ART DESIGN AND MUSIC BLOG

Long time ago, I was on the stage and playing my guitar in front of thousands of people. Everyone loved me. Everyone knows I am the best guitar player in the world. I play with eight fingers or sometimes ten. I even use my toes to shred my guitar. Oyeaahhhh I rocked the world!

Sorry, I just made it up – not even funny.

But here is a real story about guitar hero – no! not that game – I mean a real guitarist. Like guitar player Yuri Mahatma , this guy is an Indonesian too – a Balinese to be exact. His name is I Wayan Balawan.

Okay, guitar players and beginners,  Balawan is a busy musician but he still able and kind enough to spare his time to answer questions I sent him via email. What an awsome guy.

Who is I Wayan Balawan?

Simply, google his name. Story about Balawan (that’s what people call him) is everywhere. Even a wiki about him. You can also read a complete info at his website and of course on youtube.

Balawan is one of guitar players who is a specialist of touch-tapping-style like Stanley Jordan. Maybe the only guitarist with such guitar-playing technique in Indonesia.

When did you start to play guitar?
Balawan: Started when I was 8 years old (kelas 4 Sekolah Dasar – Year 4 of elementary school) by playing Indonesian children song and ABBA and Evergreen songs at that time like belladona, rivers of babylon etc.

Tell me about your guitar formal study..
Balawan: I was taught by my oldest sister in the early age and also from her school friends that came over to our house everyday, then I learned by watching rock concert video and also went to Kuta sometimes to watch bands.

After finished high school I studied music at Australian Institute of Music in Sydney.  I got my certificate of music after a year, and AIM (Australian Institute of Music) offered a part of scholarship, so I continued to study and got a diploma.

What do you call your music?
Balawan:Mixture of ethnic, technique and skillful entertainment. Complex category, hey?

Any guitarists you admire, and why?
Balawan: John Mc Laughin, Shawn Lane, Allan Holdsworth. John for his spiritual goal in music by combining jazz and Indian rhythm. Shawn lane and Allan Holdsworth for their technical and musical are incredible. Honestly I don’t admire any blues guitarists. It doesn’t kick in my heart.

Let’s talk about your gear. What guitar do you use, effects, amplifier and why?
Balawan: I use Stephallen guitars made in East Java. They’re amazing guitars and world-class instruments made by local. I use old trusted stomp box by Boss and Digitech – I hate digital effect! I use VOX amplifier and Laney combo, because I am a simple man.

The way you play your guitar looks so complicated. I believe many guitar players or “wannabe’s” wants to play the technique (*cough – including me) but quit after couple of attempts. What do you think?
The way i do it, put it this way. Practising = Eating (you must eat everyday, don’t you ?) and always happy doing it, no pressure at all…

How do you define “a good guitar player” ?
Balawan: Good guitar player is a guitarist that is able to accompany singer just with one guitar and also can “speak” just with a few notes. But I also admire any technically fast guitarist because I know they have been doing their homework properly.

Okay, this is for beginner what advice would you give in terms of guitar practice?
Balawan: It’s better to practise 1 hour everyday than 8 hours once a week

Do you teach ? If yes, do you teach your guitar technique or normal guitar playing?
Balawan: To play my style you need an extra dedication and hard work, you can imagine practising scale with your left hand using pick for 2 hours, and you must practise the same thing with just your right hand for another 2 hours.

Yes, I teach guitar sometimes but most it for clinics and masterclass only. At the moment  I don’t really have time to teach one person at a time. And I teach whatever they want to know, shred, solo acoustic, electric, tapping or song to crack on their girlfriends,  it’s okay too..

Any last words for beginners?
Balawan: Everybody started playing by copying other guitarist, – so you do that – but after that you must try to find your own style, be unique and original then you on to something!

Whoah! Thanks Balawan.  So what do you think?

Years back in Bali I had a band called Kayane.  It was me as a lead vocalist with guitar and Ami Rosady , Eko Sumarsono on Bass (Ami and Eko are now member of Animo Band), Edy Siswanto on drum (now with Saharadja Band) and Yuri Mahatma on guitar (now with BIAO band).

Kayane was a great formation for me in the process of maturing my musicianship. Anyway, I am not going to tell you further about Kayane (maybe  I’ll blog about it next time) but I want to introduce you to “down-to-earth” guitar player Yuri Mahatma.

