Monique Macasaet part 1
This is the first of a three-part interview with Monique Macasaet (Mah-kah-SAH-et).
Last year, Monique and her two sisters, Maylee and Mikka, won the Bushman Music Works world ukulele video contest.
After watching (and rewatching) her videos on YouTube, I was curious about Monique's instruments, her playing technique, and her singing. To my great joy, she granted me an interview and was kind and gracious and patient with my many questions. Thank you, Monique.
Tell me about your ukes and your guitar.
I own a Zebrawood Ibanez acoustic/electric guitar, a tenor Bushman uke, a tenor ovation uke, and a concert size uke that I forgot the brand =/.
I really love my guitar except for the fact that when it is not plugged in, it's a bit too quiet.
For my ukes, generally I've come to realize that I'm a concert player rather than a tenor. I feel like my tenors don't have a full enough sound as opposed to my concert uke.
Rather than sticking to one strum pattern all the way through a song, you have the ability to mix a variety of patterns. When you were learning to play, did you consciously practice different strums, like "down, down up, up down," or did the strums just come naturally somehow?
I actually learned different strums by watching other people play uke on YouTube! In the beginning it was very difficult for me to change up the strums, but after I've had a bit more experience it feels a lot more second nature.
What finger(s) do you strum with?
I primarily strum with my pointer finger.
You have a powerful dampening technique, which appears to happen all in the right hand. As opposed to playing a chord and then dampening it by partially raising the left hand fingers. Can you describe how you do this?
I believe the technique I'm utilizing is called palm-muting? I'm not exactly sure. Basically, I rest the bottom of my palm on the edge of the guitar strings while I strum and it comes out as a muted sound. Other times I actually do dampen with my left hand as well.
(Click the play button to hear a sample of Monique's palm-muting on uke.)
(And here's a few seconds of her palm-muting on guitar.)
When you play guitar, your left-hand thumb sticks up over the fingerboard. Sometimes it looks like you are using your thumb to play base notes -- like F# on the 6th string when you play a D chord. Is this true or an illusion?
It is true! I found that playing the guitar was a lot easier after I started utilizing my thumb.
You have a driving sense of rhythm, which really comes through in your uke playing.
I think the rhythm I've acquired on uke is something I had to work on over time from mimicking others.
(As an example of how Monique can use the uke to drive a song forward, listen to this short clip from I Just Want You.)
(And this from T-Shirt.)
How do you approach learning a song -- do you figure out the uke or guitar part by ear?
Mostly I learn songs by ear but if I'm pressed for time or if I can't get it, I look for tabs.
What else you can think to say about your playing that I didn't think to ask?
Hmm . . . well I've been playing the guitar for about 3 years on and off and the uke almost 2 years but I only really learn songs on these instruments when I want to use them to accompany my voice.
Do you play instruments in addition to ukulele and guitar?
Yes, I actually play orchestra instruments such as the flute, clarinet, violin, a little bit of trumpet and little bit of sax. However, my main instrument all throughout my schooling was the trombone. I also play the bass and drums.
Which did you learn first?
The very first instrument I learned was the flute in the 5th grade =).
(I didn't realize when I started this interview -- Monique just graduated from college with a degree in music, which helps explain the number of instruments she plays.)
What is the range of your voice?
I'm a real low alto.
(To hear how comfortably she can sing at the bottom of her range, listen to the opening couple of lines of Complicated Melody.)
(Here she is, with Sam Hart, singing in the middle of her range. At the end of this short clip, listen for her to effortlessly rise into the soprano.)
(Sam and Monique's version of Gravity is one of the most moving and beautiful things I've ever heard. The full video appears below, after the interview.)
(Here's another example of her upper range. Listen to her sing above Lauren Dimapasoc during Four Chord Medley. This video also appears below.)
When did you start to sing? Did you sing in school?
I've sung all my life but I've only started performing in front of people my sophomore year of college.
You have such a strong voice, do you sometimes feel a need to ease up when singing with others?
Hmm . . . that's a good question. Yes and no I guess. I think that's a main reason why I sing with Lauren all the time because she has just as strong a voice and it's much easier to balance with her. Otherwise, I do have to ease up when singing with others.
How do you go about working out vocal harmonies?
Harmonies come real easy to me because I've been practicing them since I was in middle school. So I either work them out on the spot or listen to the original song for any built-in harmonies.
What equipment do you use to record your videos?
Just my macbook pro and its built in mic and i-sight camera. I'm looking into getting a condensor mic soon though.
In the second part of the interview, which will be up in a few days, Monique talks about her sisters, about winning the Bushman Ukulele video contest, and about her recent trip to Nashville, Indiana to perform at the Bushman Ukulele Luau. Go to Part 2.
Permalink for "Monique Macasaet part 1" Posted 24 Jun 2009