AN AMATEUR MUSICIAN

One thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.

[kkkimlin-blog]

media/stereotype

Media has defined how females and males should look and act.Stereotypes play a huge role in this. Though advertisements, performers, actors and actresses. The standard male should be masculine, dominant, physically fit, has abs, handsome and so on like depicted in the image on the previous slide. The standard women is feminine, soft, pretty, treated as property, objectified, should be submissive, thin, have large breasts and so on, again as described in the image on the previous slide. 

Because of the heavy usage of these types of individuals in media, what is actually a normal body type for either gender is not acceptable, so everyone who doesn’t process the unattainable image/ especially for women, doesn’t measure up and is deemed unworthy. Women are often represented negatively thereby promoting negative stereotypes about them. (Tapfumaneyi & Rupande , 2013).

I couldn't agree more on what's said above. Beauty standard and stereotype in women still remain an issue in everywhere in the world. Especially the country I live in, Thailand. 

Thai people are somehow vulnerable to the media they consume. They tend to believe and mimic things from the media. Since we watch and see media too much that it become the reality we believe we are living in. The sense of reality is now dominated by the media stereotype which presented by the hyperreal world. 

Celebrities are also one of the most important factors that create a false needs and false representation of life via the media. As we can easily see from many advertisings or any media. 

Fortunately, there are still some media that encourage the awareness for women from falling into beauty stereotype. 

For example, this is a song call "แค่เป็นเธอ" (Just be yourself) by Two popetorn, A Thai singer. 

 I’ma do a lyric translation for you since some of you might not understand Thai (you know who) 

*The translation is in Italic*

อยากให้เธอมองเห็นตัวเธอเองผ่านสายตาฉัน เพราะว่ามัน ยากเกินจะอธิบายด้วยถ้อยคำ ให้เธอฟัง ให้เธอเข้าใจ

I want you to see yourself through my eyes because it is too hard to explain to you and get you understand what I see in you.

ว่าที่เธอคิดที่เธอกังวลอยู่ทุกวัน ต่างกับภาพที่ฉันมองเห็นอยู่ เธอจะรู้บ้างไหม

What you’re worry about yourself everyday is totally different from what I see in you. you know?

ว่าเธอทั้งสวยและทั้งดูดี โดยไม่ต้องเสริมอะไรก็ Sexy แค่เธอเป็นตัวเองเท่านั้น แค่เป็นเธอคนนี้ มันดีแล้ว

You’re beautiful and looking great. Don’t need any makeup, you’re already sexy. Just be yourself in the way you are is enough.

เธอไม่ต้องลดต้องเพิ่มอะไร อยากขอให้มั่นใจ you’re the only girl in my eyes อยากให้รู้ไว้คนดี

No need to be more or less, just want to make sure that you’re the only girl in my eyes. please do know.

เธอ... ไม่มั่นใจกับภาพในกระจกที่เธอเห็น สิ่งที่เธอนั้นเป็น กับสิ่งที่ใครๆเค้ามองว่าดี วัดอย่างไร ไม่เคยเขัาใจ

You’re unsatisfied of what you see in the mirror. The way you are and those stereotype. I don’t see how it works. 

and it’s like, I found my diamond in the biggest crowd want you to know so I sing it loud เธอจะไปมองใครๆเพื่อเปรียบเทียบทำไม (Why do you want to compare with others?) you’re the only girl I know that can make me smile that’s why... you always got me coming back ใคร... จะเป็นอย่างเธอ (no one like you) who can replace that a beauty head to toe beautiful soul it’s unbelievable you’re something special

Another example would be.. “What makes you beautiful” by One Direction.

Here’s the lyrics

You're insecure Don't know what for You're turning heads when you walk through the door Don't need make up To cover up Being the way that you are is enough

*Everyone else in the room can see it Everyone else but you

**Baby you light up my world like nobody else The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed But you when smile at the ground it aint hard to tell You don't know You don't know you're beautiful If only you saw what I can see You'll understand why I want you so desperately Right now I'm looking at you and I can't believe You don't know You don't know you're beautiful Oh oh But that's what makes you beautiful

So c-come on You got it wrong To prove I'm right I put it in a song I don't why You're being shy And turn away when I look into your eyes :)

To just wrap it up, I believe every women have their own definition of beauty. Don’t let the media dominate your sense of beauty standard. Be yourself and be proud of who we are. and girls, don’t for get to smile. 

A smile is the best make up every girls could wear :)

[kkkimlin-blog]

Post x Pop x Ads

Postmodernism - where the idea gets remixed

Postmodernism - where Mass media and Pop culture are a significant institution on how we perceive things in life

 Postmodernism - best  understood  not  just  as  a  style  but  as  a  general orientation,  as  a  way  of  apprehending  and  experiencing  the  world  and  our  place,  or placelessness, in it.

and yet, there are many more of the definition to say. Seems like I could never explain it all in one post.

by the way, I had my exams on Mass media and society class last week. I really hope it turns out good. Though I couldn't really get it done on within 2 hours for 7 questions.... but anyway I'm glad it was over. 

