Guitalele GL-1

Strictly speaking, this post should belong to my other blog - as it pertains to my little one, for whom I have bought this instrument. But since it IS about a guitar, I thought it'd fit well here too.

I paid a visit to the Yamaha shop at Plaza Singapura yesterday and brought home a new addition to my guitar collection: a Yamaha GL-1, also known as the Guitalele.

It is basically a 1/4 size classical guitar, similarly sized like a Ukelele, but unlike the latter which has only 4 strings, it has the full set of 6. Its tuning however is A-E-C-G-D-A, which is a fourth higher than the standard (Prime) guitar. Thus, it essentially is a requinto guitar pitching, though I suspect it is actually much smaller than a requinto (I have not seen/played a requinto guitar before, so I'm just hazarding a guess...)

Anyway, I thought it'd be cool for JK to have his own guitar - and something that fits his little frame (oh, he's just 2 years old! =P ) - so that he can start strumming and whacking those strings.

* and also so he'd not harass me whenever I take out my Kohno to practise! hahaha*

How I wish I could play with these beauties...

If I had loads of money to spend (in my dreams.... e.g. if I strike TOTO top prize of more than 1 million bucks) ... here are some of the builders whose guitars I'd love to buy and try out:

1) Matthias Damann
- it is said that his double top (or composite top) guitar is one of THE loudest and best sustain guitar in the lot. As someone who loves loud guitars, I'd really love to have the chance to play one of these! German-made stuff are well-known throughout the world for their precision and high quality standards. This should be one of the examples, I guess.

2) Daniel Friederich
- like the other big names French luthiers (think Robert Bouchet), his guitars are amongst the hardest to acquire. That is because these luthiers seem to make so few every year! It could be a good strategy these guys employ, so as to control the supply-demand in the market, but from what I've read about the sounds these guitars create, it definitely would be treat for anyone to play on these rare instruments.

3) Greg Smallman
- well-known for their loud (some say "boomy") voices, these guitars were of course made famous by the one particular maestro (or some say "Prince") of the guitar, John Williams. Many who watched the John Williams documentary (DVD) will be familiar with this shaggy-looking luthier who seemingly live in the forest, somewhere in Australia... Anyway, if greats like Williams and other up and coming guitar masters like Yang Xuefei play on Smallman guitars, they must be quite something, don't you think?

4) Miguel Rodriquez
- the Churchdoor guitars from this legendary maker are said to represent the epitomy of the spanish guitar, and while I have not have the opportunity to hear one such instrument, I can say that from the pictures posted on the internet - they really look stunning! These guitars are said to embody the true "spanish" sound, and even though I am not audacious enough to claim that I can actually distinguish what a "spanish sound" is like, say compared to a "non spanish" one, I would certainly love to get my hands on one of these beauties...

5) Hermann Hauser
- If I am not mistaken, this is the 3rd generation of the Hauser family building the instrument, following up on the success and fame earned by the original Hauser whose guitars were played by none other than the legendary guitar maestro (of all time) Andres Segovia. In many cases, when such traditions are passed from one generation to another, there is undoubtedly a possibility that the later generation would not be able to to live up to the high standards that their father(s) had achieved. Simply put, they may just be riding on the name of their predecessors. But somehow, for this German maker, I do not think this would be the case. They're usually too good to let the standards drop - by even the slightest.

6) Thomas Humphrey
- Even prior to his unfortunate demise last year, I've always dream of playing on his wonderous Millenium model again. This is especially after the one time when I was lucky enough to play on such a guitar, owned by Sharon Isbin (I helped her with the sound checks when she visited Singapore to perform with the SSO several years ago). Even though it was a mere couple of minutes, I could still remember how "silky" the guitar sounded, and certainly how comfortable it felt when I tried to hit some high notes. A real pity that this great luthier has passed on...

7) Robert Ruck
- What more need I say? Why else would I place an order for one of his guitar 10 years ago... Cant wait for it to arrive....

* I took these beautiful photos from various guitar dealers websites. Not sure if this is considered infringing on any copyright issues (since I am not using it for any sales-related purposes, but merely from a guitar afficionado's point of view... and yearning...). But in case I am, please drop me a private note, and I'll remove them. Thanks!

