My Music Business Needs IT Training

I studied music in a prestigious university in the Philippines. But what everybody doesn't know is that I was an engineering student before that. My escapades brought me to music and I could still recount the days I was learning about Information Technology in class. The widespread uses of computers and the internet has invaded almost every home through wi-fi and cheaper computers, laptops, etc. Information is a must. It is the bullet in a gun. Without it, your business would die.

I recently integrated IT in my life as a musician, as I found it hard to make it big in this country who regards music as a cheap form of entertainment. I had to reach the market. And I had the oppurtunity to grasp the clients within my reach by offering information about my services through the net. It really serves your purposes.

I recently heard about a company who offers a virtual compendium of the business IT basics, know-hows, and equipping seminars. It's called CISCO. With the advent of call centers and businesses coming in the Philippines, a career ion IT is inevitable. Music and IT could work for me big time, since computers and the sort is "user-friendly". All I need is more training and more training again!

My carreer as a musician can grow to a maximum potential, if, of course with disciplined practice and collaboration with other musicians, but if I know how to connect with clients, not only in the Philippines, but also compete around the world! Also with the services you can provide globally, it is obvious that a career would be waiting on my doorstep if I could get more training and solutions to my obstacles and challenges. (I wouldn't want to call them "problems".)

So, with that said, I found out that CISCO has products and services that may cater to my every need in training and also as a tool for business. Moreover, they have training resources, certifications (worldwide),where they offer students an opportunity to pursue IT curricula through online instructor-led training and hands-on lab exercises. They have training courses, self-study options, learning partner programs and technical staff development.

My goals would be to take the self-study options, where I can finish a certification within my own pace, or take an on-line course with them, so I could further my knowledge of the IT world. Probably what intrigues me most are the latest developments and the latest tools one can use in the IT world.

Modern Furniture Store

Modern. Classic. Space. All these fill the mind of the potential designer given an empty space to be filled with furniture that would describe the personality and the functionality of the place.

As you all know I am a musician, and I make my living out of music. But what most of my friends dont know is that I love to draw, design, rearrange, and make artworks out of trash. Well, my childhood friends know that, but what I mean is that I've always thought of designing. I had so much interior ideas, furniture placements, and I even thought of a business that purely focuses on just rearranging your old stuff to make use of space, color, and functionality over form, or vice-versa.

Nothing gives me more challenge than to work with limited space. Its a given, you cant change the dimensions. But what would make the interior work is by rearranging OR designing modern furniture to help transform the room!

Recently I did that to our own home, because my wife and I just got married and was able to rent out a nice apartment. I figured we werent going to stay long so I couldnt invest much of my time in designing and re-arranging the place. Now that we've moved to my wife's ancestral home (her parents are in another country now), its a challenge to transform an ancestral home into the dream home you want it to be.

So what I did was to use the furniture my mom used to have in our own home, and substituted it for our narra sala set, and voila! New stuff! But, color didnt match, so I had the upholstery changed and I just used a coffee shop feel in the color combination! Now, my next target is our kitchen and dining. And lastly, the bedroom. Since its quite old, I want it transformed into a Modern Bedroom!

Hopefully God would give me more ideas. Oh, try to look in this website: http://www.eroomservice.com/home.php, this site contains sooooo much info and ideas, you might want to check it out! If you need ideas on how your room's furniture would look like, it has a wide variety of rooms for us to look at. Just click at the desired room and it will show you more choices and ideas to choose from in the categories block. Check em out, instead of buying magazines. What's more intriguing is thatyou can actually purchase the furniture you see at the picture. Cool huh? Just log on and check em out!

BIBLE DEVOTIONS ON LINE!

I started a blog where I post some of my thoughts and life lessons God taught me through His Word, and I hope everyone can benefit from them. Its a weekly devotional, and I added some introductions, interactive activities for you to make your devotional more exciting!

Do visit my blog at botbydbluddevotions.blogspot.com! See you there!