I think I'm now more into the topic of "Postmodern" and how it related with Mass media. We use the media constantly, that is why the ecstasy of communication occurred and it eventually dominates our sense of reality. I don't wanna talk much about it because I've had so much of it in the exam. The sentence "Mass media dominate our sense of reality" is repeating inside my head over and over again...... Urggg

However.. yesterday I went through my facebook update and I found an advertisement video of a detergent brand called "Attack Easy"

Click HERE Or go straight to the link below 

v

v

https://www.facebook.com/ATTACKFamily/videos/1066440206755936/

Referring to the Postmodern Aesthetics, this advertising is deemed as a Bricolage, or to jumble things up without remaining its own original meaning. This ads basically combines Korean pop culture music with its promoted content of detergent.tIT generates a new song lyrics where the melody is very much Korean Pop alike. The dance moves or composition of the ads too. 

Korean Pop culture has a great hit in Thai society. The ongoing craze for South Korean pop culture willingly embraces the gloss and sheen of Seoul's processed commercial media, meticulously polished for export and family-friendly consumption.Girls wear sporty outfits, appearing to mix cheerleader gear with doll clothes and other colorful, casual, sexy fashions. Boys go for a slick suit look, similar to John Travolta's in "Staying Alive," emphasizing a slim, urban, metrosexual, yuppie image. Extra extremes -- such as a "heightened" nose, rebuilt "oval" facial structure or liposuctioned thighs -- are much more expensive.But for most Thai fans, a slightly longish haircut -- often permed, even for males -- is all you need to project the ultimate symbol of coolness. Thais who are obsessively following the fad are easily identified by the puffed-up, coiffed, unisex hairstyle, which self-consciously sweeps long straight locks diagonally down across half of the face. 

Source of here

Now what do we see from this ads?

There is no relation between K-POP and Detergent product, but as we live in Postmodernism era, the ideas are getting remixed and playful. Things can be absrtact and don’t have to be mainstream anymore. Some conservative people could see this ads very dump, but because it is dump therefore it is easy to understand and easy to be remembered by the audiencee.

[kkkimlin-blog]

Hyperreality

Where an illusion of reality is created and people’s imagination about the real world is satisfied by man-made

I’ve been studying about Postmodernism lately. Though I’m still in doubt about the topic I learn but I’m trying to get it as soon as I can. So this post will be about my understanding on hyperreality in films.

Harry Potter.

WE ALL DO KNOW HARRY POTTER. Right?

I’ve done a HP marathon for a thousand times over. and since I watch too much I started to believe (and hope) that it actually exists in real life. 

Harry Potter is also considered a transmedia storytelling. It was first published as a book but later as it became super popular among people all over the world, it was made into films, video games, and other merchandise. 

However, it didn't stop just there. It went another step further by establishing a hyperreal amusement park at the Universal Studio in Orlando, Florida, USA. In which affordable Potterheads can actually experience the world of MAGIC. HA. HOW EXCITING.

Since I am one of the Potterheads, I've experienced it myself already.

 I was having a BUTTERBEER. It is a popular wizarding beverage described as tasting "a little bit like less-sickly butterscotch. But I call it myself  “the heaven on earth” :P

Now what’s hyperreal in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter? You can imagine it how possibly imaginary places in film can actually exist in real life. It’s like a real MAGIC! (sorry for sound like crazy but I’m really am a Potterhead) You can go inside the huge, yet exact replica of Hogwarts castle and visit Hogsmeade, the tiny Wizarding village. You can look into Hagrid’s hut beside the Forbidden Forest and order glasses of Butterbeer, a Wizarding drink, at the Three Broomsticks, which is a local pub at the Wizarding village.and you can experience the HP ride which is extremely a blast. 

This is the example of Hyperreality according to the media like films. Next time I’ll come back for more information of what I’ve learned in the “Media and society” class :) 

[kkkimlin-blog]

People these days EP.2

We are currently living in the world of new media. Information is being spread out constantly at any time of the day. As I am one of the journalism students, the emergence of the word "Citizen Journalism" did attract my attention a lot. I wonder what it means at first then I came back to research more about it. 

Citizen Journalism? Aren't Journalist a citizen? 

Take a look of what the word Citizen Journalism actually means.

Put very simply, citizen journalism is when private individuals do essentially what professional reporters do - report information. That information can take many forms, from a podcast editorial to a report about a city council meeting on a blog. It can include text, pictures, audio and video. But it's basically all about communicating information of some kind.

The other main feature of citizen journalism is that it's usually found online. In fact, the emergence of the Internet - with blogs, podcasts, streaming video and other Web-related innovations - is what has made citizen journalism possible.

The Internet gave average people the ability to transmit information globally. That was a power once reserved for only the very largest media corporations and news agencies.

There isn’t only one kind of citizen journalists though. There are two main types, which are the Semi-Independent Citizen Journalism and Independent Citizen Journalism

Semi-Independent Citizen Journalism involves citizens contributing, in one form or another, to existing professional news sites. For examples, readers posting their comments alongside stories done by professional reporters - essentially a 21st-century version of the letter to the editor. A growing number of news websites allow readers to post comments. In an effort to prevent obscene or objectionable messages, many websites require that readers register in order to post.