Footstool or guitar support?

I think it is a consideration all classical guitarists have to make a decision on at one point or another - whether to use a (traditional) footstool or to use the relatively newer invention a guitar support.

Years ago when I started playing the classical guitar, there was no such issue. We were all taught to use a footstool (see below):

It was something that we all (students learning the instrument) had to get used to. I remembered it was a little bit uncomfortable at first, having to "prop" up our left leg and remain in what was seemingly an awkward position while playing the guitar. But that discomfort was soon overcome, and when the music begins, one can't help but forget about the little device sitting beneath our left feet.

Still, having your leg raised above the ground for anything more than a hour or two, and you could still feel a little strain/stiffness on your back.

It was only in the recent 6-8 years or so that the guitar support made its way into the local guitar community (at least in Singapore.... it could have been a bit earlier for the European/American community, which tend to be the early adopters of such changes). I remembered that I bought a Gitano guitar support just to "test it out", and see if it really was more comfortable than a footstool.

It turned out to be a good experience (overall), and since then I have performed using the guitar support more often than not. This is not to say that I cannot revert back to using the footstool, sure I can. It's just that given a choice of having to raise a leg/foot up artificially, compared to raising the guitar up artificially (both using a prop, hence "artificially"), I tend to prefer the latter.

Still, with my new guitar on its way (hopefully in November, as promised... *fingers crossed*), I am a little concerned if the constant usage of the 2 suction cups of the guitar support might just affect the layer of polish/lacquer on the guitar surface. Looking at my old-reliable Kohno, it seems to be "eating" away a layer of the french polish which was not-too-long ago replied onto the aging instrument. Using a footstool would solve this problem.

Anyway, as luck would have it, my Gitano support is also showing signs of wear and tear - rusting at its sides, plus the suction cups are dropping off all too frequently these days, and I have to readjust their positions, sometimes mid-way of play. Perhaps it is time to reconsider going back to the footstool?

Hmm... the vain guitarist that is me has now turned to surfing the websites for a nice footstool, not just some metal-looking piece of scrap that you mindlessly tug under your feet. But rather, a elegant, designed piece of guitar "furniture" (as classified by a certain guitar website).

Here's what I have found:

Sexy~~~ But also costly. Imagine paying upwards of US$200 for a footstool!? Oh ok.. for a guitar furniture. =)

Guitaresque Expressions @ Singapore Art Museum (26th Sept 2009)

Gutiaresque took part in 2 performances in the last 2 weeks - the first being a guest appearance at the Singapore Management University (SMU) Guitar ensemble, Guitarissimo's annual showpiece Strings Blended; and the other was our annual recital held at Singapore Art Museum (SAM).

Strings Blended featured SMU undergraduate and alumni members performances, on both classical guitars as well as some acoustic and electric guitar items. Guitaresque was there as guest performers and we delivered 2 songs related to the folk theme of that evening's concert (aptly titled "That's All Folk!"). They were Haruyo Koi, a Japanese folk song and Folksong Trilogy, a 3 part medley comprising of Wayfaring Stranger, Jimmy Crack Corn and When Johnny comes Marching home.

The quartet's annual recital, titled Guitaresque Expressions was held at SAM, which is becoming our favourite performing venue since we've developed a wonderful relationship and partnership with the museum's administrators, and also for the amazing acoustics and ambience of the Glass Hall. We've also had the opportunity to test the Samson condenser microphones that I'd bought last year, and it really lived up to our expectations. With our dear friend Raj's professional assistance in setting up the microphones positioning and volume settings, the guitars sounded that much sweeter and produced much less of the rather "harsh" metallic sounds usually produced by the vocal (dynamic) microphones that we've had to deal with in previous outings.

The recital opened with 2 of Debussy's masterpieces - Golliwog's Cakewalk and Clair de Lune. Based on our previous experiences, the first 1-2 pieces of any concert would suffer the "Nerves effect", which typically sets in after the initial round of audience applause dies down. This time round, I thought we made a pretty good choice in selecting these 2 pieces to start the concert, as they were decidedly not as technically demanding as some of our other selections, and yet provided a good indication of the type of music we liked as well as a glimpse of the quartet's abilities on the instrument (read: they certainly aren't simple melody+chord+bass type of songs!).

