more seascapes from Pangasinan

PANGASINAN is noted for its beaches which dot its coastline facing the Pacific Ocean. Some are more developed than others. Most of them do not have lifeguards so swimmers usually jump in at their own risk.

But if swimming is not your cup of tea, i.e. if you just go there for a seafood picnic or just to enjoy the sun, wind and the sea , then you are in for a treat.

May 1 is usually celebrated as Pistay Dayat ( meaning Feast of the Sea )..In Lingayen ( the provincial capital ) the sea is packed on this day with tourists from far towns beyond Pangasinan. Tourists, including some local movie stars from as far as Manila would gather here for this unique fluvial festival.

The highlight of the day long festival would be the selection of the Muse who will be paraded in a gorgeous water procession.

TOURIST SPOTS IN PANGASINAN

thank you to dahman for the use of the photos from the Pangasinan.Org!

Recent Snowfall in Toronto

The front of our house in 19 Dixon. The snow is beautiful only in two days, then

it will turn into grimy slush or rock hard ice which does not look soft and white anymore

This is the fort. A new snowfall covered most of it..The kids just took some of the moon lamps from the border of the garden and stuck it around the fort's perimeter. Kids are so creative..:(

The evergreen at the right side of the door became a giant ice cream cone!



The Queen of May ( springtime ) turned into a Diary Queen!

Another shot with no flash. Creating a magical world which could be seen ( and felt ) only at night, especially on a wintry night!

My friend Ros Balane from the Philippines wrote me in Pilipino:

"...sana ipinost mo na rin yung snow fort, di ko alam how it really looks like. ang nakikita lang kasi namin dito sa pinas sa mga christmas cards ay yung mga snowmen at snow balls, tsaka nung nasa elementary school pa tayo pare ko ay yung mga domes na snow ng mga eskimo sa Alaska !.."

You should have posted the SNOW FORT ..I do not know how it really looks like..What we see here in the Philippines in the Christmas cards are the snowmen and snowballs...and the snowdomes ( igloo ) of the eskimos in Alaska!

The top picture with this posting is the snowfort made by my grandkids ( from the last article ) ..Another snowfall covered it partly making it look less than a fort, more of a fence! But the other photos in this page show you the beauty ( and harshness ) of winter especially during the last few days here in Toronto.

The flash of the camera illuminated the falling snowflakes which looks round..But experts would tell you these are really hexagon crystals in different designs..It is another wonder of nature! No two crystals look alike, just like no two finger prints look the same!....

My son Oliver and his family

My eldest child, Oliver with his family: His wife Teresa and their two daughters: Olivia and Audrey..



Olivia his eldest daughter..She is just a bit younger than Mia..

Audrey..Almost the same age as Emma...

Oliver stayed in Toronto for a while where he studied film animation while working in a government office. After he finished animation, he applied for a position in Miramichi, New Brunswick. Fortunately, he made it and he is now involved in the production of commercials for American and UK Television...

He finished a University degree on Film studies at the York University, Toronto. He loves films ( just like me ) but he is more on the Horror film genre. He has an extensive collection of horror/slasher/sci-fi movies. He likes George Romero ( Night of the Living Dead ) Dante Argento.(Suspira ) and David Cronenberg ( The Fly ).

CHRISTMAS is for Grandchildren

Baby Bella

Mia

Dillon

Chloe

Emma

One of the joys of Christmas is getting visits from grandchildren. Five of them came to visit us last Sunday, a few days before Christmas and the usually quiet household became vibrant again with singing, screaming, shoving and laughing. Two of them did not make it ( Oliver's kids ) because they reside in Miramichi, New Brunswick. It is quite a distance.

After lunch they went outside to the backyard and they built a snow fort. Inevitably, they had a snowball fight. One of them, Emma, came in all white with snow.

Here are the five. Of course, Bella was only 2 months old. She was spared from the rigors ( and fun ) of the snowfight.

The fort is still there under the tree. Wish it could stay there the whole year!

TWO RELIGIOUS EPICS

MOVIES FOR THE CHRISTMAS SEASON

Two titles which I am recommending for your viewing pleasure this Christmas season ( when you are having a respite from serious mall shopping ) are QUO VADIS and BEN HUR.

Their story lines may not be the same but both movies were honored by critics and movie goers alike during their roadshow presentations. Clergymen from various denominations also praised both movies for portraying Jesus and His teachings in a very dignified manner.

QUO VADIS was said to have been uttered by St. Peter when he saw the image of Jesus Christ during the early, difficult days of Christianity. It means "Where are you going?"
And Jesus answered: " I am going to Rome to be crucified for the second time.." Peter planned to leave Rome because of the ongoing persecutions against the Christians.

Peter, seemed to have failed Jesus for the second time. The first time happened when he denied Christ three times while charges were being arraigned against Him by the Jewish priests.

After hearing what Jesus told him, Peter wept and he went back to Rome to face his martyrdom which is being crucified to a cross upside down.

This scene is one of the several highlights of this 1951 epic. One would also witness a realistic portrayal of the burning of Rome ordered by the vile anti Christ, Emperor Nero. He wanted to build a new Rome by setting fire to the old one. And while the city burned, he was composing a song while playing a musical instrument.

Other scenes included the torture of Christians who were blamed for the conflagration. Then one would see the early martyrs meeting death in the arena by being burned alive or being fed to hungry lions. This spectacular movie has also an intelligent script, lively dialogue, gorgeous costumes and eye popping sets. And a cast of thousands. Live people, not just computer generated images.

Robert Taylor played the Legion commander who found Christianity through the love of a beautiful Christian girl played ably by Deborah Kerr. Other stars include Peter Ustinov who appeared in so many epic movies ( e.g. SPARTACUS, THE EGYPTIAN, etc ). His portrayal of Nero, history's noted Anti Christ, no match in fim history.

Jesus was shown in a few scenes, but his teachings of love permeated the length and breadth of this long movie.


BEN HUR took place almost in the same era, the same locale which is decadent Rome. This time, Charlton Heston played a Jewish prince who lived in Judea. STEPHEN BOYD played Mesala who was once his childhood friend, but who became his prime antagonist. Mesala grew up in Rome to become an arrogant commander ( just like Robert Taylor's character in QUO VADIS. )Due to political differences Mesala locked horns with Ben Hur during the first 15 minutes of the movie.Thus, Ben Hur was condemned to a Roman ship galley, his mother and sister sent to prison and his property confiscated.

Then Ben Bur's fortunes turned about when as a slave in the ship he saved the life of a Roman General who has just lost a son. The Roman navy at that time were fighting the Phoenician pirates who harassed the Roman trading ships.

Ergo, the general adopted Ben Hur as an heir to his name and property. Then Ben Hur went back to Judea to face again his nemesis, Mesala and to look for his mother and sister. His personal issue with Mesala was resolved in that famous chariot race.

Jesus appeared in BEN HUR as an infant, then as a carpenter and at the end, as the Crucified Redeemer of all humanity.