Independent Citizen Journalism involves citizen journalists working in ways that are fully independent of traditional, professional news outlets.

For example, blogs in which individuals can report on events in their communities or offer commentary on the issues of the day or websites run by an individual or a group of people that report on news events in the local community. Some have editors and screen content, others do not. Some even have print editions.

(Info above sourced from here) 

I can see a lot of citizen journalists in my hometown, Bangkok, Thailand. Well I can say Thai people are a bit faddish about ANYTHING that comes in trend. When they see other people do it, they’ll follow. 

However I’m not saying it is bad to be a citizen journalist. It is good that we can help sharing the news to many people but sometimes the information we share is not always correct or appropriate.

Hence, the reader/receiver should be aware of false information and don’t forget to check the source before trust or believe it.

[kkkimlin-blog]

People these days

We think we could change the world one click at a time.

For this semester my lecturer decided to have me continue my blog and since I miss it so much I will continue blogging. My previous topics are all about myself and my background on music. The thing is I am a journalism student at one of the best university in Thailand that I never had mentioned before. So I (and my lecturer) decided to blog something more related to the course outline. 

Last semester I took a course called New Media studies. I’ve learned much from it and I think the course is very useful for a soon-to-be journalist. There is a term called Slacktivism that attracts my attention a lot. The word itself derived from 2 words. Slack, which means doing something poorly because you are not putting enough care or effort into it. and Activist means a practice that emphasizes direct vigorous action especially in support of or opposition to one side of a controversial issue.

A Term called  “Slacktivism” can perfectly define people’s behavior nowadays.  Since the old-fashioned media had been replaced with the newer, better, easier way of communication especially the social networking application. I usually see some strange campaign going on via Facebook or Twitter.

Recently there was a big news about Thai Channel 3 actor name Por Tidsadee. He remained in intensive care for over 70 days after being infected with the dengue virus and developing severe complications. During the time he was sick, critical but stable was the description doctors were using for his condition. 

Eventually, he had left this world on 18 January. As soon as Thai Facebook users heard the news, their condolence comments were spread all over the Internet. Well I think that is a good thing as people are sending love and regard to Por’s family. But then I saw this…

It says “ Type 99 to send condolence to Por and please do share.”

You know what’s more funny about this? = People who actually type it.

I mean.. that’s ridiculous. 

People these days are so much addicted to the social network while some are not well educated enough to know what or what not to post. Especially Thai people. Thai people believe things very easily. When they say it’s good, Thai people usually believe it.  But I mean, who actually are they? You get what I meant to say? As for this semester I’m taking a course called Media and society, I hope in mind that I will make the use of it just like I did in the previous class. So stay tuned  Thank you.

[kkkimlin-blog]

Damn Yankees- High school musical

Heyyyyyyyyyyyyyy..  How are you doing my friend? :)

For this post I'll talk on my music experience of my time in the USA!

Some of you might not know that I was an exchange student in US for a year. I was there from 2012-2013 and It had been a dream-come-true. Like honestly I couldn't asked for anything better. My life there was completely different from here.

Everything was different. Whether it's a time, culture, weather, people, races, food, continent, country.. I mean every single thing is different from my hometown. My host family lives at South Bend, Indiana. My mom name's Wendy. Dad name's Paul. 

For me they are the best people I will have ever known.

They treated me like a real family. When I was there, I didn't feel homesick or anything at all. Time was running by so damn fast. 

...

I think I need to stop talking about them. Otherwise my it's gonna be a flood from my tears.. I miss them so much..

Now let's get straight to the point. 

My high school name is Clay high school. It is a fine art school that has a specialty in arts magnet. Clay specialize's in Dance, Music, Band, Orchestra, Choir, Drama, and Arts. There were lots of arts and music clubs for the student to join. Back in Thai high school, I did not even care to participate in any clubs because I knew it was gonna be lame. But for Clay, it seemed like I was interested in every single clubs there were.

Eventually I decided to audition for Clay's annually musical theater. At first I wanted to audition for the cast but then I realized my English were not as good as natives. So I canceled my plan. But then my American friend said I should go for a musician audition! because in order to perform a musical, a live music band is required! Now what's the waits? Go for it!

and so I want for an audition. It went well enough to get me in the band! I got to be in the guitarist position. Hoorayyyyyyy!

That year musical name was "Damn Yankeez"

Damn Yankees is a musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop and music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., during a time when the New York Yankees dominated Major League Baseball. It is based on Wallop's novel The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant.  (Source from here)

Back then I didn't know what it actually meant (and still don't) :P

But yeah. As soon as I saw the notes and lines I was like 

W!

T!!

F!!!

What the heck are these lines!!!!!!

But yes eventually I passed through it..

There were a total of 14 songs I needed to perform which I honestly had no idea what they were.. (and still don't..)

Here's the list of Damn Yankeez soundtracks

Overture

Six Months Out Of Every Year

Goodbye Old Girl

Blooper Ballet

Heart

Shoeless Joe from Hannibal, Mo

A Little Brains, a Little Talent

A Man Doesn't Know

Whatever Lola Wants

Who's Got the Pain?

