Saturday, March 22, 2008

String Quartet Services- Manila String Machine 2

The Manila String Machine isnt a string quartet in itself. It is only a music provider with multiple string quartets affiliated to its roster of players. Here are some of the quartets who have joined our list of highly qualified, professional string players.
1. The Quattro Stagioni String Quartet
2. The Erdu String Quartet
3. The Halal String Ensemble
4. The Meschianza String Quartet
5. The Saoirse String Quartet
6. The Zimra String Quartet

We are still in the process of updating our list of performers, but please be assured that they are all UP and St. Scholastica Colleges of Music graduates and students, under the tutelage of great professors in the Philippines.

The Manila String Machine's goal is to provide top quality, performance-relation based services, and to exalt the Master Musician Himself, Jesus the Giver of Music.

Please do not hesitate to call my number 0918-9066377 for inquiries! We would love to serve you!

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Manila String Machine explains what the String Quartet is...

Manila String Machine is a music service provider for different occasions such as weddings, birthdays, dinner meetings, and similar functions. We basically provide music by a string Quartet, which is (by standard) composed of two violins (named violin 1, and violin 2) a viola and a cello.

Before we move on let me give you a crash course on what a string quartet is. Let's begin with the physical components: all instruments of the standard string quartet are members of the violin family which basically looks the same except that they differ in size, shape, and string thickness and assignment. The player depresses the strings of the instrument with his left hand fingers, to lengthen or shorten the strings, to acquire the desired pitch he wants to play. The right hand utilizes a bow, made out of horse hair and pernambuco wood, which is played across the strings of the instrument to produce a sound, either soft or loud, short or long, quick or bulging. The first member is a violin, which is a small stringed instrument played on the left shoulder of the player, under his chin, or somewhere in the left lower jaw, depending on his school. Its strings are named G, D, A, and E respectively from the lowest (or thickest) to the highest (or thinnest ?). The viola is very similarly played, but its strings are different, named respectively as C, G, D, and A, again lowest to highest. The cello is played differently, with the instrument standing vertically on its end pin, and in between the legs of the seated player. It's bow is glided horizontally (perpendicular to the strings) and is much larger than the violin or the viola. Its strings are also C, G, D, and A, but they are a lot thicker and the method of playing is very different from that of the violin and viola.

The two violins represent the higher registers of a piece, the viola which is slightly bigger and longer in structure, play the middle register, and of course the cello, acts as the bass or the lowest register player. All in all they are similar to the structure of an SATB choir, which represent the soprano, alto, tenor and bass.

With regards to function, normally the first violin plays the melody of a piece, and the cello plays the bass of the accompaniment chord. The two inner voices are the violin 2 and viola. Their role is very critical since they are the meat of the chord. It is difficult to assess the degree of importance or hierarchy in the quartet, because all instruments throw in an equal amount of importance to the piece being performed. But that is purely subjective. It is ideal, but it depends on the arranger of a piece, on how he/she manages to distribute the load equally to the four players. Personally, I am biased to arrangers who play the piano BUT are talented string players also. They know how to arrange the piece in such a way that every note for the individual player would be contributing to the over-all aesthetic of the piece.

Now, with the introduction on what a string quartet is, let us move on to the "business part". Our string quartets play specially arranged pieces by Mr. Rommel Camba, an accomplished pianist and viola player, and our selection of pieces are varied from a wide selection from different genres and styles.

I can be contacted at 0918-9066377 or botbydblud@yahoo.com.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

PROFESSIONAL STRING QUARTETS FOR HIRE

I've decided to go ahead and register to the SEC so I could establish this business of music providers for weddings, events and the like, and... pay taxes! I will also try to put up a list of other service providers for the clients to have other choices. I wouldnt like to just get ahead of my competition, I also believe in the principle of the "more choices, the better." That way, if my clients need someone else to suit their needs other than me, they can also ask my help in recommending other service providers. I guess they call them vendors. As for the SEC, its still not established because I'm still fighting over the fact that taxes would definitely increase the quartet fee... not to cover it at the client's expense, but because the standard musician rate is Php4k, and rehearsals would be Php1,200. Now, if I still price it at Php16k, the musicians (who by the way have the same right to professional fees as doctors and architects, etc because we STUDIED for this at a University level in UP, UST and St. Scholastica colleges of Music) would definitely be affected because that will reduce their income. See, I also think about my coleagues, not just myself. Anyway, I would definitely be starting a business based on Christian Values and principles, such as no obscenity, clean, pure music, and definitely professional.

Alright, my new business would be called MANILA STRING MACHINE. And for inquiries, just scroll down to my older posts in this blog, where you will find list of pieces we play, packages and price rates. God bless you all!