The Amazing Thing About Business

As I am growing more in responsibility and in maturity, (a good way of substituting "age"), I have felt the ever increasing pressures of life, as prices rise, economies fall, currencies plummet, your once leisure has become a burden, all those stuff we dont want to happen, its happening. I am convinced of this though: that I have to learn to grow and to cope, not to give up and to strive to rise above my circumstance. As good old Gandalf said, it is not for us to choose what life would bring us, but it is up to us what to do with what is thrown to us. God taugght me that when we are weak, He will be strong. So in these times, I choose to trust that He will take good care of me and I will be in good hands.

With that said, I am now a person I never dreamed I would be. I am trying to be a businessman. Nope, not the conventional product-endorser, trader, manufacturer and coat and tie meetings, not that. Since I am a musician, and God has somehow given me the abilities to relate and to communicate effectively to people, I have now invested my energies to promoting my services, and to use my time to link people who has needs, and connect them to those who can provide those needs. In turn, I promote people's businesses, give people jobs, and meet people's needs!

One good way that I encourage people to do is earn through passive income. Things that you would'nt work out too much, but get a bigger salary from. In what I do, I get a bigger pay in just connecting people compared to my teaching job. But in the passive income, you dont necessarily have to enjoy it, nor master it, you just have to learn it. And through this, you can continue your dream job, your passion for what you do (th9ugh it doesnt pay much--- and ideally, we say i'ts not for money anyway), and still afford to live in a comfortable circumstance.

I've tried different ways to earn passively, one is through investment of money one time, and let your money get interest. Another is to invest in business so that people can start their own ideas and services, and you just earn through a cut, or a percentage. Another is by going in network marketing. This is perhaps the biggest income generating scheme man can think of. But it is also the most deceiving if you're not careful. To know more about the ins and outs, the do's and don'ts, the what and what nots, I encourage everyone who is in this business to check out this site http://www.pronetworkmarketing.net. It is helpful by providing information about network marketing.

Here is the exact link:
mlm business

As I close, life will get harder. It is only us who must get tougher and smarter. All these are possible when we put our trust in a God who promised to never leave us nor forsake us.

I picked up my cello again

After two years of doing ministry solely, I decided to pick up my cello and begin practicing again. I want to go back to school and finish my Bachelor's degree. I only completed my diploma, and I want to receive further training in playing cello and teaching it too. I am so lagging behind and I know I can still improve. Anyway, I got my cello piece for next year on my next recital, probably 2010, playing as highlights: Kol Nidrei, Bach Cello Suite No.4 and the Lalo Cello Concerto in Dm. I'd probably do a sonata by Beethoven or Schubert.

Today I missed the times I practiced daily and devoted time and effort in honing my skills. Actually with the maturity I have now in playing music, I might do alot better when I return to the college as compared to when I was first studying.

God is my chief end... that He may be glorified and that He may open new doors for me and in the ministry!

The Table Top Marketing

I recently am thinking of a product to launch... whether food, or items, or electronic inventions, whatever that is, I need to think of something so I could get rich!!! Hehehe. I sound so greedy, but in all reality, I desire to become a trade mogul. I dont think I can go very far just by playing my cello and my guitar. So what I'm doing now is hooking up with samll businesses to figure out what is the need of the general public that someone isnt offering services in? I've been to a lot of trade show exhibits and I noticed one most common thing: TABLES. Some dont have chairs, some dont have banners, some dont even have people manning the stations! But the table never leaves the exhibit. Somehow, tables represent a presentation of a product. The tabletop display is like a feast presented before your eyes. It somehow represents everything about presentation of products. One great idea one company did was by just putting up designs in his table covers and voila! Instant marketing. My next move after coming up with my own product, is to use that same strategy to lure my potential buyers and investors to the catch!

Our Bible Study grows!

The Lord has been working in our church and it's awesome! I'm not saying He's not before, but it's just overwhelmingly obvious! We opened a Bible study at Eastwood, with the hopes of ministering to those people who live there... and after six long months of almost zero accomplished goals (in that area), God rewarded our patience and like a flood, every week we have a new visitor who is interested in attending our new Bible Study! It's so neat how God can use "used-up" materials like me. He is amazing enough to start something I felt I can never do, and accomplish it anyway!