Eine Kleine Nachtmusik was the "Main Course" for the day. It was almost 20 min long for all 4 movements, and though there were the usual bumps and mis-hits here and there, I believe we just about did justice to the work. Afterall, anyone who has attempted Mozart on the classical guitar knows how tricky it is to play all those darn mordents and turns, and slurs, and what-have-you's... :P

We'd also included some easy-listening pieces, not only for the audience's pleasure (you simply cant have an hour of classical or heavy stuff in Singapore guitar scene context, without the audience going zzzzzzzzzz...) but also to balance the technically demanding songs with some lighter works for 'recovery' purposes. These included Pearl Fisher - a popular Tango number, as well as Princess Mononoke, an arrangement of the popular anime theme song for 4 guitars.

Variations on a theme Shabondama would also probably fall into this category.

La Tierra is becoming one of the quartet's favourite performing song, as it is a perfect example of a highly "guitaristic" work, composed FOR the classical guitar quartet, by a classical guitarist (Francis Kleynjans). This is the first part of a collection known as Los Quatro Elementos, or the Four Elements. Not only is the song interesting in terms of techniques demonstrated and the layerings involved, it also make highly exciting workout for the guitarist playing it. Funnily, LS once remarked that it was like going through a Sor Etude! ( Ed's note: After finishing with La Tierra (Earth), we should likely be progressing to the next element - water. A song called El Agua. Equally remarkable and demanding to play, I should add!)

Hungarian Dance #5 came through pretty ok, although I've always thought of this song as something we played without giving too much ownership to it. Meaning to say - it felt a little as if we were pretty much going through the motion of playing this piece as we have heard it played so many times before. There wasn't a whole lot of ideas going into this, and we simply reproduced what we've all been accustomed to hearing on numerous recordings.

Ponticello Tango is a "Carnaval"-like song composed by Patrick Roux (of Canadian Guitar Quartet), and had the expected thrills and spills of weird-sounding chords and fast, inter-weaving runs on all 4 guitars. Much of the success of this piece depended on creating the 'atmosphere' more than the actual notes produced, and I felt we did bring out that bit rather well.

We ended the recital with Folksong Trilogy, which was well-received given the fact that the tunes are pretty catchy, and most people could easily recognise the melody of When Johnny Comes Marching Home.

At the end of the 80 minute recital, Singapore guitar maestro and the Guitaresque's long-time mentor and advisor, Mr Alex Abisheganaden came forward to congratulate the quartet on a successful performance and for providing what he called "educational" guitar repertoire for the audience. We were highly encouraged by his words, and will certainly strive toward achieving greater heights in our future endeavors!

Guitaresque Expressions

Interesting encounter outside Redhill MRT station

Encountered something really quite interesting on my way to work this morning....

You know, sometimes there are these street musicians playing around the MRT areas? Usually, they play on an acoustic guitar (plugged in to an amp), and have a small microphone clipped to their shirts, and they'll sing some oldies/pop songs while their plucked their chords or strum along. Well, the guy whom I came across today (at the Red Hill MRT vicinity) was also playing a guitar which was plugged into an amp. But it was an classical guitar, and guess what he was playing - when I was walking past him -?

Bach's Prelude from the fourth lute suite (sometimes referred to as "Preludium" or "Praludium"). I think it's BWV 1006.

Perhaps this is not uncommon in other parts of the world, where classical guitar is a more commonly studied instrument, not unlike the piano or violin. But here in Singapore, the percentage of music students who take classical guitar as a instrument for performance and study is probably minute compared to the ever popular piano, and with the violin coming a close second. To many lay person here, the guitar is mostly viewed as an instrument for pubs and church groups, where it is used as a main tool for strumming out chords to accompany singing/vocals.

Anyway, back to the busker playing the Bach's Prelude.