The Game

Near to You

Those Were the Good Old Day

Two Lost Souls

I gained lots of music experiences from this musical show. It was my first time performing in foreign country and I proved that Asians are better than they thought :) hehe

Somehow I wish I could rewind back the time. As I mentioned, it was like a dream come true. 

[kkkimlin-blog]

Come to see me once in a while

In a memory of Singha 1984-2015

I decided to come up with a little different topic today. In my musical lessons in life, I've learned how to heal myself from pain through music. I've faced many and many of the pain. Some caused by others and some caused by me, myself. 

It was a normal Wednesday, back on 29 July. Then one of my favorite guitarists named Singha committed a suicide..

I literally had nothing to say. It was.. speechless. I had the constantly sob held in my neck waiting to be exploded. 

He was diagnosed with the MDD, Mejor Depressive Disorder before he decided to end his life by jumping off his condo. 

Major depressive disorder (MDD)—also known as unipolar depression or simply major depression—is a serious clinical mood disorder in which feelings of sadness, frustration, loss, or anger interfere with a person's everyday life for weeks or months at a time. People with MDD are more likely to use alcohol or illegal substances than others, are at increased risk for other mental and physical health problems, and are at a much greater risk for suicide than the general population.

(Sourced from here)

Along my lifetime experience in music, Singha's music have always been one of my inspirational music that I really want to be able to play it like him.It seemed like everything was falling apart from where it belonged. I was just scrolling down my Instagram updates. and that was what I found? I was thinking to myself, " Could it be that this is only a nightmares?" But no. It was real. 

I know how life is going to get f*cked up sometimes. and it is likely to happen when your life is just doing great, then something comes up to ruin it. 

I considered myself very lucky that I know how to deal with pains. For me, personally, I’m glad that music can always get me through any obstacles I have in life. I believe that music heals up my wounds like something else can never do.

Unfortunately, Singha didn’t make it through. 

When we are having a literally a shitty time in life, I think we all know how to cope with it. But the one who can actually get it through are those who are ready to move on. We all know what to do when our hearts are broken. The reason why we are still desperate and keep saying " I really can't get through this " is because we ain't ready to let things go. Believe me we all do know what to do. Just to wait for a time we are strong enough to let go. 

We would know how strong we are until being strong is the only choice we have left. 

From now on, all my music intentions and dedications will go to you. You will always be in my prayers. Now that my heart is broken from the loss, I’m sure that your music will heal up my broken pieces and put it all back into places. 

Please,

Come to see me once for a while. 

RETURN

IF

POSSIBLE

[kkkimlin-blog]

Little Bit(ch) Cafe & Restuarant

Hola guys! In case anyone wondering.. I’m not doing a food review on this post, but I'm going to talk on my unexpected show instead. Let the party begins! 

It was just like any other Fridays. A usual one. But it was kinda exciting for me because my boss from my internship work was throwing a party at The Little Bit(ch) Cafe and Resturant. 

Honestly, I think the name of this cafe is kinda weird. Who would set their restaurant with a B word!? 

But yes there is one.. lol

When I first walked in, I saw a stage with the drums set. I knew it right away that there gotta be a live music band. I knew it!!. Then I think to myself, 

..Wouldn't it be so damn fun going up to the stage and show my music skills to the entire people in this restaurant?

But I could only think. Because, by the time I finished my thinking, I already felt drunk by then..

We were having so much fun. I got the best feelings in the world I could ever have. I somehow wish that night lasted forever ;)

After that day, everything went back to normal. I continued to study as usual. My boss and her colleagues continued doing their work.. pretty sad for me though. I miss that day so much.. I wish I had one more chance to go up on that stage and perform.

But then one day, god, buddha or whatever deity that exists must have felt some mercy on me. My boss called me that she would throw another party at the same place last time! Dang! you've gotta be kidding! I couldn't wait any longer xD

Unfortunately.. this time was completely different. There is totally nobody in the restaurant. The heck.. Where are you people?

The owner of the place also wondered where did people go. Maybe they did not want to stay up late on that day I guess. 

But you know what's great? The whole stage was mine! I didn't drink any alcohol at all so I could perform without making any mess.. lol

When the band players came in, they were shocked. because we are the only table in here. A real private party lol.

Since I've been here before once so I know all the musician names. and I kinda have a good relationship with them already. I decided to ask them if I could sing and play some music. They thought I was kidding but hell no I'm dead serious. Eventually, I got to sing several songs and took a drummer position. 

The rest of the band players were kinda shocked because I've never ever perform with them before. They even said I was the coolest girl they had never met. LOL I know that hahaha

I didn't exactly know what I was thinking. But I'm glad I did go up on the stage. I received many compliments from almost everybody in the restaurant. They are a huge inspiration for me to keep playing music. 

For me, There ain't nothing better than giving others pleasure from my own performance. Hopefully I'd have more chance to do that. 

Thank you and see you next post! stay in touch <3

[kkkimlin-blog]

Performance (2)

”One person with passion is better than forty people merely interested.”