Both movies are based on literary masterpieces. No expense was spared to achieve the visual feast ( sets and costunmes ). Brilliant directors - William Wyler for BEN HUR and MERVYN LEROY for QUO VADIS these timeless film masterpieces.

Christianity and the love of Jesus for humanity is the all encompassing theme for both movies.

Only a few religious movies can be educational entertaining at the same time spiritually uplifting--#

THOUGHTS FOR THE CHRISTMAS SEASON

From: Rudy

Whatever religion people chooses is okay as long as this religion preaches goodness I don't have a problem with that. If this religion preaches to eliminate the others who don't believe in them then it's another story...Bert those five questions were very nice and I agree with all the answers offered. They're very thorough...Let me offer another take on those questions. Let me answer them with my simple mind or simply answer them in a simple human's point of view (MY OWN) without qouting any written literatures...ORIGIN-Where did we came from?...We originated from the LOVE that brought our parent's together. We are that little seed in their heart that yearns to see the sun.....IDENTITY-Who are we?...We are what our parents,friends and the society we are living in molded us to be. We became the sum total of every little traits we picked up along the way as we are growing up and we continue to change a little here and there as our invironment changes. But there is one thing that almost certainly doesn't change and that is our core values affected by our beliefs,religion,education and morals.....MEANING-Why are we here?...We are here to insure the sustainance of humanity. Our meaning or legacy will be judged by the quality of the next generation that we raised.....MORALITY-How do we live?...It's the sum total of the three above topics. We live according to the way we were brought up plus the way we became plus what we want our legacy would be.....DESTINY-Where are we going?...When everything is said and done,when our part in the circle of life is finished, only one thing is certain and that is death. I wouldn't say there is life after death or there is reincarnation or evolution for that matter. That's all depend on our belief and faith. But after death what remains here is the legacy we left behind. Will friends, our children and relatives or other people will talk about us in positive terms?...I don't know my friends I don't know...If that LEGACY matters to you, it's not too late to work it out!!!MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!!

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From: VIC..

if I have to select between the word of God and the word of man, of course I will select the first..After all, most of man's theories are still undergoing changes, from the time of Copernicus when it was believed that the sun was revolving around the earth and the world is flat and ships could fall into the edges..!...

Kudos to Bert's postings, he nails every each quotation on the head with relation to the topic on what..Yes, Icarus I have already compiled the postings from the AMB into a Word document ready to be transfered into the AJ, maybe by parts: pt. 1, 2, 3, etc. It seems as if more good postings are on the way...Because in the AMB the bottom postings get booted out as soon as new ones come in. In the AJ ( where the mainframe is stored somewhere else, then it stays there forever, ready to be accessed with the click of a mouse )..This Board could discuss two or three threads at the same time, we can introduce a new one anytime, and let us see how things go..Pakiramdaman lang yan..But everyone has an expertise on certain subjects..We can share our knowledge with other readers of this Board and it will fulfill the good intentions of Information Technology..By the way, Bert, Rain mentioned she was very much impressed by the goodness of your family.."Whatever you do to the least of your brethen.."..At that time, she was about to undergo her ordeal of fire..Two months later, God pulled her out of her crucible and brought her back to where she belongs. Some lives really show God in action, especially to those who pray hard and rely on God on their darkest moments..Many kind hearted Asinganians, ( and a few non-Asinganians ) helped her out..I know I seem to be repeating the same story over and over and she wants to keep her privacy too, but this will be the last time I will mention that episode in her life.

.Just want to hammer the point that with God nothing is impossible, but we have to do our own legwork in walking towards the light! You did just that, you never gave up..I examine my own life and wooo! I am not as brave as I expected myself to be!!..Bye all!

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From: Bugsy

Yes, politics and religion are topics that has no end. Sometimes they come up like a thief in the night but its a good exercise for your reasoning power. We should do this once in a while. Clashing views based on ones perspective tend to add drama to any one's deep seated point of view, faith and beliefs. As when someone questions the path you're taking you tend to stop and re-evaluate your approach and may asked yourself

"Was he right and I am wrong?" Many of course resists to accept that they are wrong, no one wants to be proved wrong, It HURTS!, but given all the facts and evidences one must respond with self examination and weigh the circumstances once more. These traits are possesed by a man who is open minded, without any tunnel vision. ...

To be HUMBLE in life is hard to do as man always strive to become great and rich and healthy. above others. That makes us HAPPY isn't it? When we excel above the rest? You drive a spanking shiny Merc while your nieghbour drive a battered VW? We do not want to be outdone so we try to keep up with the Jones's most times even we cannot afford? So too, When we are presented with predicaments in life, we ask questions "WHY ME/US?" As if not good for me but its acceptable if it happens to John. I must accept I am not the most luckiest man on earth but I learned to live with it. To partake and share my emotions and experiences so others might be more prepared to met such testing moments when it happens the same to them. Doing such, I believe the least service I can do to my fellow men. >>>>>>

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From: icarus

Hey, Archie! See what your little physics puzzle has done?. It all started with your question on a "substance that’s falling but doesn’t fall anyway" which Bugsy related to gravity and seconded by Mng Vic with a "there-must-be-God-controlling-all-these-things" kind of explanation. Archie and myself threw in our 5cents worth. Bugsy, as usual, brought up unsettling questions which feed the fire some more. And then it became a very enlightening forum for "could science and religion co-exist?" It is a very interesting though quite controversial and disturbing topic which lured out even AMB writers who are long in hibernation. Bert in particular is a guiding light in providing the proper perspective by which to view our hi-tech lifestyle within the framework of God’s Grand Design. From there, more posters responded. Rain and annie with their classic one-liners. Ms Arsenia with her own profound views. By that time, I have to content myself with reading the posts like Alakdan and Norbet because, as we admit, things of the bible and religion were not among our strong points. But thanks to you, AMBer’s for the enlightenment. It was a very worthwhile exchange, i must say. Maybe Mng Vic could compile all of these into a single article so that it could be preserved in the Asinganian Journal. This will also be my last post on the topic so it could finally be given rest.

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From: Bert

ORIGIN (Colossians 1:16), IDENTITY(John 1:12), MEANING(Revelations 4:11), MORALITY (2Corinthians 5:17), DESTINY (John 11:25-26)..-----The answer to each of these questions depend on what we believe in God. If God exist, then there's ultimate meaning and purpose in our life. If there's a real purpose in to our life, then there's a right way to live it. Choices that we make now not only affect us here but will affect us eternity, In the other hand, if there's no God then, our life ultimately means nothing. Since there is no enduring purpose to life, there's no right or wrong way to live. And it doesn't matter how we live or what we believe-our destiny is dust.