I stopped long enough to hear a good part of his playing, and though it certainly wasn't like listening to Parkening or Segovia (on CD, of course!), I have to say he was pretty good. A couple of missed notes here and there, some parts weren't well executed, but generally the tempo was not that slow, and it came through. Pity nobody, besides me, was in a mood to listen to him - we are talking about rush hour in the morning, at 8:00am.

Somehow, I feel encouraged to practise my solo scores after this experience. Afterall, I've just changed a new set of strings for my beloved Kohno yesterday, in preparation for Gutiaresque performances in the upcoming weeks!

A Concert review - When guitar meets zhongruan

Guitaresque attended a performance titled When Guitar meets Zhongruan, at the Esplanade Concert hall on 18th July 2009.

The performance featured Manuel Barrueco, one of the most notable guitar maestro in our times - along with the likes of John Williams, David Rusell, etc. So our expectations were understandably ver high.

And as guitar concerts go, this one would rank high in the "unusual" list, pitting a classical guitar against the likes of the 二胡，中阮，笙，唢呐，琵琶，etc. instruments of the typical chinese orchestra. In fact, what was most interesting for us, was that Barrueco was going to perform the well-known Concerto de Aranjuez (as the soloist, of course) backed by a full chinese orchestra (SCO)!

It was truly an eye-opener, as the various chinese instruments almost "simulated" their western counterparts in those familiar phrases in the concerto, and yet at the same time, brought a different kind of flavor to the song. Credit has to be given the arranger for coming out with such a novel idea in the first place.

Barrueco, of course gave a almost flawless rendition of Aranjuez - as you'd expect him to - but what we were most amazed with was his tone throughout the performance. His guitar sound was not only super clean and clear (kudos to Esplanade for the great sound support and wonderful accoustics), it was warm and mellow at the same time. The ease at which he scaled some of those "killer runs" in Aranjuez (particularly in the third movement) was truly astounding. It reveals his mastery of the instrument and its technique, when he could make a difficult passage look and sound easy to play, topped by the fact that his tonal control was never compromised at any time. Anyone who has played the classical guitar for some time would know that as the technical difficulty of the piece increases (as well as the tempo of the piece), it becomes more ardous a task to maintain a controlled and beautiful tone.

I would be disrespectful if I did not mention the artistry of the 中阮 maestro 刘星, who played a wonderful solo in his own composition Reminiscences of Yunnan, a 3 movement concerto composed as a tribute to a close friend of his, who lived in the chinese city.

The concert ended with an arrangement of Vivaldi's Concerto for 2 mandolins in G major, for the chinese orchestra, and the 2 soloists parts being arranged for a classical guitar and a zhongruan. The linking up of a western instrument with a traditional chinese instrument as they each took their turns to lead the voicing and run the scales and arppeggios was quite refreshing. Although I have to admit that comparing the 2 instruments and their tones, I really really prefer the warm (and in my opinion, more refined) sound of Barrueco's guitar compared to the almost banjo-like plucked sounds from the 中阮. A pity we couldn't have a chance to check out what guitar he was using. haha.

Review - Guitaresque at Library@Esplanade (4th July 2009)

The performance at the Library@Esplanade last Saturday (4th July) was another successful outing for Guitaresque. The crowd was appreciative (and i think the 40 odd chairs were filled, plus quite a number of people standing around too) and we played alright. While it certainly wasn't one of our best performance - in any sense of the word, and I believe the players themselves will agree - I felt the overall flow was smooth and given the limitations we'd faced, it has to be considered a success.

One bugbear this time though was the fact that the library staff did not seem to know much about the sound (miking) setup and their equipment. Possibly because the "right" people weren't around, we ended helping ourselves to the chairs, the mic stands, the mics, the wires, and possibly every other thing that we needed from the store room. We also had to do the mic testing (using the master control and all) ourselves, which resulted in a complete wastage of our 1hour supposed sound-test time. In the end, we did not play a single note in the sound test, and as there was another programme planned for 2-3pm time slot, we simply had to start playing "cold" at 315pm (the previous programme went overtime a bit) So considering all that, I believe we did reasonably well.