Two days ago I sent an email to him if he would be interested to share his words about guitar and music on my blog. He agreed. So I sent him ten questions and he answered below:

When did you started to play guitar?
Yuri: I started when I was 13 years old. It was my sister’s guitar

Why guitar? Not drum or other instruments?
Yuri: Well, In my country it is relatively the cheapest instrument you can get, and it is very common to take when you hang out with your friends, sitting on a fence, getting high..you know.

Did you have formal guitar education?
Yuri: Well, not really formal but I took some private class from Martijn Van Iterson in Holland, he was one of the most respected guitar player in Europe, until today I guess.

I know you play jazz. Why Jazz?
Yuri: I don’t really care about the music genre. I love all kind of music as long it has space for me to improvise, if it means Jazz then, Jazz it is.

What was the artist or guitar player that has the biggest influence on you as a musician?
Yuri: My sister – Dian Pratiwi. She already was  a jazz singer when I just started. I was pretty much influenced, especially in classic jazz. And of course by the great guitarists from the good old days, Jim Hall, Joe Pass, to name a few.

Let’s talk about your gear. What guitar do you use and why?
Yuri: I use Gibson ES 135. It’s cheap compare to other series of Gibson, and it has good response to sound effect, yet still gives you the warmth of  ” f ” hole hollow tone.

What guitar would you suggest to buy for beginners and why?
Yuri: Buy a Fender Strat, it is very nice guitar, besides you still can sell it with good price in case you quit.

Do you teach ?
Yuri: Yes, I give lessons at Farabi Music school in Bali, and also some private lessons at home.

What would you advise for those who are  interested in learning jazz guitar?
Yuri: Open your mind. Jazz is not WHAT, but HOW. You should try all possibilities with it.

Any last words you want to say for beginners?
Yuri: Take your time. Do not equip yourselves with too much sound effects as the greatest tone comes from your fingers..and be honest to yourselves, find the reason why you want to be a musician at the first place. Music is a lifetime learning.

Here is Yuri’s performance with his band BIAO

So what do you think? Please share your thought or retweet it. Thank you.

Aditia ‘Adeet’ Nugroho

I have strong interest in Photography. I am still a  “N00B” . I had been taking photograph using camera pocket a year before I met Aditia ‘Adeet’ Nugroho (see that smiling guy on the right – that’s him!) – a talented photographer based in Jakarta – Indonesia now. He answered all my stupid questions about photography even took him with when I bought my a better camera Fujifix S9500.

He is amazing photographer and I decided to ‘peel his brains out’ by throwing some short questions to him via  facebook ™ and share it with you.

When were you interested in photography?
Aditia: My interest started when I was in year 7 of school (Sekolah Menengah Pertama Re: Indonesian School). My cousin  is a photographer and I always tagged along every time he had shooting session. His work was a major influence that makes my interest kept alive and getting stronger as time went by.

What does photography mean to you?
Aditia: It is part of life. Being honest, I make a living out of it. Ha ha ha! Photography is the source of beauty, dramatisation, sense of art and skill. Mind this – many says “In order to produce an extraordinary photograph, you need extraordinary tools (expensive camera and accessories).”

That’s totally wrong!

We can produce good photograph using – only – pocket camera. As long as you have a sense of art – that includes composition, balance, and so on.

What was your reaction when you saw your first photograph?
Aditia: I think, when I took a photograph using analogue camera I got for the first time and I said to myself  “Hey I can do this.”

Do you have a formal education in photography?
Aditia: Everything I know about photography is non-formal study. Self taught. I learned from friends (photographers), mistakes I made, magazines. I had a quick training with a well-known photographer in Indonesia – but I would say that wasn’t really formal.

What is your opinion about photoshop enhancement in photography?
Aditia: No doubt, photography is inseparable with photoshop. Because of it, many photographers or photography enthusiasts don’t do their best when taking photos.  They say “Relax, we’ve got photoshop . We can do something with it.”

I am not saying, I am anti using the software – to be honest, photoshop helps me a lot enhancing my photographs – but we shouldn’t rely on it.

What is beauty to you?
Aditia: Beauty is something ‘comforting, mesmerizing,’ seen by eyes – what you see is what you get. I think.