..Don't all roads lead to Heaven? Aren't all religions basically the same? The truth is all religions do not lead to Heaven just as all roads do not lead to Philippines. There are a lot of voices vying for our attention, so why should anyone consider Jesus above, for example, Muhammad, Confucius, Buddha, etc. Jesus alone speaks with the authority of God because Jesus alone conquered death. Muhammad, Confucius, and the others molder in their graves to this very day, but Jesus, by His own power, walked away from the tomb three days after dying on a cruel cross. Anyone with power over death deserves our attention. Anyone with power over death deserves to be heard. The evidence supporting the resurrection of Jesus is overwhelming. Jesus proved His power over death; therefore, we need to hear what He says. Jesus claims to be the ONLY way to salvation (John 14:6). He is not a way; He is not one of many ways, but Jesus is the way. Religion is fine, but we should be careful in choosing one, that religion should have the focus to the head of the church, Jesus Christ and not to anybody else. Jesus said in Matthew 7:21 Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. And in the book of Proverbs warned us: "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." (Proverbs 14:12). True religion is receiving Jesus Christ as Savior and thereby having a right relationship with God – and then doing things (rules and rituals) out of love for God and desire to grow closer to Him. ..

Those who would like to talk more about religions; I would like to invite you to this website http://www.thebereans.net/forum2/ to discuss all your religious matters. Thank you this will be my last post to this long but relevant discussion....

Thank you and I'm so glad for taking your time answering those 5 questions......We know our heart and God also know it more than anybody else, and we are going to be judge based on our faith and to whom we placed in. God bless!

*****************************
From: CHRIS
(1) ORIGIN: Where did we come from? As i know we came from God, -Spirit (2) IDENTITY: Who are we? we are all Spirits and born with Material Body on earth where we made mistakes and sins... (3) MEANING: Why are we here? We're here to make our souls to purity then back to heaven (4) MORALITY: How should we live? Believe God that He send every one of us here on earth with His Purpose. 5) DESTINY: Where are we going? we're going back to GOD.

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From: Arsenia

I should say that religion and evolution goes hand in hand. We can also include scientific factors such as the Darwinian Theory of Evolution and then we can go from there. Mang Vic, I agree that most people now adays have no religion of choice ( non-denominational), meaning they can attend any religion of their choice. I was invited frequently by a religious sect in Houston. I was even one of the speakers.

All I can say is that we as a human being tend to cling to our Faith.. "Be faithful and truthful with each other". If you are truthful to yourself, you are truthful to your God."
This world is really complicated. I attended a Bible Study one time and never went back because they mentioned that the only people who can go to heaven are those that belong to that religion. I argue that all human beings that God created won't be disccriminated by the Lord no matter what religion sect they belong. Skin color and language does not matter..

Understanding other religion and their cultures will be the best thing anyone can do. We are all sons and daughters of the Lord. "For God so Loved the world that he gaved his only begotten son,those who believeth in him should not perished but have everlasting life". verse: John 16.

^^^^
I noticed that from time to time, we discuss RELIGION on this board. I know that it is a very sensitive topic especially at work. But as a creature of the Lord,I might contribute something to add to your postings...
Mr. Ingrsoll's last public address, delivered before the Americans Free Religious Association, Boston, June 2, 1899. says in part "It is asserted that an infinite God created all things, governs all things, and that the creature should be obedient and thankful for the creator; that the creator demands certain things, and that the person who complies with these demands is religious. This kind of religion has been substantially universal" Source: What is Religion?

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From: ayu

Of course religion cannot save you but your faith and and your belief will save you.

From: Zeus

Rain, True! Religion won't save us, everybody knows that, but it really help to keep our faith of Christianity alive forever. Without religions what would happen to our faith with God? Religion is a big advertisement for God telling every second, every minute that He LIVES! . Without religion the popularity of God will BE wiped out. That's why

belief comes with religion. I go to a catholic church to pray and if I have some change (coins) I pour into the basket, to help religion saying to worshippers that there is a GOD!

From: SUSAN / RAIN

WE CANNOT BE SAVED FROM ANY RELIGION IT'S A ONE ON ONE DEAL TOWARDS OUR SAVIOUR, THE ONLY NAME IS "JESUS".

***************************
Armando celebrates the gift of life , im so proud of you and your kids to the tune of "I WANNA GROW OLD WITH YOU".IT's my brother's bday also on the 18th that's why his name is Noel.

************************************************

christmas is for children

This rendition of SILENT NIGHT, done with a children's choir started with a one melody voice in the first verse. An alto ( second voice ) was added during the second verse. The song ended with three voices blending beautifully.

The photos are mostly my grandchildren, and my sister in law's grandchildren who are in Manila. A BIG THANKS to them for the use of these photos.

MALIGAYANG PASKO SA LAHAT! ( a Merry Christmas to all! )

THE NEW VIDEO TECHNOLOGY...

2001 Space Odyssey Revisited: in Blu-Ray

This movie was first mentioned to me by my a childhood friend, Rudy Dumapias ( now a retired Philippine Consul living in Texas, USA. ) about 3 decades before the actual year 2001. He, like me is a Certified Movie Buff. We could talk about movies for hours even without food and water.

It will be 2009 soon. So far no event portrayed in the movie happened yet. There was no mission to Jupiter. There was no discovery of that strange slab in one of the moon craters.. There is no HAL, the computer turned psycho.

But the movie, still remains as one of my sci-fi favorites blowing all the 6 STAR WARS movies into the strastophere. Come to think about it STAR WARS is not sci-fi, it is more of an entertainment, a good one at that one.

But I read that when it was premiered in New York, most of the viewers hated 2001. What kind of movie is this? many commented. No action. No green space monsters wanting to take over the world. No big bang explosion at the climax blowing all the bad guys into atoms.

My friend Rudy was all praises about 2001. It was only after a few times of viewing that I found the movie is something after all. One of the movies you will not grow tired of watching.

I first saw it in Dagupan City, Philippines in a movie house called VINA theatrer. I did not understand it at that time.In fact I might have taken a nap somewhere during the 148 minute-run.

When I arrived in Toronto, I found the city a Paradise for movie buffs. There are used book stores all over the place especially along Yonge street. During my first weeks, I went through every book store and bought several volumes of magazines, anthologies especially about the classic films of the 50's and '60s. Then I found a book on Stanley Kubricks and his monumental 2001 Space Odyssey.

Though the instrument panels in the movie's space ships are outdated, the movie still followed some concepts of science. First, there is absolute SILENCE in outer space because of the absence of air. Sound is created only by air waves. Thus, when there is a space ship moving in space, there are no rumbling sounds. Just silence, or the Blue Danube Waltz making space travel less boring.

Then there are the medical aspects about hibernation while traveling in space: low pulse, low heart beat and the hibernators ( the people ) sleeping not in beds but in coffin shaped pods. Geez.

Another slightly funny part of the movie is when one of the characters was reading the instructions on how to use the zero-gravity toilet .Would be pretty messy when you sitting on the John and the gravity controller would malfunction, right? .

A few days back I had the chance to watch the movie for the nth time and this time in Blu-Ray. It is a celestial experience. The images looked as if you are watching a film master, not a video. Blu Ray technology on the 1080, 52 " would make your eye-balls pop out. Just kidding, of course. But if you are a movie buff like me, it is worth each dollar of whatever you invest in your home entertainment.

So, I resolved not to watch movies anymore, at least for a while in these huge theatres.