I never dreamed of meeting people there, and much less minister to their needs by praying for them and just listening to their stories! And someday, I would be thrilled to see new leaders emerge from that group, and I could start a new one elsewhere! My prayer is that my friends (whom I originally planned on attending) would get hooked up and so that we would grow! Anyway, the Lord is really good and Im expecting that He will use more of us in the near future!

Hope, Answers and the Church

I am so amazed that God has developed the internet and the use of blogging to spread His Word and His work across the globe! But of course churches have the great commission on its shoulders, so there is still a great need for us to gather in churches, learn and be empowered to do God’s great works.

My church has been serving God’s kingdom and we have partnered with many churches worldwide to accomplish this task. I am blessed to know that there is an emergent church in California (so if you’re a Filipino and you migrated to that state, you can find a church in Rancho Santa Fe).

People nowadays seek refuge in many philosophies and religions, activities and vices, asking questions like “is there a purpose in life?”, “Is there meaning to all that I do?”, “Does my life matter?,” and statements like “I want change in my family’s life”, “ I want a better marriage”, “I’m spending time with my kids,” and all those kinds of problems are frequently heard and sadly, these people seek answers at the wrong places.

God can answer your needs. I am confident that He alone can supply us with peace and hope, and that His will is always going to be carried out. His plans never fail. And He will never fail us. It is our job as Christians to point people at the right direction… and that direction is “Christ-ward”.

Ted's Musical Journey

Theodore Philip B. Amper started out his musical adventure when he was very young singing at his local church in the kids' choir. He often performs duets with his sister and performs with the whole family at church and family gatherings,with the name: Amper Family Singers...patterned after the Sound of Music's: Trapp Family Singers He later did kid's commercials with 14K in MILO, Great Taste Milk, Sustagen, etc..

In High School, he decided to learn the guitar so he can accompany himself and his brother( who taught him) when they sing at reunions. Joining the Manila Science High School Glee Club, he honed his singing skills and started a rock alternative band to improve his guitar playing and over-all band(group) dynamics. By fourth Year High School, he joined in a guitar playing contest bagging the first prize. That same year, he joined his church's music team as guitar player. Moving on to the bass guitar, he found out that the bass was a lot more apt for his interests and discovered a deep fondness in it's capabilities.

In college, after a frustrating 3-yr bout in his course in UP in BSEE, he shifted to the UP college of Music to take up another peculiar instrument: the violoncello. Here, he learned that music isnt just a hobby... its science, philosophy, skill and art all put together. Interestingly enough, this is the only time he actually started reading music, playing piano and learning about the great music masters. By this time, he also spent time with the State Varsity Christian Fellowship, where he further developed song writing skills and also got to lead the church Worship Team, as worship leader/musical director and guitarist. College life was the turning point of his life, because this was the time God turned his heart toward Him. Music was now only a peripheral, vocational thing, God was the main desire of his heart. Joining various Christian bands in college such as Broken, and Emmanuel and working closely with a lot of other church bands, he learned other skills as playing the drums and song writing, singing and connecting with the audience.

By the age of 23, Ted started playing with the Meschianza String Quartet,and joined the Manila Philharmonic Orchestra as cellist as he sought to to bring glory to God in this line of work. Besides performing with his multiple bands, playing with different chamber groups, doing gigs, studying cello and teaching music, he eventually developed his skills in composing, recording and arranging music for their church.

Lately, Ted does professional recordings and performances with different local pop-rock bands (Mojofly, UP Dharma Down, Stonefree, etc.),local solo artists (regine velasquez, lani misalucha, lea salonga, gary valenciano, Cecil Licad, Oscar Yatco etc.etc.) and performs with international artists. Included in this roster is Mr. Andrea Bocelli himself and numerous others as allowed by his involvement with the Manila Philharmonic Orchestra.

