Journey into music

Recently, I visited the Yamaha music school at Clementi, to sign up for a junior music course (JMC) for my son.  As someone who has benefited from the rich and rewarding experience of not just listening to, but actually playing (and performing) music through an instrument, I really want my boy to also enjoy this wonderful journey as he grows up.

Of course, I'd personally asked he many times before actually putting down the cash to sign up for the course.  Each time, he'd give me the same answer (in Mandarin), "Yes, I want to learn the piano!".  My wife and I obviously know that the words from a not-yet-four years old kid has to be taken with a serious pinch of salt.  Yet, the fact that he'd repeatedly proclaimed his interest in learning the piano, and not the guitar (I'd only given him that 2 choices, to keep things simple..); coupled with our observation that he loves singing and appears to be rather rhythmically-attuned, led me to this decision.

I recall myself learning the piano from a young age also.  My mum did, at that time, what I am now doing for Jing Kai - she sent both me and my elder brother to a piano teacher. 

Unfortunately (for both of us, I think), we didn't really liked that teacher - her methods were dull and she didn't exactly inspire us, or even bothered to motivate us to play the piano.  I remembered our 1 hour lesson each week consisted nothing but scales, and exam pieces!  Try convincing a primary school kid to love playing Clementi (not the station west of Dover MRT lah! ) and Bach... Tough.
It didn't help that we were forced to go through the ABRSM graded exams, even as we dreaded going for each week's piano lesson and having to practice the exam repertoire at home.

Against all the odds, we'd still managed to complete our Grade 7 exams before finally calling it a day. Enough was enough.   By then, I was in Sec 1, and had fallen in love with a new instrument - the classical guitar.  This love affair has since lasted till today and the feeling is stronger than ever.

I am grateful for my piano background though.  The music theory foundation was instrumental in helping me pick up a new instrument and learning it faster than I would've.  And this is what I wish for my boy.  I will not force him to take music exams if he does not enjoy playing the piano, but I will certainly encourage him to persue his interest music - if he indeed does show keen appreciation for it.

One day, hopefully he will embrace music as his father does, expressing himself through the music instrument of his choice.

No prizes for guessing what I hope that instrument will turn out to be.... :P

Fritz Ober

Recently, I'd put a deposit for a new guitar to be built for me - by renowned German luthier Fritz Ober.

Like Robert Ruck (from whom I'd placed an order some 10 years ago now), whom I had not met, nor even played a single guitar made by him before placing the order, I am placing my faith on reviews put up by other players/collectors/etc. and a little "instinct".

But why Fritz Ober? Why not some other luthiers? Sure, there are many others whom I could've gone to - established names like Jeffrey Elliot, Eric Sahlin, Paul Jacobson (USA); Marin Montero, Manuel Contreras, Paulino Bernabe, Jose Ramirez (Spain); Paul Fischer, Kevin Aram (UK), Daniel Frederich, Dominique Field (France), Matthais Dammann, Hermann Hauser(Germany), Greg Smallman (Australia), etc. all spring to mind.

Some of these luthiers have built up such a reputation that their waiting list is prohibitorily long or even closed. I heard Dominique Field's waiting list is 17 years and counting.. (geez!). Furthermore, some of their prices are near stratospheric or near-impossible levels. For instance, I saw a second hand Field being sold for USD25,000, not sure how much a new one would cost (invariably, these are tagged as "Inquire", so I can only assume it's in the 30-35k region if not more). Dammanns and Smallman also go for these kinds of prices. Not to mention Frederich's... those are like untouchable, at least for me.

I'm crazy about guitars, but not THAT crazy.

Then, because I have a US luthier-made guitar, I kind of want to try one made by another region (possibly using differnet kinds of woods/materials). The Spanish guitars are tempting, but many of these are no longer made solely by the master luthier himself - think Ramirez, Bernabe, Contreras. These brands have made such a name for themselves that unless you go for the Top-of-the-line model, I doubt the guitar even passes through the hands of the man himself! More than likely, the guitars will be made by a senior apprentice in their workshop, at most under close supervision by the master, to maintain certain levels of workmanship. I just don't fancy that.

Back to Fritz Ober's guitars. He has been building up a reputation for making more than decent replicas of Hausers and historical instruments. At the same time, he has made importants strides in experimenting with low body resonance, giving the guitar a supposedly warmer bass, without sacrificing volume and projection. Of course, being a sucker for looks, I am also attracted by the beautiful spruce tops and Brazilian rosewood sides of Ober guitars from pictures I've seen on the web. They are truly stunningly beautiful instruments.

The other factor being - I have a little more faith in German-made stuff, these folks are just so well-known for their precision and consistency in producing some of the world's best consumer goods.

You can only read so much into reviews and opinions of others. At the end of the day, the choice of a classical guitar is a personal thing. Everybody has their own "taste" when it comes to sound quality and playability. Furthermore, a guitar may sound godlike in one's hands, but pretty ordinary in another's - something which I will never forget...

It's just another 1.5 years of wait, till I get my hands on my second (and probably last) handcrafted concert guitar. I am filled with anticipation and excitement (almost like waiting for the arrival of my baby daughter, who's due in Feb 2012! haha).

Until then...