The images in the screen are huge, but blurry and the colour is not that intense as what you can see in Blu-Ray. If I have to watch a movie, I would prefer the smaller ones with regular screens and film projectors just like in the old days.

I would save money, the hassle of traveling back and forth from the cinema house, and of course the possibilty of contracting some virus just in case you happen to sit beside a guy who has just come out of the hospital.---#

a musical card from Rain

Oh Christmas Tree, Dear Christmas Tree
Remember me through out the year
I hope that by this time next Yule,
All of my kids will soon be here..

I thank our God for help received
I got good jobs which came at last
I go through them, like fish in stream
My hard years all had come to pass!

To all my dear friends on this board
As Christmas comes so slowly
I offer you my grateful prayers,
With you it's Chrstmas, everyday!

Rain--Christmas 2008

A CHRISTMAS POEM

CHRISTMAS ANGELS

Christmas Angels at my window
Peering through the pane
The real ones are here all over
It's Christmas time again!


The angels come in kinds and sizes
But each one glows with sheen
For angels are replendent creatures
Though they could not be seen

But they were there when Christ was born
As He lay on the hay,
"Go now and see the pretty baby
Who was born on this day!"

The shepherds then began to walk
While following a star
And with them marched the regal train
Of three who came from afar

When things are dark within our lives
Oh please do not despair
The night will pass and in its place,
A Day so bright, so rare!

--victorio costes ( 12/006)

AJ travelogue

One of the places we visited when we went to Hawaii was the PCC or Polynesian Cultural Center.
It is a 42 acre size theme park located at the North shore of Oahu. ( Oahu, I believe is the most Westernized Island of Hawaii, something like a mixture of Makati in the Philippines and Los Angles in USA.)A night show depicted by the photos at the end of this article shows a spectacular array of songs, dances, skits, etc. performed by players in lavish and breath taking costumes.
It is performed in a huge open air auditorium. It is something worth seeing if you are planning to visit Hawaii someday.

Or maybe after the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season.---#

FROM ARSENIO MACANAS

CHRISTMAS TIME IN OLD ASINGAN

I was one of those "bumabaili*", in our town,Asingan. I like "baili**" starting it when I was 15 and I ending up my itchy wichy in my early 20's. It was fun, a lot of fun!

How about you? Every first week of December I started hearing in the barrios those noisy loud DJ speakers miles away. Either it was Estrada Sound System or Orpia Sound System..., They were great sound systems in Asingan at that time. They have a good selection of new songs too.. Remember those SP45 and LP33 records?He!he! Noisemakers, weren't they?

What amused me in these Christmas dances: before the guys started picking their dance partners, they roamed around like hunters stalking their prey.. "Who would be a good prey tonight?". Naturally, the "targets" would be the pretty and "meaty" ones. He!he! It is so shameful for those ladies left behind just making holes on their seats (wallflowers). The men lined like thirsty and hungry wolves eyeing the sheeps (the pretty ladies)...

I like Estrada's sound system better than anyone else especially if the the DJs are the young brothers(Roger, Jimmy and Ap-ping). They were good operators and the music they played were so cool.. But when the younger brothers weren't there, either the father(Lakay Marcelo) or the 3 elder brothers worked as a DJ's, they spin Sinatra, Nat king Cole, Johnny Mathis songs, or cha chas,tangos, swings, etc.( those old songs from the 50's and 60's). We hated those songs!!..
Christmas ball is supposed to be for youngsters and teenagers, you know! We wanted new songs, new music like modern and discos!.Even the ladies step back and sometimes don't want to dance anymore.
So when December comes around, my friends and I were busy...Hey, I was the John Travolta of Asingan at that time, you know.. 70's was the era of discos, salsa and el bimbo whatever you wanna call them! I had lots of fun of dancing.!!Sometimes I visited different barrios in just one night!.. Wow! The John Travolta of Asingan was always busy and popular...Having no transportation, I did not go alone ..One of my friends owned a tricycle and he liked baili too. So, there you go. Those moments still linger in my mind, and I miss them so much!.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

----Arsenio Macanas

* DANCER

** DANCE

vignettes of CHRISTMAS...

.. IN THE PHILIPPINES


VIDEO and MUSIC by VICTORIO COSTES
some photos by Marcie Uson-Wise

the March or 2/4 tempo

THE MARCH TEMPOThe last time signature I am going to explain briefly is the 2/4 beat..It is the tempo of many Marches ( Stars and Stripes Forever, (US ), Maple Leaf Forever ( Canada ), Les Marsailles ( France ), Katipunan March, Bayang Magiliw ( Philippines )

If soldiers hear a marching song, some believe that their courage is doubled, maybe quadrupled and they would run headlong towards the enemy..That is the reason why in certain battlefields ( during the American Revolution ) there were always musicians out there in the field..A bugler would sound the charge fanfare or the retreat one.

A friend of mine once asked me when I was explaining this time signature.."Why 2/4, why not 1/2? It is the same isn't it?"

Of course. But Music is not Math , it just follows some principles of Math.

2/4 signature means, there are always 2 notes in each measure of a 2/4 song.. So the conductor or the Bandleader just gestures his hand in 2 directions: up and down, up and down...

A 2/4 measure may contain any of the following:
1. a single half note
2. two quarter notes
3. a half rest
4. maybe 4 1/8 notes
5. 1 quarter rest and one quarter note..
some other music elements whose Mathematical value would add up to 1/2

Some marches are played fast, some are moderate..

Some marches may not follow the 2/4 signature..March from AIDA ( the Opera ) might be 4/4..But the rest of the Martial pieces ( esp. ones written by John Phillip Sousa ) are written in 2/4.

There are some of the popular marches for important happenings:

Graduation or commencement exercises : POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE

Weddings: Bridal chorus for entrance,
Lohengrin March for the exit

Funerals : Funeral March by Chopin

There seems to be no part of a person's life which is not affected by music---#

MY BOY JETHRO by RAIN

my little boy Jethro




My little boy Jethro
Is now so tall and warm
It was so many years ago
I tucked him in my arm

Jethro is now a drummer
Just like his caring Mom
I see his image every night
Thru my old PC 's cam

Inside the house of our God
He plays like no one can
I pray to God they 'll soon arrive
That we will all be one!

submitted by RAIN

playing with the one man band

playing the yamaha keyboard with a
"one man band.."

Playing this type of electronic keyboard is one of the simplest ways to make beautiful music with little effort or easy keyboard skills...

But you must have a good sense of timing, a good musical memory ( remembering the tune accurately ) and being able to play it with the right hand either by ear or by reading the music manuscript...

It is best to memorize the melody and play it by ear. But if you are a good music reader you can play the song also with Music Books printed for this purpose..

The left hand must know how to form chords..Chords are combinations of at least 3 notes..

Some Yamaha music books have the melody line written in bold notes while the accompanying chords are written above the right hand staff...

The percussion or rythm is determined by a list of numbers and names written under the heading style..

