Maasin City, Southern Leyte – Local bands in Maasin, Baybay, Ormoc, Tacloban and other cities in region 8 (Leyte and Samar) and even in Cebu and perhaps in Mindanao and Luzon, really need coaching from professional musicians. My years of observations on how some bands here were playing during live concerts have led me to this kind of suggestion and admonition.

Bands in Maasin and from Cebu that performed during the previous years here through sponsorships and invitations have the habit of playing too loud their musical accompaniments during live concerts on stage. The overwhelming voluminous sounds of guitars and drums from each 4 or 5-member bands as they rendered their successive delivery of songs have drowned the singers’ voices. The audience could no longer hear clearly the lyrics of each song rendition, making them unable to understand the message or the meaning of each song, whether rock, love song or ballad.

I wonder if a technician or the members of the band themselves can properly adjust the volume of each guitar and the half-beating of drum of each performing band. This is in such a way that both the voice of the soloist and the musical accompaniment of each song can equally be heard by the entire audience during the live concert.

During the last quarter of 2008 Urbandub, a homegrown 4-member band from Cebu City, had performed in Maasin. Their live performance was principally sponsored by the Philippine National Red Cross-Southern Leyte Chapter, Ads Pacific Unlimited, Floi Quinne, Southern Leyte Times together with several other co-sponsors. Part of the proceeds will go to the Red Cross for its programs. Prior to their schedule at the city gymnasium, 3 invited local bands have served as the opening numbers. Each band was also composed of 4 members who rendered 4 songs each. I was to expect a good delivery of their stage presentations. The vocalist’s voice quality was also alright and could have been a pleasure and entertaining to listen to.

However, as what I’ve observed in the past concerts of local bands and that from Cebu, their respective musical accompaniments of songs have caused a displeasure to both young and adult music lovers who were there to watch the show. Yet what could have been a general consensus of bad performance was switched to mute as the crowd may have avoided shouting their grievances. When Urbandub finally appeared on the stage there were whistles and cheers from the audience, mostly in their 10’s, 20’s and 30’s. Comparing its audience to the previous concerts here, theirs however, was sparse. Their newly-acquired popularity is not yet heavily felt here by the young breed of music lovers. After rendering the first song Urbandub’s vocalist/guitarist Gabby Alipe beckoned to the young audience to come close to the stage. Some responded. They moved and rushed on closer to the singer’s location and danced with abandon. Nevertheless, akin to the local bands’ performances, Urbanbdub’s songs were incomprehensible since the singer’s voices were drowned by the very loud musical accompaniment.

I asked an acquaintance about what I have observed in a series of local concerts which he also has similar observations. He said one of the main reasons why the singer’s voice will always be drowned during a concert is because band members always have the tendency of readjusting what the technician has already done with the adjustments in the volume of sounds for the balance delivery of songs and the musical accompaniments.

He disclosed that mostly, these young organizations of local bands always want to make their own way in adjusting the volumes of sounds during a concert, apparently rejecting what a technician has done more appropriately.

Because of this kind of stage performances from the current breed of young bands, I still miss the point of getting a pleasure and entertainment from hearing the lyrics of each of Urbandub’s 12 rock songs. Like the other bisrock bands that performed here, there will always these “uncured” voluminous sounds of guitars and drums, again drowning the singers’ voices. Concert enthusiasts can no longer comprehend and perceived what each song means, -with that kind of lashing uncontrolled sounds. Would it not be a pleasure and entertaining if each person in the audience, young and adult, can hear a balance delivery of each song and its musical accompaniment? Is this not what concertgoers and music lovers are up to in watching a concert? Cannot young band members perceive this important aspect in all of their concerts everywhere? Are our local bands composed mostly of teenagers and young men too callous and too insensitive to perceive this unwritten law in all of concert performances? Are our bisrock bands in the Visayas and Mindanao not watching live concerts of popular international bands on cable TVs or at their homes’ videos? If they are indeed watching, are they not aware on how these performing bands deliver a balance sound of the vocalist voice and t heir musical accompaniments so that the lyrics of their songs can be heard clearly by listeners and the audience?

When singer-composer Jose Mari Chan, Apo Hiking Society, The Aegis, Donna Cruz and a Cebuano duo called MYMP from Cebu held a separate concert here in various venues, their respective audiences in all walks of life have had very much enjoyed their shows. Music lovers young and old alike could hear clearly the lyrics of their songs and have appreciated it because these were presented in balance sounds of songs and musical accompaniments to the delight of their respective audiences. I believe that our bisrock and other bands in the Visayas, Mindanao and Luzon can exactly do what the professional bands, both local and foreign, have been doing.

Furthermore, as I have listened to Urbandub’s 2 recorded songs shared by an internet user, the wordings of their songs can be heard clearly. Apparentlly because of the proper and correct adjustments of the volume for both the singer’s voice and the musical accompaniment delivered in balance. If this can be done inside a recording studio, why not in a stage during live concerts as well?

This seemingly complicated perennial problem that we are discussing is in closed analysis, so simple a problem that needs only a simple solution. How can this be done effectively for the pleasure and entertainment of all kinds of audiences? Young men/women members of bands must listen and learn from the professional musicians’ coaching and to cooperate/accept an expert technician’s advice, who most of the time is the one who makes the necessary adjustments prior to the start of the concert. Nonetheless, professional band members are doing themselves the adjustments of the volumes on sounds of their guitars and drums without the assistance of a technician. Another important thing is that the young members of the different bands must also learn how to make proper and correct adjustments of their guitars and drums’ sounds before the start and during the performance of their concert. This is in such a way that when they start singing, their voices will not be drowned by the sounds of the guitars and the beating of drums. It is also important that all drummers themselves must learn to effectively control the beatings of the drums that will spice, enhance and add beauty to the songs’ melodies and tunes. (Quirico M. Gorpido, Jr.)

About the Contributor:

Mr. Quirico M. Gorpido Jr was an erstwhile Correspondent/Contributor to the following weeklies and dailies: Tacloban-based regional weekly a 33-year-old The Reporter for many years(now defunct), a Cebu-based weekly The Visayan Express(now defunct),Cebu-based daily The Freeman(1994-1998) now a sister publication of The Philippine Star, Maasin-based weekly The Southern Leyte Times for three years, Tacloban-based daily The Leyte Samar Daily Express(2000-2001), Cebu-based daily the Cebu Daily News(2002-2003), Tacloban-based weekly 7-year-old Tribune(2003-2007).