Gary Granada’s 3-H advice to aspiring songwriters

GARY Granada

Singer and songwriter Gary Granada says budding vocalists and composers who want to find their own place in the country’s music scene must possess three Hs—humility, humor and hard work.

Humility will make you work harder, Granada told budding songwriters who took part in the latest Elements National Singing Songwriting Camp of 7101 Music Nation.

For the other mentors who took part in the camp, such as Ryan Cayabyab, Jim Paredes of the Apo Hiking Society, singer/songwriter Noel Cabangon and Parokya ni Edgar front man Chito Miranda, humility is also about acknowledging that there will always be someone better than you—a better musician, composer, lyricist and vocalist.

By accepting that fact, a singer, songwriter or musician will be motivated to work harder at mastering his chosen craft and will not step onstage feeling like God’s gift to music, thus preventing them from working in harmony with peers, as well as elders.

The second H is humor.

“You have to know how to laugh at yourself. You have to be irreverent para ’di ka mabaliw (so you won’t go crazy),” said the 56-year-old Granada, whose biting sense of humor is evident in many of his compositions, such as “’Pag Natatalo ang Ginebra,” “Kung Ayaw Mo Na sa Akin,” “Mabuti Pa Sila.”

Then, there’s the third and final H—hard work. “If you are a musician, when you wake up, the next thing you should do is touch your instrument, whether a flute or a guitar, because that is what you do,” explained Granada, who has penned many thought-provoking Filipino favorites such as “Salamat Musika,” “Bahay,” “Kahit Konti” and “Saranggola sa Ulan.”

Granada said his days of doing regular gigs in bars and music halls were behind him.

“I am no longer a starving artist. I am just starving,” he said in jest. Granada turned serious when he told the young campers that while he no longer performs regularly, he could still easily devote 12 to 14 hours of every day to music—from working on new compositions, polishing existing ones, playing his guitar to discussing music with new and old friends in the industry.

“The only way you can succeed is through hard work,” Granada stressed in his pabaon, or the inspirational message given at the end of the annual five-day camp.

He added that talented singers and songwriters have a responsibility to put their God-given talent to good use because it is a special gift not given to everyone.

“Music helps us understand ourselves as a nation, as a country and as a community of people,” he said.

Granada cited the stirring song “Bayan Ko,” which was written by Constancio de Guzman. He has long passed on but, Granada said, that through that song, Filipinos today have an idea of the times when he wrote “Bayan Ko,” which later figured prominently during the fight against the Marcos dictatorship.

He said it was through songs that Filipinos across 7,100 islands become connected and come together.

And who provided that connection? The songwriter.

“The work is that serious, and if you do your job well, you will be able to make that connection, too,” Granada said.