He has recently finished his diploma in the UP college of Music, DCPMA Cello, and is now pursuing a career in Gospel Music recordings and songwriting. Aside from that, he has formed a music service providing company called the Manila String Machine, which hosts a wide roster of events and clientele. He partners with his college friends and colleagues to saturate the music market with their performances. He regularly performs with the Quatro Staggioni String Quartet.

At present, he has written more than 80 well-loved songs encompassing a wide range of genres and styles for the worship services of the Body of Christ. He works part time for his church at Christ's Way Community as Music Director, where he spends most of his time training musicians, leading worship, small group Bible Studies, and free music lessons to high school students at Santolan High School.

He and his lovely wife Rose live in Antipolo City where they plan to raise kids in the near future.

SOUND ADVICE

This blog has been dedicated to my thoughts and ideas, about spiritual stuff and also about practical stuff too. Since I'm in the music ministry of our church, yes, the director of worship, it happens to include the sound system and maintenance in my line of duties. My recent endeavor is preparing a sound system for a new church plant, and church sound ain't no joke. This include factors such as intelligibility of speech as a priority over music clarity. Music also is a very difficult factor to consider since there is a captive audience in a congregation, but with different musical preferences. Therefore you have to mix the sound of a rock praise song to be not too ear-piercing.

All those would mean mixing the amplifier and stage sound and sending a pleasant balanced sound on the house speakers, which falls under the audio consoles found at the back, where a man called the sound guy has the power to make or break a great service.

There is a great distinction between a mature group of musicians as opposed to talented young artists. Artists have the tendency to express more than communicate. If you, as an artist, place importance on your message being transmitted clearly, then you achieve a higher level of maturity and ultimately, your artistry is affected. Having a keen ear for balance and ensemble playing would not only boost your group's dynamics but would help tremendously in the effectiveness of your worship band's role as a support for the congregation's voices.

Sound systems are generally a new comer in the church history, but because of mass communications, their role and part in the spreading of the gospel has grown in importance. Personally, I went to a Yamaha sound company here in the Philippines to seek advice in the sound reinforcement issues I need to tackle for our new church plant. Yamaha and other good brands are being marketed by a site called Hi- Tech Audio. You might want to click on the links I have to get great deals on sound systems.

LCD TV RULES!

I searched the web for forums and the sort and here's what I got. Just check out this link, CRT vs LCD TVs, and i found out tons of info. LCDs consume less than 1/3 of the power conventional crt tvs consume. Next, LCDs emit virtually zero radiation! An LCD's resolution also can support high definition signals from DVs, computer and the sort. It's a fraction of the weight, a fraction of the space, and it lasts for up to 40 years! Now, I have reason to buy an LCD tv!

I was disappointed

Since the time LCD and Plasma TVs came into the market, my theory was that less power consumed since the plasma only reacted to electricity to produce a picture. Unlike the traditional picture tubes where light was shot through a tube to produce a picture, or maybe something similar to that which in my opinion consumed much more power.

Well, today i looked at some plasma/LCD TVs available and they all had a wattage of 130-180W, and compared to the picture tube TV we once owned, it suddenly blew my head off to know that the picture tube oly consumed 109W!!! Man?!?!!! I couldnt swallow after that... I hope somebody out there would enlighten me on this...

I'm so Glad I Need to Praise God!

Just today, I finished doing two articles in this blog, that would pay me well... then I got two calls from prospect clients that need my music services! Then just a while later, my other client (Oakley Product Launch) just confirmed on the budget I proposed to them! Now, I am so glad because my car got fixed of its LONG-TIME problems of over heating! My wheels dont wiggle anymore and I am so happy!!! PRAISE MY LORD JESUS! By the way, my dad got a huge blessing too this morning. I just cant help but give God all the glory for today's numberless blessings! But, truly, He has taught me to praise and thank Him for the times I am so weak and blind when I couldnt see His hand of blessings.

May Jesus be praised! By the way, I need to solicit for prayers for pastor Gary, whom we dearly love, he is sick with something the doctors couldn't really identify! Please pray for his recovery, and his family to be very strong for him.

