my_story
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
inspiring
may nalaman ako sa idol ko
mula grade 3 pa lang idol ko na 2
Ryan Cayabyab's treasure chest
By Marilyn A. Parra
Ryan Cayabyab is a household name, having created works in a wide variety of genres full-length ballets, theater musicals, music ensembles, sacred choral works, orchestral pieces, popular music, film scores, and television specials. But what isn't public perhaps, according to the composer/conductor himself, is that he owes his extensive musical career to a small, simple black box.
"My treasure chest," he calls it, and proceeds to tell the story of the box that started the career of the musical genius.
"My mother, Celerina Pujante-Cayabyab, was an opera singer and music instructor at the University of the Philippines. We lived inside the campus and we had 10 boarders who were all music students. That was how I got used to hearing people play all kinds of instruments. I could hear the boarders play instruments, rehearse voice lessons, and sing gloriously inside the house. Our days were literally filled with music.
"Unfortunately, my mother died when I was 6 and my family had to move to a smaller bungalow."
"When my family moved," continues Cayabyab, "we didn't have much. But I found something that was to prepare the ground for my career in music. It was a black box left by one of the boarders. It contained several piano pieces and musical books.
"My world revolved around that box for many years. Each day, without fail, I would take time to read notes and understand how to play the piano on my own, until I turned 14. Then I got formal piano lessons. To this day, I still keep that precious box."
This revelation, says Cayabyab, was something he had never shared with anyone before.
Between music and accountancy
"I started doing musical arrangements back in high school but I didn't realize that there was actually a future in music. My mother's last instruction to my father was: 'Huwag na huwag mong papasukin sa music ang kahit na sino sa mga anak natin' (Don't ever allow any of our children to take up music). If there had been no scholarship offered, I would have gone on to Accountancy," Cayabyab confesses.
With only his father supporting them, Ryan learned that life could be difficult. He was the third among four children and to help the family, he worked in a band as a pianist when he was 16. "I had to lie about my age. I told them I was 18 so I could work," recalls Cayabyab.
"I originally intended to become an accountant," recalls Cayabyab. "I enrolled for a course in Accountancy at the University of the Philippines before I shifted to Music. I'm glad I followed my heart. Otherwise, I could just have been an obscure accountant somewhere."
Cayabyab joined the UP Madrigal Singers and there, met Cocoy Laurel. "We would play the instruments together and we got along well. He introduced me to his family. The Laurels told me na magaling (excellent) akong musician, so why don't I pursue a career in music? Mr. Salvador 'Doy' Laurel and his wife offered to give me a scholarship. He told me na hindi ko kailangang gawin 'yung bagay na ayaw ko. The rest, I believe, is history."
Cayabyab earned his Bachelor of Music degree major in composition from the University of the Philippines, College of Music. The next two decades saw Cayabyab teaching full-time for UP's Department of Composition and Music Theory.
"I always tell my students that if we are good at something, we make people happy because we do our job well. We can be anything we want to be, kung magaling tayo sa field na pinasok natin (if we are good in our chosen field)."
Composer par excellence
Good music speaks to us of what we feel and tells us that even pain, loneliness, and disappointment can be beautiful. The more familiar we are with the song, the more we are drawn towards it. Quite often though, we remember the singer and the song, but rarely, the composer.
"A composer," explains Cayabyab, "is a person who hears music in his head and then writes it down for others to perform. Typically, he plays—improvises the music—for as long as he wishes, listens, and then edits it."
Kay Ganda ng Ating Musika, Tuwing Umuulan at Kapiling Ka, Kahit Ika'y Panaginip Lang, Kailan, Kumukutikutitap, Can This be Love, How Can I, and Now That You're Gone are only some of the hits composed by Mr. C every Filipino is familiar with. From the day he won the grand prize in the First MetroPop Song Festival (1977) with his entry "Kay Ganda Ng Ating Musika," to this day, Mr C, who turns 50 this month, never had a day without music.
"I'm glad to have composed songs for some of the best singers we have—Basil Valdez, Kuh Ledesma, Celeste Legaspi, Joey Albert, Sharon Cuneta, Martin Nievera, Gary Valenciano, Lea Salonga, Mitch Valdes, The Company, Ana Fegi, Smokey Mountain, Ariel Rivera, and many, many others," prides Cayabyab whose songs have become classics in Philippine music.
His secret is simple. "When something is playing in my mind, I stand up and go to the piano because I know I'll probably lose what I'm thinking if I don't write it down at that moment. This is what I often teach my students. You just have to be diligent and persevere. Before long, you'll see fruits. You'll become excellent in your craft."
Cayabyab, who is currently the Executive and Artistic Director of the San Miguel Foundation for the Performing Arts, adds, "Music is my passion and life. Maraming nagsasabing mahirap ang buhay musiko (many people say that a musician's life is difficult) but I learned that one would really have to like what he's doing and everything else will follow."
Ryan Cayabyab knows music in all its parameters-pitch, duration, instrument, volume, and placement. His work has become the paradigm of the best in Filipino music.
july wrote this piece of crap on Tuesday, September 20, 2005
i'm the mobilemaniac
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