AISM Guitar & Woodwind Tutor
Albert Loo started playing the classical guitar at the age of 9, as far as he remembers at least! Unfortunately, there was no social media to keep track of these things. Not even the internet existed back then. He cut his teeth on the guitar in a very different musical environment in Malaysia 40 years ago. Back then, 9 out of 10 guitarists were good guitarists. That other one was outstanding. As a child back then, there were not as many things to do compared to today, so the guitar became an obsession that he continuously worked at for hours on end.
During his teens, he signed up for a course in music composition and harmony with a local music producer. He then began to play in bands. "We used to go to the record shop to record songs onto a cassette tape. We transcribed music by repeatedly playing back and rewinding the tape. It was a tedious process to learn songs, especially difficult guitar solos. The tape may get worn out or even eaten by the cassette player. Thankfully, Youtube has sorted that out in today’s environment!"
The Internet arrived in his 20s and Albert began to explore the keyboard. He found the freely available CC Chang's Fundamentals of Piano Practice Book.
There is a lot to learn from this book. A big part of it focuses on efficient practice techniques that can be applied across all instruments.
In his 30s, Albert took up the Saxophone. He was curious after hearing someone mention that a Saxophonist's brain is wired differently. Soon, he found out what it meant. “The notes that one chooses to play on the saxophone has to be meaningful and has to be given a certain amount of thought. You have to think of the phrasing. It does not sound good just running up and down the scale. The wind instrument is as close as you can get to imitating a singer on an instrument.” This thought process is helpful to any instrumentalist looking to improve their phrasing and musicality.
Albert got into music education and began using his experiences of performing, recording and composing to deliver lessons that are practical in real on stage situations. His knowledge in guitar, piano, saxophone, flute and clarinet gives him a different perspective on how to approach an instrument, and his students will learn techniques and musical fundamentals and concepts that will not only be applicable to the guitar, but across all instrumental playing.
Sign up with Albert to learn these secrets. He teaches ukulele, guitar, bass, saxophone, flute and clarinet.
Videos:
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Ode To Joy ( finger style guitar )
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Desafinado ( finger style guitar )
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What A Wonderful World ( saxophone )
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Getaran Jiwa, classic Malay tune ( saxophone )