Back to the high-school days, I did not have that much of opportunity to perform my musical skills due to the lack of.. pretty much everything -_- No intention, no instruments at school (that are good enough to pick it up and play) so I didn’t get to show that much. but.. yes I finally got the chance to do.

I did what I call “mini-concert” of my best friend and me on PROM day!

yes, that’s me. don’t be surprised lol 

*For those who wonder, Did I actually wear that suit and tie to the Prom night? the answer is NO. I did wear a dress, but I changed to perform this show. 

pretty much a singing and dancing show. I didn’t play any music. This show is the most energetic show I have ever done. It took me almost half an hour to cool down after the show. I was literally breathing so damn fast and I didn’t sing that well since I had to dance along the song. No more of this I guess.. lol

Here’s another show I did with my best friend JM.

On that day, we were walking around the mall then we found the stage. JM said “Dude, let’s go up” 

I was like.. 

“WHAT” kinda face

I said “What are we going to do up there?”

She said “I don’t care. Just go.”

and I did go up on the stage with her. Grabbed the guitar and play.

That was like.. the beginning of how I randomly just go up on the stage and just PLAY.

I think the reason why we got along so well is because we share the same interests and we fulfill each other’s passion. Without her, I wouldn’t be who I am today. She was the one who encouraged me to go up on the stage. After that.. I became addicted hahahahahaha :D 

I think it is not easy that we would find someone who have a common interest and can get along so well. I must say I’m the lucky one that I’ve found mine. 

We were friends since 7th grade. For the first time we met, she said to me “Hey, You can play drums?”

Me : Yes. How did you know?

JM : I saw your drumstick in your backpack. 

That is how it all started :) 

“We started from the bottom, now we’re here, at the top of the stage doing what we love most. I’m lucky I found you.” 

-because two is better than one.

I must say I’m super lucky that my friends are having the same interest as me. To be honest, I don’t like going on the stage alone. It feels like the whole pressure is staring at me myself only.. With a friend, whenever something goes wrong, he or she will eventually fix it up just look into my eyes. We don’t have to say a thing, we just know what to do. 

Without you I don't know who I would be. All parts of me will always be a part of yours. Because you bring out the best in me like no one else can do. 

Special thanks to my friend, JM. I love you to the moon and back. <3 

[kkkimlin-blog]

Performance (1)

Close your eyes and think about how good you can be on the stage, how much pleasure you can give to the audiences when you’re up there doing your job. That’s all it matters ☺

For this week updates, I’m gonna talk on my music performances. I’ve done several kinds of show. Most of the times I do it for the faculty’s event. Every time there is a music show then I’m in! I don’t even have to think about the pay or anything. I only focus on the happiness I’m going to get when I get to play music. Sometimes if we run out of time to practice, we do skip classes. Oops.

When I have a show to perform, the first thing comes up from my mind, How am I going to overcome the stagefright. It’s not something that can only happen for beginners; it happens, in fact with anyone. Including me. For a hundred of times, I professionally performed in front of many people, then one night I could go out on stage and think to myself: What the eff am I doing here? What’s the next lines? What’s the next chords coming up? What, What!!!!!?!?!???!?!?!?! 

And yes that happens sometimes. But eventually things will fall into places ☺ Now let’s take a look on my shows. The first show I did as the BJM first year student was at BJM9 Rubnong       (the welcoming ceremony for the first year student.

I did perform in drums position. To be honest, taking this position is the most difficult job. Like ever! Because it is the instrument that controls the whole beats and rhythms of songs. If I fail, every position will then fail… unless the rest are good enough to bring it back lol But no matter what, the show must go on. Only we, the performers know if we make mistakes. The audiences wouldn’t know it. Our job is to make the show go on as much smoothly as possible. 

The second show I did was at the HelloBabyBird58 event with the faculty of Communication Arts of Chulalongkorn University. This event is the traditional event to connect the relationship between the two faculty of Chula and Thammasat. The event arranged for each University to show off their abilities. The show was separated into many parts, such as, girl show, boy show, gay show and a music show. There were a music shows of course. I was involved in two music shows. First I did acoustic guitar show with my friend singing beside me.

We performed the song call “Kiss” by Jesester.

Then I perform a full band show. I again took part in drums position. The show didn’t go that smooth, but we finally coped with it. There were lots of obstacles with the sound team and the time was running out. 

Again, no matter how hard the things are in front of you, the show must go on. The last performance I did as a first-year student was at the faculty’s event called “JC Back to School” This event is about rewinding back time when we were high school students. Therefore, the songs we played were old songs that everybody grew up with them. 

For this show, I took part in guitar leader position. It was hard to play, but I passed it through. 

Enough for this post updates. I’ll come back again for the next chapter of my performances. Stay tuned!

[kkkimlin-blog]

Rehearsal

Hola guys I’m back. For this week updates I’m going talk on how I rehearse and practice. 

I’ve done so many live music performances since I could play instruments. Mostly are guitar performances. I do it in all way, like a jam sessions or an official show of a particular event. AND! In order to make it work, I will need to practice A LOT.

Well of course for the real official live performance, I’m gonna need a pretty serious rehearsal.  Mostly I take the lead-guitar position because my friends usually say “You gotta do it dude, there’s no one else better.” 