The Yamaha I own have at least 100 styles ranging from ballad, latin music, rock, samba, etc.. It has also 100 voices. Voices are the different instrument sounds...

You can control the speed or tempo of the accompaniment by some buttons.

The chords you play with the left hand determines the "background music " that will be played by the built-in "one man band.."

Examples of left hand chords are:

CMajor: consisting of C, E and G, played all at the same time by the fingers of the left hand..

Or G7 which is D,F,G and B..

Another useful chord is FMajor which consists of F, A, and C...

Withe these 3 left hand chords you can already play several folk songs..All you have to do is to select the right "style" for it.

If you press the chord of CMajor, the "one man band " plays the C,E, & G notes, plus some drum sounds which would make it sound like your right hand playing is accompanied by an orchestra, including some drums..

But again, you have to accurate with your timing..It is like playing with a a KARAOKE TRACK..The Karaoke does not play with your timing, you have to play with the timing of the KARAOKE..

Which in a certain way, really sucks, especially if your timing becomes off..

Anyway, here is a Filipino love song I recorded ..with the one man band..One wrong note, one wrong timing and you have to re record it again..

Sometimes the recording work could take you a whole night...

Friday, November 21, 2008

Old Man Winter is back with a vengeance
here in Toronto starting Tuesday night. When we woke up Thursday morning, everything is white again. And it is not even Christmas yet.
The first thing I remembered were the birdies. Will they come and feed? Well they did but not in the same number. I guess these are the regulars who were hatched atop the roof of 19 Dixon road. I wish there would be a way of marking them. But sparrows are so shy. Unlike the pidgeons, you can not approach a sparrow. They would fly at once at one look at an approaching person .a

In the last frames of the accompanying video clip, I noticed that some of them do not look healthy anymore. Maybe it was due to the sudden change in temperature. Their eyes seem to be watery. I guess some of them won't survive the winter. I put up several birdhouses in the front yard but I am not sure they would avail themselves. The only places they know are under neath the bushes which are abundant in my front and backyard.
The closeup shots were taken from inside my window in to a bush right under it. I used zoom lens. The bird did not know it would be featured on the Internet.---#
bir

diana ( ja-na ) music in Asingan

THE DIANA MUSIC is a March played in 2/4 time signature ( to be discussed in a coming lesson ) .

Photos portray Asingan town fiesta activities in the absence of pictures showing the Yuletide spirit in our town. Some photos came from the Pangasinan.Org website and a few were given years ago by OCTOARTS a company owned by Mr. Alfredo Gelacio Jr.

When December 16 rolled around in Asingan during the '50s and early '60s, this traditional Dawn Mass is heralded by a 5 piece brass band made of a trombone, a clarinet, a saxophone, a snare drum and a bass drum. They would rouse the Poblacion people up so they could attend the 4:00 am High Mass. There would be a HIGH MASS ( Misa Cantada ) sang by music volunteers.

When the Diana was stopped or scrapped from the Christmas Church agenda, canned music blaring out from the speakers atop the church tower took its place. ..

The music was written by an unknown composer and it has a happy, lilting tune in the spirit of Christmas the happiest holiday all through out the world.---#

EMMA'S BLOOPERS...

When Emma was still in Junior Kinder, she was already singing several songs..She can not read yet. But she managed to learn the lyrics by listening intently to the words and memorizing 'em..She also joined the children's choir of St. John which I handled for a few years..

One time while we were practicing at home, she told me:

"Lolo, when I already know how to read I am going to sing all these songs in this Mass book.."

Singing is now a part of her daily routine. She knows by heart most of the current hits which her generation is crazy about..Do not ask me what those titles are..

Last Thanksgiving, she did an impromptu concert after supper. With her I-pod ( it has several Karaoke tracks of the current hits ) connected to a Bose mini stereo player, she sang her favorites..She knows websites where she can download karaoke tracks and also the lyrics of those pop ditties..

She is now taking voice tutoring. Her voice range is quite high and wide. She won prizes for her Irish Dancing and also awards for singin DANNY BOY in certain vocal competitions.

Yes, she is half Filipino and half Irish and 100% playful..

She can make you laugh and cry at the same time...:)

Just kidding, as usual..:)

two Pilipino lullabyes..

There are several Pilipino lullabyes
originating from several parts of the country. I am publishing two of these..

The one sung by Miguelita goes:

SAMPUNG MGA DALIRI (Ten fingers )
KAMAY AT PAA ( Hands and feet )
DALAWANG TAINGA ( two ears )
DALAWANG MATA ( two eyes )
ILONG NA MAGANDA ( a beautiful nose )

If I am not mistaken, this song was once used in a segment of SESAME STREET....

The piano selection interprets NENA'S LULLABYE..

First lines go:

"Sleep my Darling baby,
Mother is not far away..."

Emma Forbes sings O HOLY NIGHT

THE WALTZ, ( AKA THE THREE QUARTER TIME )

Waltz is called VALSE among Filipinos and othes using the Latin Language..

For me, there are just two kinds of music as far as timing is concerned: the 4/4, the one which we just studied and the 3/4..This is the valse, the waltz..

If you examine the music score of say BLUE DANUBE WALTZ, you will find that the key signature at the beginnig of the first bar is 3/4.

If you examine the notes contained in each measure, there are only 3 quarters..Thus the other name, 3 quarter time...

When you conduct a 3/4 music your hand goes:

first...down, second...right, third, up...Just 3 beats to complete a measure...Nothing simpler..

Thus when you beat to the music of say MALINAK LAY LABI you go, down, right, up, down right up..ad infinitum until the piece ends...

NARANIAG NGA BULAN is also written in 3/4..And so with SILVER BELLS ( hmmm almost time for those bells to go out ringin' again )...

In the beginning of this paragraph, I said there are only two kinds of music timing..I greatly simplified it...

There is the timing called 6/8...There are 6 1/8 notes in each measure..If you add these mathematically, you will get 3/4..Bingo...!

A very common song written in 6/8 is the carol SILENT NIGHT..But when I conduct a choir singing, I use the 3/4 method, down, right, up..But the way I count is not 1,2,3, 1,2,3...rather it is 1,2,3,4,5,6....then 1,2,3,4,5,6....Some conductors, use a different way, but I do not want to go into it....Too technical..And it might be too boring...

Once in a while you will come across a music score in 9/8.. Yes there are some scores written this way..


In 3/4 music scores, you will be meeting the dotted half note...It is the half note with a dot beside it.. The dotted half note has 3 counts. The undotted half has just 2 counts. Why?..The answer is somewhere in the past Blog pages on this topic..Yes, the dot extends the life or value of a note by 1/2 of the actual value of the note...

Now we come to the rests..There are 3 rests in each 3/4 measure..

By the way, the rests are also dotted..And it also extends the value in the same way as the notes....

A 3/4 measure with only a dotted half note inside ( or a dotted half rest ) is mathematically correct...

And finally, a waltz also follows the no. 8 with regards to music phrases..( remember this lesson ?) Each musical phrase in a 3/4 composition has also 8 measure...

