Blog
Blog
I write down what I'm learning about the Asturian gaita, traditional music, and the Atlantic and Celtic cultural connection.
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TutorialHow to tune the roncón of the Asturian gaita, step by step
How to tune the roncón of the Asturian gaita step by step: how to slide its pieces to adjust the octave against the punteru, when the reed is the culprit and not the tube, and what to do before every session.
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EssayThe Asturian Anthem in salsa clave
Why I took the Asturian Anthem to salsa rhythm for Asturias Day: what the Cuban clave has that a march doesn't, and what you have to accent —and what you have to break— to make a straight melody sound real in salsa.
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Essay"Gaita de fol": the etymology of a name
Where «fol» comes from and why «gaita de fole» is, according to philology, the more precise term for a family that «zamorana» or «sanabresa» name only in part. And why in Asturies we say «gaita de fuelle».
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EssayProducing with a DAW as a musician: Logic Pro X, Suañu de Gaita and what I learned along the way
How I produced my EP Suañu de Gaita (2019-2021) with Logic Pro X: why I chose that DAW, and what the process taught me about myself. If you want to understand how music production works, I recommend reading this post.
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EssayA guide to the bagpipes of the Atlantic arc
A guide to the most representative gaitas of the Atlantic arc —Scottish, Irish, Breton, Galician, Asturian and more— ordered by organological axes rather than by country. Where the Asturian gaita fits and why it is not just one more «Celtic bagpipe».
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ComparisonAsturian gaita vs. Irish uilleann pipe: the real differences
Two gaitas that share an Atlantic root and an oral-tradition music, but whose mechanics and sound take them to different worlds. Here I tell the real differences from the experience of having played both.
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EssayThe Bear Dance: it sounds medieval, but it arrived forty years ago
The Bear Dance sounds like old music, almost medieval, but it is neither Asturian by origin nor old: it reached Asturies in 1984. The datable story of how a Central European polka became ours, and why it is the tune that beginners on the gaita enjoy most.
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EssayWhy bagpipes play at American funerals
Bagpipes at American funerals were not born of an aesthetic decision. They were born of the Great Famine, of the only jobs left to Irish and Scottish immigrants, and of a 1972 record that burned the image into the collective unconscious.
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GuideHow many notes does the Asturian bagpipe have? From traditional roots to chromatic chanter
The Asturian bagpipe doesn't start where most people expect: its note map begins on the low B and climbs all the way up to the requintu F. A journey from the diatonic scale of its roots to the chromatic chanter studied today at the Conservatorio Superior.
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EssayThe evolution of our sound: how the Asturian bagpipe learned to play with the world
The bagpipe you hear today in public squares and on stage is not the same instrument as a hundred years ago. It is a tempered bagpipe. The story of how that change happened, why it was necessary and who made it possible.
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EssayComposing from the root: when music is the family name
Why composing for the Asturian gaita is, before anything technical, an act of identity: the story of Fervienza, the piece that was born from my family surname and from the need to connect those who are here with those who are gone.
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EssayRamu Nadal: reinterpreting the Asturian Christmas tradition
Why I recorded «Ramu Nadal»: two pieces from Torner's songbook turned into Asturian carols, and what a twelve-candle ornament has to do with keeping a December tradition alive.
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EssayGaita, bagpipe, cornemuse: what to call the Asturian gaita in each language
Why I call the Asturian gaita a gaita in English and French too, how it relates to «bagpipe» and «cornemuse», and why keeping the proper name is a cultural decision, not an oversight.
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EssayWriting new music from tradition
How I compose starting from Asturian tradition without limiting myself to repeating it. My real process, the blend of root and contemporary, and why I believe this is how it stays alive.
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EssayCHALGA: 3D lutherie and a printed gaita-learning flute, the XIBLA
What CHALGA was, my 3D lutherie workshop in Teverga, and the XIBLA: a 3D-printed flute with the fingering of the Asturian gaita, to learn without buying a whole gaita. Why I joined gaita and technology.
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TutorialThe punteru: first notes step by step, on video
The punteru of the Asturian gaita and your first notes, step by step and on video: posture, scale and fingering through my series «Your first songs», which teaches the notes by playing real pieces from C to B.
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Essay«Suañu de Gaita»: composing from the root
«Suañu de Gaita», my piece: what it is, the idea behind it and why I compose from the Asturian root instead of repeating it. With a link to listen.
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TutorialHow to start playing the Asturian gaita from scratch
The real first steps to play the Asturian gaita from scratch: what you need, where to begin, the typical mistakes and what to honestly expect in the first months.
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GuideTuning the Asturian gaita: C, B flat, D and how to choose
The tunings of the Asturian gaita (C, B flat, D and others), what each one means, why there are several and how to choose yours according to what you plan to play.
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GuideTraditional Asturian repertoire: where to start
Where to start with the traditional Asturian repertoire: what kinds of piece there are, in what order to listen to them, and which to take on first if you play the Asturian gaita.
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ComparisonAsturian gaita vs. Galician gaita: the real differences
The real differences between the Asturian gaita and the Galician gaita —tuning, repertoire, technique and sound— without the cliché that they are the same, nor the souvenir rivalry.
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GuideWhat is the Asturian gaita? A guide for the curious
What the Asturian gaita is, what parts it is made of, what keys it is tuned in and what repertoire it serves. A clear guide for anyone starting from scratch.
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