I don't take that so seriously though. Actually there are some guys in my faculty that can play guitar so well, but they have their own band already. So, among the girls, I’m the only one who can play this role. But just to make sure, I’m not that good in playing electric guitar at all. Just as I mentioned in the earlier posts, I only took lessons in acoustic guitar. I think the acoustic guitar can be played in many various ways and it does not need any electricity to get the sound. It is portable and it sounds amazing. 

Back on how I rehearse, my friends and I usually find a music rehearsing room for rent near the campus. Before we meet up at the room, we need to work on the music piece. We need to know the lines, chords, notes, beats and rhythms. We work on those practical routines and later come and work it all out together. 

For the unexpected jam session is what I love the most. I don’t know what’s wrong with me but every time I see the stage, I just want to go up there and do something. Isn’t that weird? Lol

Mostly when I do a jam session, I play it in what we call “by-heart” style. What is “by-heart” ? In my own definition,  It is when we play an instruments without the fixed notes or rules. We just play in our own way of playing. Apparently I don’t need any rehearsal for the jam session. I just go up there and do it. I personally like to do it this way better. Sometimes it is good to go out of the frame ☺ 

It is sure that we get bored sometimes by doing anything in life over and over again. Just like practicing to play a piece of music. I get bored, discourage, down, or when I can’t play a particular notes, I’ll just pause. That happens sometimes in life. But one thing I’m sure I’ll never gonna do it no matter how hard it is going to be is to quit doing what I love the most. Don’t ever stop playing. It can be hard today but your skill will eventually improved. Practice makes perfect!

[kkkimlin-blog]

Where it all began

My name is Kim. Yes I am. Kim in Thai language is a kind of Thai musical instrument. I was named by my grandma because she likes to play Kim. So many people asked me do I play Kim because my name is Kim. I said yes. It is my very first music instrument that I can play. I started to play Kim since I was at 2nd grade.

Here’s how it can be played along with guitar. Totally beautiful.

There’re many of Thai music instruments that I can play, such as Ranad, Kong Wong, Saw , and others.

When I was at grade 10, I decided to join a marching band. I honestly don’t know why….. but at least I’m glad I did. Everyday after school I needed to be in a rehearsal. It took me almost half a year by doing that. I was in a trumpet player position. All I remember was that I did not feel forced to do so. After classes were done, I ran into the music rehearsal room with no hesitation at all. My school was one of the representative to participated in YAMAHA 10th all Thailand Marching Band Competition. Fortunately, someone published my school’s performance in Youtube. Here!

lol I have no idea how I memorized all those notes and lines. The result came out that my school won the first prize!! That was the best thing ever happened in my childhood memories.

2 years later when I was at 6th grade, there was another marching band competition. For this time I decided to go with the percussion position instead. I took a role in the main snare marching drums. The competition result came out that we got the 3rd prize. I did not feel bad tho. I believed everyone did their best and we were only elementary kids!

After that I decided to take a drums class at music school. Not because that I like drums so much, but I had seen many of the drummers have nice hand and I wanted my hands to look nice like them. Those were my kids-thought that actually inspired me to play drums. Thanks to that thought anyway. Haha.

I started to play guitar when I was 15. It became my new passion. I didn’t give up on any instruments, but I thought it’s time for MORE. 

Just to make it clear.. I had a real hard times struggling to play guitar. Because my fingers aren’t that long. ☹ No it’s not a joke or anything like that. They are short lol. To be honest, I almost gave up on it because no matter how hard I tried, there are some chords that I could not really play and it is the real struggle that irritated me most. I said I almost gave up.. but I never did. I think I did try hard enough to be able to play every chords.

Then I started to learn Piano.  

I personally believe this is the most difficult thing to play. Mostly people would say Piano is the easiest but I don’t think so. Still need to really work on it. :D

Right now I’m working on playing Bass guitar. I thought it would be great If I could play in every position in a band. So when a band is lack of any position I can just fill in. Isn’t that amazing? ☺

I don’t want to call it a gift-from-god that I can play so many instruments. I must say I put so much effort on every single piece of music I play. 

I’ve been asked many times why I keep practicing the same piece of music over an over again. I tell them, “No matter how good you are on any instruments, there will always be a thousands people who are better than you. Then just stay humble and don’t ever quit playing. Practice makes perfect.”

[kkkimlin-blog]

The last song, indeed.

Hola I’m back :) once a week.. better late than never. For this week I’ve decided to do some movie reviews. And of course it’s a movie about music. One of the things I usually do besides playing instruments is having a movie marathon alone in my theatre room with chips in my mouth and glasses of wine. Ain’t nothing better than being a couch potato in a lazy day. Right!?

I ended up doing the same thing I wish to do, a movie marathon. I turned on the TV in order to see what’s now playing. And here it was, a movie called  “The last song”. Interesting name for me, though. I always change the channel to see what movies the other channels are playing, but this time I didn’t do so. I decided to watch this one. a little sense of a great movie scent came out :P

Here’s a brief story of this movie.