End of lesson..Til next time again folks!

IKAW LAMANG ANG AKING I-IBIGIN..

A SHORT MUSIC VIDEO

a short poem

A SONG AT THE BEACH

Am back at the beginning of life

Beauty is all I see

the world in its primeval cloak

The sky, the land, the sea

There is no difference, the sea or sky,

Or the debris upon the strand

"Rejoice!" a voice tells me so clearly

From the creature on my hand

The silence is sweet, no fuss, no noise,

I hear the angels' wings

I look around, to catch the sound

Of how Creation sings!

by Victorio Costes

note:

The photos are submitted by Teresa Costes. Subjects are my two grandaughters: Olivia and Audrey Costes. Their dad, Oliver Costes is an Animator working in a Computer Graphics Studio in New Brunswick.

RESTS ... in music

One characterstic of a GOOD ART ( of course there is also bad art ) is the presence of CONTRAST.

In a painting, there are highlights and shadows, thin and thick lines, bright and dark colors, etc. In a novel or literature, there are the good guys and the bad guys, the beginning and the end, the presence of conflict, then the resolution of the conflict..etc.

In MUSIC WRITING, there is the time when you sing, ( or an instrument plays ) and there are the times when there is absence of a certain sound ( or singing ) in a music passage.

In short, the absence of music is called REST.

Rests are somehw the opposite of notes...

The sketch that I did on this page illustrates how rests look like on a music page...

1.---- is called whole rest ( in contrast to whole note )
2. is half rest, in contrast to half note
3. is quarter rest, the opposit of quarter note
4. is eighth rest, the opposite of eighth note...
5. ..how a whole note looks like on a piece of music score
6...How a half note looks like on the music score..

The rest of the music symbols appear as they are on the music score. Try to figure these details are when you examine your child's piano scores for rehearsals..Anyhow, you are the one paying for his high fees for his music education...You have the right to know as much as possible the music education your child is getting..:)

***

Again, there is also Math in the use of rests..

A whole rest occupies a whole measure.. A Half rest occupies half a measure, a quarter rest occupies 1/4 of a measure..and so on..

A half note written with a half rest inside a 4/4 measure is mathematically correct. The total value is ONE. A quarter rest added to 3 quarter notes inside a 4/4 measure also is correct.. and so on, and so on....


In a music sheet for an orchestra, the arranger have to write ( by hand ) separate scores for the violins, violas, drums ( yes even drums have notes too! ) , the choir, the soloists, etc.. You can just imagine what kind of work the arranger-conductor has to contend with when it is creating or preparing for a performance or a recording session..So, as you can see, lots of SSS are poured into each recording, into each CD or DVD.. The music arrangers, the artists, then the artists that prepare the CD covers, the writers that do the liner notes..Everything adds up...

The producer have to recover the expenses..

Somehow, when the music industry rants and raves because of downloading and free copying, they might have a point too...

Bye, til nex time!!!

*********************************

kudos to Mia Gonzales, my granddaughter

Mia in a Halloween costume

PEANUT BUTTER in print

Mia Gonzales was my first child singer at St. John church in Weston, a long time ago..She was I think 7 or 8 years old. She has recently turned 15. She has not turned away from music.

Last weekend, she came to visit me and we talked, among other things about music. She is now in Music Theory being a student of an Art School in Brampton, the city where she resides presently with my daughter and her husband.

Well part of discussion was something like: "give me the key if the music score has 1 sharp, 2 sharps, 3 sharps or 1 flat or 2 flats..and so on, and so on.."

Stuff like that. Very interesting to some, but not to all, if you know what I mean.

Anyways when she arrived, I gave me a copy of the magazine YOUNG VOICES published by the Toronto Public Library. Her article PEANUT BUTTER was one of the articles published .

So I congratulated her, she said "Thank you.." Then we started chatting about a common point of interest: MUSIC.

Above are photos of her and the magazine page..

MEET MY VIRTUAL BAND!

This section controls the accompaniment. It has 100 styles. It has LATIN ( Rhumba, Salsa, Mambo, etc ) On the right side of the keyboard, you first play a button that says STYLE. Then punch in the numbers. Each accompaniment has its code number. When you press a red button, you will hear the drums playing. Then you press some basic chords with your left hand and the machine will play some accompaniment ( very nice sounds ) depending on the number you pressed. All you have to worry about is your right hand doing the solo melody. BUT you must play the song precisely, in perfect timing. Your "band" will play on and on without listening to how you play! In short if your timing went south, you created a MESS, not MUSIC!

This section controls the voices ( instruments ) ..My favorite instruments are the piano, MIDI gRAND, and the BELLs..You will discover other quaint sounds..There are 100 to chose from, including drum sounds, dog barks, whistles..Those sounds would be good for the 4 year olds in your household!

the OVER ALL VIEW of the Yamaha keyboard..

It is nice and handy to have a "band in your pocket." This is for musician wannabes, or frustrated musicians who dreamed of playing on primetime TV but never made it. Or maybe for people who have lots of time in their hands at home and just want to spend some of it creatiively..

I bought this gizmo about 2 decades ago. It is only now that I have learned how write on the net that I got reacqainted with it.

Ironically, when I started playing it in public, that I found out that I did not know how to use the one man band features!

So I apologized to my audience ( the Seniors group ) and I reverted back to the old piano. Then that night I swore to learn its features and I did.

Maybe some of you have this keyboard. Somewhere. Unused. Well I am sharing with you what I learned. Just the basics anyway and you could build from there.

The best way to learn something new is to do it. Make mistakes you will but then you will learn something new until you reached the point when you have attained what you wanted to learned in the first place!

So get to your keyboards, ready, set, PLAY!

If you are doing this at 12:00 midnight, I hope you are using your head phones!!

playing with Mary and her Lamb

Studying music theory by itself could be dry and boring..But try applying it with some dusty almost forgotten music instrument in your house, then you will find Music Theory could after all, be palatable..

I re-discovered this Yamaha keyboard which I bought about 15 years ago. I used it for some Christmas and Wedding gigs then I stopped because the stress level was getting high while the pay check was getting low. So I kept this instrument away until I rediscovered it hiding in some dingy part of my basement, still in its black soft case.

I was running out things to do as I retired because I wanted to do something creative while I still have my senses working..


The good thing about this instrument is, it comes with a "virtual " band. It has 100 instrument sounds ( called VOICES ) another 100 kinds of accompaniments ( CALLED STYLES ).. So for playing around while waiting for the Mrs. to arrive home it is nice making some music because canned music after a while could turn into drag. Yes, this is what they called before a ONE MAN BAND. And you do not even have to pay your band members or feed them or give them beer after rehearsals..

So if you can play with the right hand the melody line, in this case MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB , then the left hand can play some basic chords like CMajor or G7 or FMajor you could play something with the instrument. ..With these 3 chords in your memory pocket, you can play many, many songs particularly in some birthday parties for kids from 1 to 9 years old..Do not go higher than that! Because the songs you can make with 3 left hand chords are limited to Mother Goose rhymes or lullabyes..