Whether the Weather is Wetter

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

My Wife Rose's Birthday





Last march 3, my wife had her 29th birthday. We were with the whole Legaspi-Aspacio families, which by the way is a small number, since we fit in one car! Waking up that morning was a day full of hopes and excitement for a day full of activities. Rose had to file a vacation leave since it wasnt a working holiday! Anyway, our celebration was indeed great since we spent the whole afternoon at Trinoma in Quezon City, and ate in a class restaurant, Marina. Man, the food was delectable, exquisite, and DE-LI-CIOUS! We were so bloated!

But in all honesty I found myself crushed in embarrassment since I neither had a card, a petal of a flower, nor a gift for my most special wife. I was simply too negligent. I am so sorry and I apologize to the world about that. But just this afternoon, I had the courage to call up a jeweler, and I would buy her what she really wants for her birthday: a necklace and earring set. I just hope the Lord would provide for my funds because right now, Im still saving up for house rent, electricity, water, phone, and car maintenance bills. I havnt paid my insurance by the way.

So, I publicly declare my faith in the Lord that He is my provider, and that He will see me through by the end of this week! I dont know how He will provide, but He will, as He always has... I actually learned not to worry anymore!

Saturday, March 1, 2008

Musician Growth in Sold Out Live


Hey guys, Heroes Youth Camp is upcoming and new songs are coming from botbydbludmusic! But do watch out for new songs by other members of the gang like Momon, Jeff Ayanco, Russel Surigao, Alex Litonjua, and Ashley Anclote! John Mark Miraflor and Kaye Ann Violeta along with Pauline Reyes are also putting up new sounds that the new generation will love!

I am particularly blessed on how the youth has been exploding in church, with how they grow deeper in the faith, how they are getting excited about the work, etc. But honestly, our numbers are growing at a very slow pace. But its quality, really, not just quantity Im after.

The growth of new worship leaders and new musicians is such blessings to me personally, and I have seen their musical maturity increasing. Last February, we attempted to play a piece that has so many hits and arrangements, its almost impossible to study the piece in just 2 days. Fortunately, I've trained the musicians to read charts and to read basic notation and sight reading so i tried to write the chords along with notes below it. Amazingly, they were able to replicate the original song in the first practice! I had them hear the recording after so they would get a better feel of the song, and voila! lo and behold, almost the same as the recording.

It just feels so good to know that you have been a big part in the growth of these wonderful talented guys. But what amazes me is nobody in these group of musicians applied for the position as a good musician. All of them, including me were practically dumb and dumberers with regards to music! It is a blessing that the attitude of these guys are so godly, teachable and humble that they dont know they are improving by leaps and bounds! In particular I'd like to talk about our keyboardist, Momon. He among them all had the least musical inclination. He just wanted to join for whatever reason he had! I rejected his applications numerous times but with the promise of if he practices and follows my advice, he might just be accepted.

After nearly a year or a little more, he tried to play one of my songs in the piano, which he always does, and I heard a distinct sound, not my song, but his heart. He had a heart for music.
I invited him to be part of the youth praise team but sadly he wasn't utilized as much as he needed to be trained. So, I forced myself to gamble and asked him to be the keyboardist of the main service. True, he's not a concert pianist, but his learning skills were fast and he easily picked up hits and arrangements, and the best part is, he reads my charts, at a 85-90% accuracy. With more training, he could beat me soon, and I would take pride in that!

All the guys that I started training are now nearly as good as their teacher, and some of them surpassed my skills already. Each of them has a story as good as Momon's. We were all nobody's, but now, because of the love Jesus has shown, we are now somebody's. At least in God's sight hehehe.

In my direction, I emphasize that we needed to have three hearts in the ministry: A servant heart, a humble heart, and an excellent heart. The servant heart represents ATTITUDE. I dont care about what they know or what they can do, or what they believe. The attitude of the heart is always obvious. They all need to have hearts that have an attitude of thanksgiving and praise, hearts that do not feel they are the served, but the servants.

The humble heart represents our realization of who we really are. We are NOTHING! Its by God's mercy and grace that we are now able to serve Him and others through the ministry. A humble heart also represents submission to authority, and to God's Words. Also, about being aware that in the congregation,there are better musicians there than us. Our job is to serve them and to the best of our abilities, help them and usher them to the presence of God. Not to show off!

The excellent heart represents quality, genuine, disciplined hearts. They are hearts that do not settle for mediocrity, but strive for the best possible presentation of the worship service. The excellent heart also signifies the heart of the upright. We must all be blameless when we get up in front of God's people. And that righteousness only comes Jesus, who is the righteousness of God.

With that said, my passion is that our church would have the heart of worship that God truly seeks. In my opinion, recently, we are now headed there....

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rock it for Jesus