Movie trailer

The Last Song is the story of Ronnie Miller and the summer that she spends with her father at Wrightsville Beach. At the start of the summer, she is a rebellious 17 year old who resents her parents for their messy divorce; she is particularly annoyed that she is being forced to spend the summer with her estranged father, to whom she has not spoken in three years. She is so angry that she has abandoned the one thing that she and her father used to share in common — playing the piano. She has no desire to spend the summer in North Carolina; she has no desire to get to know Will Blakelee, the good-looking beach volleyball player who literally bumps into her during her first day in the South; and she has no desire to reconnect with the father who walked away from her, her mother, and her brother. However, a run-in with the wrong crowd combined with a nest of endangered loggerhead turtle eggs results in Ronnie's unexpected maturation. The summer she initially dreaded ends up being an opportunity for her to learn about faith, family, and love.

Sourced from HERE

At the beginning of the movie, the story goes on and on and started to tell a little bit of each character’s stories. I was kinda wondered why this movie is called the last song. It has to be something that deals with the song or music just for sure. Then here comes the scene where Ronnie’s dad playing the piano and trying to create a song of his own. Then Ronnie came in, got irritated because she couldn’t get herself to sleep while her dad’s playing. A lot of tensions occur within the movie especially when Ronnie and her dad are together even Ronnie’s brother is trying to diffuse the tension all along.

My personal-most-touching-scene in this movie is when Ronnie is playing the song her dad wrote and her dad is dying at the same time. When the song ends, her dad passes away……..

Yeah. That was just like me in front of the TV, ended up crying like hell!!!! My tears all falling down and I didn’t have to stop it..

Also, in the middle of the story, Ronnie and Will got into a fight and they left each other’s pain. Will had to leave to another town and Ronnie is misunderstood the circumstances.

The reason why I am so into this movie because I know and I’ve been hurt from letting the person I love so much go without any explanation. There were no chances for me to explain a thing. I can really feel the pain of both Ronnie and Will. So that makes me cry even harder ☹

Still, this is a great movie to watch. Though I hope there are more stories related to the music within the movie. Rate 9/10 ☺

Additionally, here are some quotes from the movies that I like most.

Steve Miller: [in letter to Ronnie] Love is fragile. And we're not always its best caretakers. We just muddle through and do the best we can. And hope this fragile thing survives against all odds.

Steve Miller: Sometimes you have to be apart from the people you love, but that doesn't make you love them any less. Sometimes it makes you love them more.

I hope you all enjoy this review and I’ll come back for the next post!

[kkkimlin-blog]

Bare fingers rather than a flat picks. What?

Here we go again on guitar playing tips ☺

From last week post, I did give a brief information on every types of guitar. This time I’m going to explain about the fingerstyle guitar playing. Let’s go :D

Fingerstyle, as the name implies, is more of a style of playing the guitar, a way of playing. Most players start out using flat picks, probably because strumming through chords is the easiest way to begin making music, and flat picks are good for that. But the design of the guitar allows for much more complex playing than just strumming through chords, and to do that you need to use more fingers. That is why we call it the “fingerstyle”

You can strum, flat pick your way through single note melody lines and also grab chord fragments and play higher notes with the free fingers. The main aim when playing finger style is to orchestrate the piece of music, meaning that you merge bass lines, melody lines and chords into one part. All classical guitar is fingerstyle and is played on nylon string guitars, but over the last few decades, many great players have adapted fingerstyle to steel string and even electric guitar and popularized the technique. Only texts will not be enough to really get what it’s like, so here is the example of it ☺

The style takes a while to come to grips with as there are no set patterns to learn, but the more you play, the easier it becomes to do. You will find that certain keys and chord shapes predetermine what you can or can't do, and after a while it becomes second nature. But, the basic rule that the thumb handles the lows and the fingers handle the highs applies throughout. 

Talking about myself. I have always been inspired by this guy..

SUNGHA JUNG

Many of you might know who he is but in case you don’t. So.. Sungha Jung is a South Korean musician who specializes in acoustic fingerstyle. His YouTube channel has more than 3 million subscribers. He creates acoustic covers and arrangements, typically by ear and or by watching videos. He gained lots of reputation from his dad’s post a video of him playing acoustic fingerstyle when he was very young. He then become famous and his covers are viral in YouTube. 

Here is his most-viewed clip.. over 47,000,000 views. Wow!  

Pirates Of The Caribbean theme song. Young and talented

I must say I started to play guitar because I found him very impressive by the way he plays guitar. He is truly an inspiration for so many people including me. Big thanks to you, Sungha!! <3

And here is some of his videos that I like most

She will be loved - Maroon 5

Just the way you are - Bruno Mars

Super Mario Theme! (Ukulele)

Actually there are plenty more of his covers that I like.. you can go check it all out on his youtube channel called “jwcfree” 

People normally know how the guitar is played but I bet they don’t know how to call the proper way of playing it, unless you’re a guitar player. Therefore, I’m going to give a brief explanation of some of the guitar glossary that we usually use in daily life. 

Strumming

Strumming is the act of brushing across the strings of the guitar in order to make them ring out. This can be done with either a plectrum (pick) or with the fingers. There are countless ways of doing it.

Hammer-on

play a note and then 'hammer' your finger down on the string higher up the fretboard, WITHOUT picking it again.