Anyways, you can manage to play a few of them once you have a basic grasp of music reading, a ggod timing, and some head phones so you would not bug the other occupants of your house by your constant and heart felt practice..

Good luck!

More lessons next time!

***************************

MY LOVE FOR YOU was done by Johnny Mathis. I wrote the notes first, then with the lyrics using the Cakewalk software..It is one enjoyable software I learned a few years back.

One of the things you can do with it is to write music scores without using your hand. You use a mouse to write the notes, thus giving your written score a nice printed look..

Anyway, there are two new lessons connected with the 8 measure score which I wrote...

1. the dot. In music, you use the dot to indicate that the value of the note proceeding it is extended to one half of its actual written value..( huh? )

Example: the value of a half note are two beats, right? If you put a dot after the half note, the actual value of the dotted half note are 3 beats...

2. The eighth notes..1/8 notes..These notes were resulted from dividing the quarternotes into halves..In simple math 1/2 of 1/4 = 1/8...

A couple of 1/8 notes joined together have the value of 1 beat...

Thus if you have to write just 1/8 notes inside that 4/4 measure, you will be needing 8 1/8 notes so your music composition is correct..Getting boring?

Anyway, the photo above show the first 8 measures of MY LOVE FOR YOU. ...

music lesson 3

Here is a graphic representation ( a longer term for the word picture ) concerning the previous lesson..

In this picture, you will see the quarter, half and whole notes I was talking about. Try singing this short exercise while making a 4/4 beat with your right hand.Do not use your left The left hand performs the opposite manner ( going right instead of left on the 2nd beat, then going left instead of right on the 3rd beat ). Both left and right hand goes the same direction on the first and 4th beat! In basic music reading, you beat only with one hand, specifically the right hand. If you are right handed.

In advanced music reading ( conducting a choral group e.g. ) then you beat with two hands. When two hands conduct at the same time, they go the opposite way on the 2nd and the 3rd beat.

This short lesson by the way concerns basic music conducting ....



The symbol at the left of the staff is a twirling thingy called a CLEFT. A new term! This cleft IS CALLED THE G cleft. Another term for this cleft is the treble cleft.
There are 2 kinds of cleft: the treble and the bass cleft..

the treble cleft is called the G cleft,
the bass cleft is called the F cleft..

Next time I will show you how a F cleft looks like..

In a score or music sheet written for a piano, there are two staves for each melody line. Each staff is marked by an F and a G cleft side by side. These two staves are joined by a music term called BRACKET. Reason for the 2 staves? One staff is for the right hand, the other staff is for the left.

The trebel staff is what the right hand performs, the bass staff is what the left hand performs..
Again you will see these terms next time: I do not want to cram in too much terms in one lesson..I do not want you to choke!

Anyway just take a look and try to sing the simple children song by looking at the notes, the words ( called lyrics ) and the other music terms like the bars, the cleft, the time signature the number of measures from the start to the end of the song. It is always the number 8!
til next time!

****************

Here is a feedback from my buddy, Ben Soloria from Virginia..

Now that you got my curiosity, Maestro, how do the notes relate to the syllables in the lyrics?Is one syllable equivalent to a quarter note? For example, these lyrics --- "My love for you isdeep and endless as the sea, strong and mighty as a tree, my love for you." In this particular example, if I would write the notes, which syllables or words would be a quarter note or a whole note?Hey, just kidding. You don't have to explain that one cause no matter what kind of explanationyou give I'll probably won't comprehend it anyway. I learned to drive, I learned to swim and I learnedto cook but just can't have a way with music. Ciao. I'll keep up with the serial lessons.

Will answer your e-mail extensively next time, buddy!

lesson

Teaching could be an enjoyable experience, more so if you are tutoring music to gifted students.

Children seem to have an inborn ear ( and eye ) for music. A good teacher seems to to have the ability to look at the subject from the view point of a child. Or see it thru the eyes of a child.
Thus most piano and music theory books start with children's songs. Let us take the song MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB.

A music teacher can tell many things about MATH and MUSIC from this simple children,s song.
No. 1-The entire song -MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB is made up of 8 measures...
All songs that I know are written in 8 measures, or multiples of 8..

Written stories make use of sentences to relate something.

Songs make use of Musical pharases to convey something: a story, an expression of love, a ballad about a country.

A musical phrase has always 8 measures...Not 7 not 9 but 8. It is the magic 8. Check any song and you will always discover that each line of the song is made up of 8 measures..Why?..I do not know. That is how it is..

Let us analyze MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB from a music teacher's point of view..
First measure of the song covers the words MA-RY HAD A ..

second measure covers LIT-TLE LAMB...
THIRD measure covers LIT-TLE LAMB...
FOURTH measure covers LIT-TLE LAMB...
FIFTH measure covers MA-RY HAD A ..
SIXTH measure covers LIT-TLE LAMB...HIS
SEVENTH measure covers FLEECE IS WHITE AS SNOW
EIGHTH measure covers SNOW!

Music conductors make use of their hands to count the 1-2-3-4s in many songs.
This is called BEATING or MAKING BEATS..

To make a 4/4 beat follow only 4 simple steps are done with your hand or with a baton stick.
In the first beat the right hand goes down, in the second beat the hand goes to the left, 3rd beat it goes to the right, 4th beat it goes up and 1 measure is finished. You again will repeat the cycle, first beat goes down, left, right up and so on, and so on..

Try singing MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB while making a beat on 4/4 time..
MA - is one beat, RY is another beat, HAD is another beat, A is another beat, One measure is done..

Now we go to the 2nd measure
LIT- first beat
TLE - second beat
LAMB - 3rd and 4th beat..
3rd measure is just a repeat of the 2nd measure
4th measure is just a repeat of the 2nd or 3rd measure,
5th measure is a repeat of the 1st measure
6th is a repeat of the 2nd measure but it includes IT'S
7TH MEASURE has the syllables FLEECE IS WHITE AS ( four syllables, four beats )
8th measure has SNOW which is sang very long. It is a WHOLE NOTE..
WHOLE NOTES ARE SUNG with 4 beats
HALF NOTES are sung with 2 beats ( The note that goes with LAMB is a half note )
The note that goes with SNOW is a WHOLE note. The rest of the syllables are quarter notes.
QUARTER NOTES are sung with 1 beat..
Can you see a pattern emerging?..Not yet?..Read this piece again from the beginning. It takes a while before the lesson sinks in.

Lessons are:
MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB is written in 4/4 time, and in 8 measures..
IT makes use of a combination of quarter, half and whole notes..
If you add the value of the notes inside each measure, you will always arrive to the sum of ONE!
The last meausre has only one note..It is a whole note..the value of a whole note is ONE!
tHE VALUE OF A HALF NOTE IS 1/2 OF A whole note
The value of a quarter note is 1/4 of a whole note..
So as you can see, MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB is not just a kiddie song. It is one way of teaching an aspect of MATH AND MUSIC..MM!!!!
four quarter notes make a whole note
two half notes make a whole note
2 quarter notes make a half note..
But the kind of notes with regards to life span does not end here.
Divide a quarter note and you get a 1/8 note
Divide a 1/8 note and you get a 1/16 note..
Mind boggling?..I do not think so...

