it is a tradition to play blaring music (with it's volume I'll classify it as noise) during weddings and funerals. Our compound happens to be located near hotels and a temple so at least once a week you can hear as early as 4 o'clock in the morning loud music. I was wondering how the Cambodians deal with it? I heard that their ears automatically shuts just like when you are exposed to an unpleasant odor for a long time you seem not to smell it anymore. But today at lunch I had a chat with fellow musicians. I was glad that even some Cambodian musicians hate it. He even claimed it gave him headaches. Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, in fact, has restricted it. Then I came across two interesting articles about silence. They are meaningful to me now because the CD I was working on is a background music for meditation, reflection, prayer or simply for easy listening and relaxation. I hope that this album will help people value silence and listen to their inner self more...
|
Categories
All
for Hostels review
|