Alyza Villanueva & Gabby Romanillos are in the 14s15s Class / Grade 9 and have been in the Band Elective Class of Teacher Anto and Teacher Val since last schoolyear. Siglaw@Home did email interviews with Alyza & Gabby as we feature their latest song – performed and produced entirely at home – now that CoL@Home – and “band elective@home” is their reality just like all CoL students.
On Song Choice: “You Say” by Lauren Daigle
Gabby: We chose the song “You Say” because it gives a hopeful and powerful message for people during these trying times, especially for those who are facing this battle head-on. As the chorus states, “You say I am loved, when I can’t feel a thing / You say I am strong, when I think I am weak…” we want for people to know that we believe in them and that they are worth it.
The “How-to” Part
Alyza: We took into consideration the visual point of our video, where we start off without color, and as the song progresses we gain strength, confidence, and finally become able to see our vibrant colors.
G: For recording our vocals we both used earphones and a device to record. For the piano background, Alyza used an online piano as she couldn’t record her piano sound clearly.
A: For guitar, I used earphones and a device as well. To put the recordings together, we used only Windows Movie Maker.
G: I used an app called “Capcut” to edit the video and add lyrics. I enjoyed editing the video, putting lyrics, adding filters, and adjusting the video to the audio.
A: I liked how I could hear the guitar and piano put together into a track – how it sounds like music.
Our creative process is to go with the flow. We prefer to keep going, progress, and find our way during the creation. We were quite shocked with what we came up with. If we were to change something, we would take out the metronome so that the song would flow smoother. I would like for the piano base to have more movement as well and not just whole notes throughout the whole bar.
Learning Music: Their Individual Journey
A: I don’t think my musical skills are perfect and they definitely need some work. For two years or so, I had guitar classes with T. Anto, and T. Val helped me learn the piano for a few months.
Teacher Anto taught me the different theories when it came to the guitar. He guided me on techniques to better play the instrument. When I was in grade 6, he also helped me compose our graduation song which taught me how to apply what I’ve learned so far.
G: Being in the CoL Choir has actually helped me with my confidence. Since choir has performed a lot during school events, this helped me get used to performing in front of an audience. I still get shy from time to time, but I can say that I’ve made improvements.
The Journey Together: On the “Collab” Pathway
A: Gabby and I have been collaborating musically for some time now, even before the Band electives. From the start, we asked one another if we could work together since we were comfortable being together and had fun too.
G: I think being comfortable with each other was an advantage. Since we knew each other well, we knew what kind of help to give one another.
A: When we first worked together, we focused more on our vocals as it was most within our reach. Musical instruments like the ukulele, piano, and guitar were secondary for us. The first time we finally performed on stage was during Upper School Idol back in 2016. We composed a mashup of two songs, “The Show” by Lenka and “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz, to perform for Upper School Idol.
A: We were too reserved to release our full potential because performing as a duo was still foreign for us. Our strong bond helped us get through difficulties as well, but that doesn’t go without saying all things went smoothly. Performing with low self-esteem and self-confidence was tough, so we didn’t stay that way. As time went by, we got to perform more often individually and as a group.
Teachers, peers (especially Carissa) – and each other – continued believing in us and gave encouragement consistently. And as a result, we got to muster up enough courage to be more confident in ourselves and in our craft.
G: Teacher Anto always encouraged and always believed in Alyza and I whenever we had new projects. And because of that, Alyza and I feel more confident to do more covers and try new things now.
Continuing Collaboration & Band Elective in the Time of Covid 19
A: The pandemic is such a huge and very foreign factor that has changed our way of collaboration in many many ways. Instead of going up to each other and setting up a date and time of practice, we had to communicate through Messenger and Discord to have voice/video calls. It feels really strange that way, as there’s also a delay.
G: The partnership between Alyza and I helped me feel more connected with her. We got closer during quarantine and discussing projects with her was a fun process. Agreeing on songs wasn’t a problem for the both of us.
A: These partnerships helped me stay in contact with my friends and creating covers, making music didn’t feel like work at all. It was like a bonus bonding time. Partnering with her was very natural. Things just fit right into place whenever we had discussions.
A: I learned that being in an isolated area (my room, for example) has helped me explore the guitar a lot more. We both have had a change in perspective: we don’t see Band Electives as work. It has now become a hobby for the most part which we share with friends, that just happens to be required for school. We respect each other’s opinions and are open to ideas.
G: I learned that singing and recording has been my way to cope with problems. Recording songs for band electives didn’t really stress me out as I thought it was more of a hobby then a task required in school. We both respect each other’s opinions and listen to what the other has to say.
A: I personally feel very proud of our most recent product because we filmed a lyrics video together. This was quite a huge step from just audio.
G: I personally feel that this latest project we did was our best one. We always submitted audio’d projects, so this was new to us. Although it was our first time making a video, Alyza and I were very proud of the outcome.
