The Player

Hello!

My name is Baki. I started playing the guitar when I was 13. My interest was nurtured by the rage in guitars back in high school (a phase every teenager goes through). But I tried my hand(s) at it, and it fit well.

My first guitar was an IR Lumanog Turtleback Acoustic called Lazaro. Papa and I bought it in one of the Lumanog stores in Sta. Mesa (can't remember which). He retired after having his neck broken. Twice. I don't have the heart to give my paraplegic guitar away because it was a gift from Papa. I named him Lazaro because he'll rise from the dead someday.

Practicing with Lazaro, 2009

My second and current guitar is a Suzuki SG-2B Starter Classical called El Dia. I bought him on sale from JB Music in Trinoma. I named him so because I had to save up for almost a year to buy a new one, and I couldn't wait for that day.

Waiting for our cue with El Dia, 2013

I am a self-taught guitarist. I pick up tips and techniques from YouTube and reading blogs. I hoard sheet music, worry the playback on music players, and would die if sites like Ultimate Guitar went down. I'm not a fan of learning songs I do not like, though I happen to oblige requests depending on how much I like people.

Tarrega with El Dia, 2012

This blog is a personal diary of my progression into classical guitar playing. It may contain other accounts on my love affair with music. My music interests include EVERYTHING (srsly, my playlist spans genres). Aside from the guitar, I play the djembe (by Dyandi Percussion) and other hand drums and can hit a few beats on indigenous Filipino instruments (non-traditional). Given time, I can also slam a few keys on the piano besides "Mary Had a Little Lamb." I also own a bamboo flute and a few jaw's harps.

Baju, my djembe, 2012

I talked about guitar playing elsewhere (Wow, just realized that I haven't written a lot about something in which I am so deeply interested). You can read them here:
Guitar TLC. On how to store El Dia and what went wrong with Lazaro
Stuck in Nursery. On getting stuck with a song and (not) coping up with plateauing
El Dia is finally here! On what it feels like to get a guitar
A prose to my guitar. On missing Lazaro, and counting down the days

It would be cool to know other self-taught classical guitarists out there! Please leave your hellos and struggles in the comment section. Let's figure something out together :)