Perfecto De Castro is a classical guitarist based in Southern California. In addition to his numerous solo guitar activities, he is a member of the Kasilag Guitar Quartet and teaches privately. Perf released a CD in 2007 showcasing the his own talents in addition to the capabilities of his unique instrument, the ten-string guitar.

————

How did you start guitar?  You were a rock guitarist before coming to classical, correct?

I actually started on Classical. I was 13 at the time and my high school music teacher challenged the whole class to learn at least 1 musical instrument by the end of the school year. I signed up for lessons at a nearby Yamaha school and I was assigned to the CG teacher. It helped that I already knew how to read and write musical notation, which I learned from my elementary school years.

I played CG for around 8mos, then I finally convinced my mom to buy me an electric. I did the whole rock guitar thing for the next 10 years or so until the music scene in the Philippines started to change trends. I went back into CG in 1998, around the time I met Maestro Jose Valdez, who was instrumental in getting me back into Classical Guitar.

Do you still pursue rock gigs, etc.?

Once in a while I do Rock gigs…. however, I mostly play electric while teaching and during student concerts. I also have a recording setup at home where I record stuff on electric just to take a break from practicing CG.

Tell us about your music education in the Philippines.  Who did you study with?  Different from USA or European music schools?

This’ll sound weird but I received my degrees in Guitar Performance and Music Education at the Philippine Women’s University.  Apparently, the school started out as an all-female school for Social Work and turned co-ed when they expanded to include Colleges in Music and Fine Arts!

My teacher was Jose Valdez, who is responsible for standardizing guitar curriculum in the Philippines. And he also plays 10-string guitar. Musicality was prioritized over technique, so we didn’t spend too much time running drills. His prescribed repertoire for each level took care of technique issues. And the grading standards were pretty high, compared to the curriculum I’ve seen here in the US. We were required to perform Bach as early as level 2, Asturias and Recuerdos at level 4, whole suites at level 6-7 and an entire guitar concerto at level 8!

As far as the other aspects of music education go; music theory, counterpoint, forms and analysis, etc are all rooted in the Classical style. There were little classes offered in the Modern/Contemporary idiom.

We rarely have visiting artists in the Philippines but when we did, I was fortunate enough to have played in a few masterclasses: Jorge Orozco, Angelito Agcaoili, Flamenco guitarist Adolfo Timuat

Since moving to the US, however, I’ve supplemented my education with masterclasses from Janet Marlow, Scott Kritzer, Tilman Hoppstock and Paul Galbriath; and lessons with Grisha Goryachev,  Jonathan Leathwood, Jim Smith and Scott Kritzer.

Alright, I have to ask, why the 10 string guitar?

Well, the primary influence was my teacher Jose Valdez. I was intrigued by the instrument from our very first meeting when he played something on it for me. Another reason may be that I was also playing 7-string electric guitar at the time so I am aware of all the possibilities that more-than-6-strings have to offer. When I eventually bought my first 10-string, I sold my 6 string guitar and dove in head-first into what Yepes called “..the wonderful mess” !

Do you still perform with the Kasilag Guitar Quartet?  How do rehearsals work for that group?  I’ve heard stories of string quartets screaming at each other, does it work like that in the guitar quartet world?

I haven’t performed with the KGQ recently; our last performance was in 2005. During that time, we emailed parts and arrangements to each other to learn individually so that when we get together all we had to was work on playing the music as a group. We did a few rehearsals leading up to the concert.

As with any group that gets together, chemistry between personalities and abilities is important. If the core chemistry of a group is strong, then the group will stay strong. Sure there were ups and downs but I was fortunate enough to be involved with some good people in the KGQ. No argument ever amounted to fisticuffs! ☺

You’re a teacher as well. Do you teach solely classical students?

I teach a whole range of styles from Blues/Rock to Classical/basic Flamenco. I even have a couple of electric bass students.

What’s your approach to teaching rock guitar? Do you have any things that you think every guitarist should learn regardless of their genre choice?

Well, the proper mechanics of guitar playing crosses over genres, in my opinion. Proper positioning, LH and RH movement, posture, practice habits and fretboard mechanics. The general language of Music: notation, rhythms, theory, etc… is important as well.

My approach to teaching guitar, applicable to all styles, is to get the student to play music as quickly as possible, with the technical solutions embedded into whatever musical example. Of course the first few lessons of somebody starting from scratch will involve unmusical exercises but as soon as their fingers are ready I assign bits of music.

For example, after a couple of week’s worth of LH chromatic exercises ( 1234 ascending, 4321 descending) I want the student to actively choose which left hand finger to play. Now instead of assigning variations to the chromatic exercise (1324 4231, 121314 434241, etc) we start working on a single-note riff of a popular song…. I usually use a simplified version of “Sunshine of Your Love” because virtually everybody knows the song and the other parts are simple enough that we can eventually learn the whole song

When a student feels that they actually making music instead of “exercising”, it makes them feel good about themselves and that in itself is a huge motivator to learn more and stick to the lessons.

——

Part Two

Did you enjoy this article? Check out An Interview with Larry McDonald- Part 2 .

About the Author

Christopher Davis founded The Classical Guitar Blog in 2008. He is currently pursuing a Masters degree in guitar performance. In addition to his studies, Chris is an active teacher and performer based in Middle Tennessee. Connect with Chris on Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, and the Classical Guitar Network.

All posts by Christopher Davis | Study with Christopher