I'm now Fixing My Car

For the past few months I was plagued with the sickness of my car always getting in trouble. Number one is my wheels always wiggled even after I replaced them with new tires. Next, my radiator always overheated, and my air con is never cold. Just yesterday, I started fixing my car coz whenever I see a really great SUV like the Chevy Captiva, I drool in envy. Chevrolet Europe makes those cool SUVs, and they are so covet-worthy because whenever I look at European cars (which apparently Chevrolet is American) I compare my crappy Japanese Hilux to it. Anyway, let me go back to fixing my car...

The first thing I did was wheel balancing. Next, I got my radiator overhauled and my water pump replaced. My air con got a little cranking electrically, and I put new freon on it. Voila! My car runs so smooth I feel its brand new. Now I am so excited to hit the road and crank up my stereo, turn my aircon on , and rev my diesel engine up! Thank you Lord I'm comfortable again!

SPACE

I was walking around the empty house. Thinking, visualizing, and even dreaming.
This was filled with happy moments, great memories, laughter and joy.
In this place I made songs.
In this corner I sat and watched movies with my wife
In this space we cooked and laughed, made a mess and cleaned up
In this area we ate and talked about silly and serious stuff
In this seat we always played and tickled
In this bed we shared our most intimate times
In this room we bathed and dumped...

I was even counting the number of times I opened and closed the gates... around 800 times in a year. And in the midst of all that, I really felt sad I was leaving a place I called home.

Today, I start to live in a new one. My prayer is that I would create wonderful memories in this new space given to me...

I NEED A VACUUM!!!

I woke up this morning, still a bit dreaming, still a bit dazed, but altogether surprised when my wife and I realized we were late for today’s work! We quickly gathered ourselves together, skipped breakfast, a super fast shower and I darted out to the gate to open it, warmed up the car, and by the time I was pulling out, my father-in-law arrives with the truck he hired to bring our stuff out… I completely forgot that it was moving day for us!!! I quickly brought my wife to the pick up point for her car pool, and I swiftly went back to the house, after stopping for a radiator check up, and arrived in a little over 15 minutes since I left.

When I arrived, I saw an outrageous amount of dirt and filth in my house. The movers were working as quickly and as efficiently as possible. And I can bet that keeping the house clean wasn’t their top priority. Their shoes were muddy, and I saw all the dirt from under the furniture, and even other dirt and dust that gathered under stuff and corners we don’t use. When everybody was out, I was left to clean up all the mess. And I tell you, IT IS A MESS.


On top of all these, I had the slightest reaction to dust and I was in the peak of my allergies this morning. How I wish I had a vacuum cleaner! I heard about Energy Star a cool energy saving vacuum that I should have used as soon as the guys moved out. I tell you, I need that vacuum cleaner. And mind you, I don’t like the cord! It’s a good thing this stuff not only saves power (which is a precious commodity nowadays in the Philippines), but you can easily glide through your dirt without worrying about the cord.

I have to go, I have to clean up in the house that I’m moving into.

We're Moving!

This is the last week that we are staying in our rented aparment in marikina city. I enjoyed being a Mariqueno for at least a year! Now that Im back in Antipolo, I will try my best to bring to Antipolo what I've learned in Marikina about garbage segregation, not littering, not spitting and peeing anywhere, always dressing appropriately in public, and the simple pride and love you should have for your city, and ultimately, your country. And that is also a wayof worshipping God! Loving your country is another step to its progress!

I bought my niece new glasses!

Recently, I was shopping for new glasses for my niece who happen to have the same eye problem as I have...ambliophia. I didnt think of checking out the Incredible Stylish New Frames From Zenni and stupid of me to be ignorant of the fact that Zenni Optical was on FOX news! We had to walk around town, find a parking space and try to wait in line with the numerous patients! Zenni Optical $ 8 Rx Eyeglasses might turn out to be cheaper if I went there. So, money's gone, no hard feelings! At least my niece has new fashionable glasses.