Pull offs

the opposite of a hammer-on. pull your finger off a string to another fret, it can only be toward the nut, which lengthens the string, and the pitch must go down.

Fingerpicking

There are, of course, countless patterns, but all follow the same basic rules: The thumb handles the bass notes within the pattern and the index, middle and (sometimes) ring fingers handle the treble notes.

Bending

Achieved by pushing the string sideways, across the fretboard, thereby increasing the tension on the string. More tension = higher pitch.

Muting

Muting is the technique that allows you to keep notes from ringing out, to choke them off, to muffle them. Gently bringing the edge of the right hand down on the strings just in front of the bridge. This allows the notes to be heard, but without ringing out.

Sliding

A simple technique used to get from one note to another on the same string by sliding your finger along the string. You can slide up or down in pitch.

All fact information are sourced from http://www.guitarforbeginners.com/fingerpick.html

And yay!! That’s all for this week ☺ Many more to go.. please stay tuned <3

[kkkimlin-blog]

Basically a guitar guiding tips post right here :)

In the world of music, guitar is the most influential musical instrument more than any other ones. I bet we all know the simple information about it. We all know that guitar players are cool! But have you ever wondered what it actually is? Or how many kinds of guitar are there in the world? AND! If you’re in need of looking for a guitar to play, I hope this post will help you to get exactly what you want. Let’s get started!

Here are the 3 main types of them

YEAH! They look familiar don’t they?

Now let’s give a brief explanation to each of them.

The Acoustic Guitar

A traditional acoustic guitar is the most famous type of guitar that you find played at on any casual occasion. This type of guitar has six strings made of steel and the body is made of wood. The string vibration produces the sound and the body echoes it. An amplifier is not needed ☺

Next, The Electric Guitar

The Electric guitar can be divided into 4 minor types.

The Electric Lead guitar 

This kind of guitar has six strings similar to acoustic guitars, and their strings are closer to the frets. Also, they have a lighter gauge since the sound production is produced by the amplifier.

The Electric Bass guitar

It provides the pounding sound, energizing a big arena. Used for music genres like rock, funk, techno, and hip-hop. It pumps out low notes and provide a foundation of songs.

The Electric Acoustic guitar

Basically a steel-strings acoustic guitar fitted with pickups as an alternative to microphones. It sounds and looks just like the acoustic ones, except with the microphones to connect with the amplifier.

The Semi-Acoustic guitar

This type of guitar comes with a hollow body and electronic pickups. Its functionality is similar to solid body guitars except that the vibrating hollow body makes the pickups convert string and body vibration into electrical signals.

Last one, The Classical guitar

This type of guitar is originated from Spain. They typically have nylon strings and are played with fingers. These are used in a variety of music types. The flat and wide neck of classical guitars allows them to play classical music pieces. There are also extended ranges of classical guitars that come in more than the traditional six strings. They come in the stringcourses of seven, eight, ten, eleven, and thirteen. An eight-string guitar is usually tuned with extra bass, while some are tuned with extra treble too.

Now, take a look at the Guitar Anatomy right here.

Just like humans, guitars too have an anatomy, and each part has its own unique use. ☺ 

We’re halfway through the end of the guiding tips!! Since there are a lot of explanations above, I think you all now get the basic information of guitars already. Now, let’s head to the advantages and disadvantages of each kind.

Electric guitar

Positives - Easy to play chords and scales due to the narrow neck - Loud, suitable for a large audiences - Amplified sounds - Easy on your shoulders 

Negatives - Difficult to play fingerstyle due to the close strings - Somehow difficult to position - Without amplification, the sound may not be effective

Acoustic Guitar

Positives - Well-suited for playing melodies - Easy to play on any occasions - No need any amplifiers or any electric - Portable with low weight! Negatives - Difficult to play in fingerstyle - Low volume may not suit the larger audiences - Think body and heavy weight can harm your shoulders

Classical Guitar

Positives - The most suitable kind to play fingerstyle - The strings are nylon, soft and kind to your finger - Best suited for a classical music Negatives - The wider neck is making it harder to play chords and scales - Low volume may not suit for a large audience - The sound is low and deep, not really suitable for play and sing along

Here comes the last thing for this post ☺  I hope all the details above are useful for your guitar choosing consideration. More information will be provided regularly. Please stay tuned ! <3

PS* All my fact information are sourced from here :)

[kkkimlin-blog]

Sometimes I wonder, how could you actually survived a day without music? Recently, I had been rehearsing for a show. I knew right away that it was the happiest moment on earth. To play in a full band is like creating your own way of music. I found my happiness in the simplest of things. Something like music keeps me fully satisfied. :) yay!

[kkkimlin-blog]

In a memory of Singha (Squeeze Animal) Last month, July 30th 2015 I was listening to his song on my iPod before bed. It was raining pretty hard. I woke up in the morning, scroll down my Instagram page, then found out that he committed suicide. There are no words for me to say. All I know, is that from this moment, all my music dedication will go to him. Every time I pick up my guitar, the first person I'm thinking of is going to be him. Return If Possible #RIPSINGHA