Til next time.
vic.

***************

more scary photos!!!

Imagine a Tarantula making a snack out of your scalp..:)

Isn't he suppose to melt away when sunlight appears?

Emma and her beautifying mud plaster..:)

Excellent!!!!

PHANTOM OF THE LIBRARY!!!!!!!!!! ( where is the sound of hollow laughter?)

Spirits of Halloween Past

SOMEONE'S WATCHING OVER THEM!..( Miguelita and her staff...)

Meet my friend Jack! Hi Jack, now hit the road, Jack!

Reminds you of someone?..:)

couple of shots from Louena........

A sure winner for the toothiest pumpkin..:)

Must be Caitlin Untinen, AKA...?

Another spooky night came and went..

and thanks goodness, we are still alive!!

MUSIC LESSON NO. ONE...

Music theory is always a part of learning how to play a music instrument, example the piano.

MATH AND MUSIC

You may not know it, but Math and Music are co-related: one can not exist without the other.
Any musician or singer know how important timing is. Without timing is, you might as well stop singing in public. Your audience will dissapear as fast as you can say DO-RE-MI.
One time, I read an ad here in Toronto that says a child who is good in music will be good in Math or Arithmetic.

Timing is related to mathematics. Have you ever seen a printed music sheet? Do not be intimidated by the symbols there. These could be learned and applied so after you have started studying how to read and write music, the messages in a printed music sheet will become very clear to you.

Some of the best musicians in the world are Filipinos. Singing, playing an instrument, arranging music scores, composing, writing lyrics ( which is the same as writing poetry ), etc. Name it, they can do it.

One of the good music readers from Asingan was the late Mr. Fabian Ballesteros. He can sing a music part if it is written on a music sheet. This ability is good if you are joining music groups which sing in harmony. Have you ever heard a choir singing in a Concert Hall or inside a church? It makes you feel like you are already in heaven. Heaven on Earth, that it. You will be mesmerized.

learning the ropes

I learned how to read music after about 6 months of extensively studying music theory. It consists of reading music exercises by singing. One start from the easiest and day by the day the exercises becomes more and more difficult. There is always difficulty in achieving something worthwhile. As they say, no pain, no gain. But you do need a trained teacher to tell you whether you are singing the notes correctly or not.

Just like reading ABCs, you can not learn how to read notes if you do not learn how to write them.

As you go along your music studies, you will discover how Math and Arithmetic is intertwined with music reading and writing.

If you have a pretty tune in your head, you can write it down on paper, using blank music pages. Then you have captured the tune forever. If you can not write yet, sing it to a tape recorder and send the tape to one who can write music. He/she will gladly do it for you. But you have to pay of course, because the process is also quite time consuming. Anyways, let us go back to the original topic: MATH AND MUSIC. Double M..MM in short. Sweet candy. Or another MM. A good writer in the Discussion Corner of Pangasinan.Org.

Music writing ( and reading) is a kind of language. It was used by Ludwig B. when he wrote his famous compositions. Remenber that he was deaf, yet he was still capable of writing them.
When a musician checks a music sheet, the first thing he looks for are the fractions written at the begining of the song. Which is at the very first staff atop the music sheet.

The most common ones are 4/4, 3/4, 2/4, 6/8..plus a few others. But since this short essay is about the FUNDAMENTALS OF MUSIC READING AND WRITING, I will try to explain to you what these fractions are.

By the way, if there is no fraction ( the proper term for this in music is TIME SIGNATURE ) by default, the time signature is 4/4. Sometimes the wriiter also use the letter C to indicate the music is written as 4/4. Again: no time signature written means the composition has a 4/4 signature.

Most of the songs you hear ( from the oldies to RAP if you consider RAP as music ) are all in 4/4.
Wait, I have to define to you certain terms present on a music sheet.
STAFF is the group of five horizontal lines in the music sheet. A blank music sheet ( used by kids in their elementary piano exercises ) has a number of staffs, sorry STAVES would be the proper word because the plural of staff is STAVES. .

____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________

There are always five lines in a music staff..

FIRST ITEM WRITTEN IN THE BEGINNING OF EACH STAFF ARE SHORT VERTICAL LINES CALLED bars. Hey, these bars are not the same places you go for a quick you-know-what. Bars are like marks separating the music in parts. In music, the area between 2 bars is called..A MEASURE!

You fill up each measure with a certain NUMBER of NOTES.

NOTES are the 8 thingies called do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-si do. Other teachers use C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C. C is for do, D is for Re, and so on and so forth. These are just the WHITE NOTES in a piano. The black notes have their own names too. But we will learn their names in some future lessons.
The note groups from Do ( C) to the next Do ( C) is called an OCTAVE. A prefix meaning Eight is called an OCTO. Octopus, Octogenarian, Octet, etc. If you have started reading this article, it would be helpful if you are sitting in front of a piano. An acoustic piano have seven octaves. Try counting them...

want some pie?

Let us go back to the fractions in music. In this point, I will draw an analogy between the music note and a piece of pie.

A whole pie is the same in value as a whole note. Or the number one, althoogh 1, in terms of music value is not used. We always use the term whole note. Awright!
If you cut a whole pie into 4 equal parts, each piece is called a quarter of a pie.
If you cut a whole note into four equal parts each part is called a quarter note. Now your music education is starting.

A quarter note is a black note with a stem. Check a printed music sheet under your piano bench.
A whole note is a small oval shaped thing which looks like a zero lying on one side.
Okay, four quarter pieces of pie makes up a whole pie. Four quarter notes makes up a whole note. The first lesson a music student do is how to count 1,2,3,4..1,2,3,4..ad infinitum, over and over again while you are playing the piano exercises. If you are singing voice exercises, you have to use your hand in counting the beat. There are hand gestures for each time signature. Just check how the conductor do it next time you attend a live concert. Counting is very important when learning any kind of instrument, including your vocal chords. The voice is also a music instrument, right?

Each measure of a music composition written in 4/4 time must have only 4 quarter notes, or 1 whole note. If you wrote 5 quarter notes inside 1 measure in your music writing exercise, you will get a red mark on your test paper and the teacher would frown or scream at you. "NOT 5, NOT 3 BUT 4!!!" This is one of the music rules which music composers followed ever since the day music writing was invented. And this is quite a number of years ago. The rules of music writing never changed up to this very day.

Brahms used his hand in writing his compositions. There was no Cakewalk music writing software during his time. His original documents, if these still exist must now cost a fortune. Composers write music with bold and fast strokes. They are not rounded or artistic as you see in printed music sheets. But the music printer can read these these crude music writings and he sets them nicely on print. Not long ago, some compositions of John Lennon written with his hand were auctioned. Now those are real collectors' items which fetched good money.

More on time signatures next time! And HAPPY SINGING!!---#

BY VICTORIO COSTES