What makes you upset during the photo shooting?
Aditia: Gears don’t work like they suppose to, swing-mood model, client who breathes on my neck during session, arrogant security guys of the location where the photo session is held, unpredictable weather.

How do you convince your model or client that you will produce great photograph?
Aditia: Just by being my self….and also…good portfolio, he he he..

Any words about failure?
Aditia: Obviously, I’ll be upset and ‘down’, disappointed. But I keep thinking positively.. behind every failure, there is a delay of success. Right?

Who is your favorite photographer that inspires you?
Aditia: In my country – Indonesia – obviously cousins of mine (Ceka and Bayu Heraldi), Hari Subastian (Harpers Bazzar, Indonesia), Hadi Cahyono (Harpers Bazaar, Indonesia), Darwis Triadi (the maestro).

Others are Chase Jarvis, Dave Hill, David Lachapelle and finally James Nachtwey. From all these names mentioned only James Nachtwey is not commercial or fashion photographer – he is a professional journalist photographer. I love journalistic photography, and I love James Nachtwey’s works.

What is your favorite photograph and why?
I love candid-photography. Example, back to James Nachtwey’s works – Journalistic Photography. See his facebook page. Don’t get me wrong, I like fashion photography as well. I just prefer ‘Journalistic Photography’.

What is your favorite object to photograph and why?
Clearly – human (person) . Every person has a unique character. And people can be easier to be directed, don’t you agree?

Tell me your experiences – may be scary, funny, weird, or anything – during photo session.
Funniest thing was when I had to take photograph of people who had never been photographed – boy it was hard to tell them to pose, do this do that – but but that was stupid thing to make them posing. I should had let them pose naturally.

Scary one was on shooting a block of massive land (site location) in Newcastle – NSW (Australia). I was doing Aerial Shot from 300 meters above the ground on a Forklift. That was scary.

Strange thing happened not so long ago. I had a photo session at really spooky location in very old city. During session, all presetting of my gears kept changing constantly. We’re so uncomfortable for a while.

Sentimental one was on wedding assignment when the groom was crying. I asked if he’s alright. He said he’s not ready to commit. I feel terrible and didn’t know what to say.

Ever thought about quitting photography?
Aditia: To be honest – yeah.. I have. I have been thinking to be an actor instead, ha ha ha. (Joking)

Have you ever experienced ‘Block Mind or Uninspired’? If yes, how do you deal with it?
Aditia: Yes. I bet every photographer has this problem – we all do – that’s common. I simply have a break. I don’t do any photographing activities for couple of days. I’ll watch movies on DVD or read magazines. Or I visit the book shop.

What kind of assignment do you love to do?
Aditia: Journalistic or documentation. It’s candid. I like it ‘cus it’s simple and no need to direct anyone (like models).

What do you think about black and white photography ?
Aditia: Black and white photography is perfect and great for creating dramatic impact. The colour of black and white themselves are dramatic. Agree?

Who and what would you like to photograph, maybe movie star, or anything in particular ( you’ve never done before) ?
Aditia: At heart I want to be a war photographer.

What would you do differently than before in your career as photographer that can be an inspiration or tips for amateur photographers like me to learn?
Aditia: Hm, what can I say? I always try my best to do ‘One Shot, One Kill’. Meaning, what you see on the photograph what you get right from the early stage of photo taken – with less enhancement with photoshop. And aways use your gear the max and do it the best way you can. Otherwise, you waste it.

What do you think about digital manipulation and do you use it?
Aditia: I do use it – not much though. The key is 95% original, 5% digital imaging.

Any last words you want to throw?
Aditia: For photographers, keep on shooting and producing great works, respect and appreciate other photographers. For beginner or ‘wannabes’, remember, out there so many great photographers who have been working in this industry before you, and respect them, learn from them, appreciate them.

Never assume that good (expensive) camera will produce good photograph. Fact is: not quite correct! Whatever camera you use, you must remember that it’s only a tool. How you do with it, is the most vital and important in producing good photograph. I can’t remember the name of someone saying this quote “Owning a top end DSLR doesn’t make you a better photographer, but it makes you a top end DSLR owner.”

That’s it. I hope in anyway give you inspiration and becoming a better photographer.  Please do leave a comment about this post, share it or retwitting. Read related topic on how to sell your photograph online.