Some of our supportive friends in the audience gave us helpful feedback, regarding which songs they felt we did particularly well, and which ones they thought we were "smoking" our way through (trust a guitarist to know when another's bluffing eh? =P ). Rather surprisingly, La Tierra was mentioned as one of our better songs, by more than 1 in the group of friends who came to listen to us. I think credit has to be given to the compositional skills on Francis Kleynjans, who has managed to write a piece which is sophisticated, interesting and extremely 'guitaristic'. *if you play the guitar, you'd know what I mean by guitaristic, ya?* Clair de Lune was also mentioned as a song which came through rather well.

On the flip side - and not too surprisingly - Carnaval was picked as a song which sounded a little messy and under-rehearsed. I guess when your fingers are feeling cold and stiff, playing fast running scales and arppeggios aren't the best idea in the concert. Still, looking at the fact that we played this song as a "one-off" competition piece a couple of years back, and now are able to just play it as one-of-many in a 1 hour gig, I think there's reason to be positive about the group's progress.

That said, there's obviously much room for improvement, and the quartet should come back stronger and more prepared in September, when we perform in the Singapore Art Museum for our annual show-piece - Guitaresque Expressions.

Library@Esplanade 4th July

Guitaresque will be playing at the Library@Esplanade on the 4th July (Saturday) 3pm at the Open Stage.

This will be the third time the quartet has performed at this venue. We sort of like this cosy little corner at the nicely furnished library, as the nature of the performance can be quite informal and relaxed.

Songs we have chosen for this 45 min gig are:

1) Haruyo Koi
2) La Tierra
3) Appalachian Folksongs
4) Over the Rainbow
5) Moon River
6) Carnaval
7) Claire de Lune
8) Golliwog's Cakewalk
9) Variations on a theme on Shabondama

See you at the Library@Esplanade this Saturday!

Performance at SAM 2009

We are currently in discussion with the SAM folks on a staging a performance at the museum for the 3rd year running.

Following successes in our recently 2 performances there - in 2007 and 2008 respectively - the quartet has grown really fond of the place. Its scenic environment, beautiful ambience, and serene charm - all contributing to create a relaxed mood, to be accompanied by the sweet sounds of the classical guitar...

Currently, the tentative date is sometime in September. We're keeping our fingers crossed...

Looking forward to playing there again!

A new beginning!

The quartet has started our regular weekly training/practice again.

Due to the inavailability of my new home (also the lack of room! ), Guitaresque has found a new rehearsal "studio" in the form of DIVO's bedroom - which is really as big as many living rooms of flats which I've visited. :P

Anyway, what's most important is that the group has again begun to tackle new songs and challenges. Amongst the more interesting pieces we are attempting now is this piece called La Tierra （大地）, which is one of the 4 "elements" in Francis Kleyjans' expertly written guitar quartet composition Los Cuatro Elementos, which means "The 4 Elements". I particularly liked this piece, as it contains many phrases whereby the 4 guitarists inter-weave their play, combining 4 guitar solos into 1 colourful burst of melodies and counter-melodies.

We are also working on a Jeremy Spark's arrangement of Claire de Lune, which contains quite a fair bit of pauses and it really requires the quartet to develop a good understanding of one anothers' play.

These pieces, along with some other familiar favourites will be presented in our next public performance on the 4th July 2009 at the Library@Esplanade.

We're moving!

No, it's not that Guitaresque is moving our blog somewhere else.

Neither is it that the group has progressed so much that we are moving overseas to ply our guitar skills (though our venerable mentor Mr Alex A recently told us that he felt we were "at that standard" to venture overseas.. Somehow, we all felt it was simply kind words from an old teacher, whose sense of hearing may not be as keen as before, or as we'd have liked. Nevertheless, I am still very grateful to be thought of highly by such a respectable figure as he. )

Guitaresque will, however, be moving out of our regular rehearsal studio (which will be fondly remembered as our "Carnegie Hall" ) at The Dew@ Bukit Batok. The reason? I'm moving house this week. That is also the reason why this blog has not been receiving the regular updates recently.

Here're some pictures for us to remember the place by, in the future...

Where we shall be pracitising in the future is still uncertain, but in all likelihood, we would be visiting LS's abode, since space is definitely -not- an issue at his place. =)