masterwordsmith-unplugged

I was 14, way back in 1974, when I met him. (I know you are calculating my age so I might as well tell you that I will turn a golden 50 this Christmas.) Ronnie was Yong's boyfriend. It is funny how we met. I had opened the back door one afternoon and saw this pretty teen in the back lane giggling away with her sisters after I said "Hi", we became very close friends. It was a glorious time then as my neighbourhood was filled with teenagers including Girlie, Beng, Francis, Pauline, Yong, Lily, Kheng Suan (who passed away last year), Jen etc. And we would cycle together in the middle of the night, get chased by dogs as we tried to help ourselves to rambutans and mangoes, if you get my drift.

One day, Yong (aka Sharon living in UK now) introduced me to Ronnie, her boyfriend. They would meet at my house sometimes and I was completely enthralled by Ronnie's prowess in his guitar skills. By then, I was quite a competent guitarist but as always, was never satisfied with my skills and always wanted to play like the pros. Ronnie was a pro in every sense of the word.

He took me under his wings and taught me much about music. Ronnie was the one introduced me to jazz chords and gave me his own handwritten chord charts which I still have today. Those chord charts showed three of four positions of ONE chord and till now, I cannot believe how patient he was in drafting those diagrams neatly, beautifully and most painstakingly - a true labor of love. Those chord sheets are now yellowed and a bit dog-eared but still in good condition - a real treasure!

Ronnie taught me how to ad lib when improvising and what it meant to just let go and go with the feel of music. As I write this, tears are in my eyes because his friendship was a milestone in my musicianship and my life. Without Ronnie, I would never ever have been able to play the following songs exactly like the original artistes:

* If by Bread - He taught me bar by bar how to pluck the introduction and the whole song and how to play it as hauntingly as David Gates did in the original piece. And he taught me how to embellish my playing via the use of harmonics.

* The Boxer by Simon and Garfunkel - again Ronnie taught me how to play the intro bars and the correct strumming style. Both of us used to sing in two-part harmony and it was simply fantastic that we shared such musically enriching moments together with Yong who had no feelings of jealousy at all!

* I am a Rock by Simon and Garfunkel - again he played exactly like the original and taught me to do the same after which we would be singing our lungs out..."I am a rock...I am an iiiiiis-land"

* Long haired Woman in a Black Dress by The Hollies - Ronnie introduced me to a different genre and I left behind all those sentimental songs once I could play rock songs like this one and also The Air the I breathe

* Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple, Santana's Oye Como Va, Black Magic Woman and many more songs - It is because of Ronnie that I learnt and tried my best to master different genres and explored other possibilities.

And to think that Ronnie taught me free of charge - because of his love for music and because he was my friend.

To me, Penang has lost one of her best musicians - home grown talent indeed because Ronnie was a self-taught musician who sang, taught and played both the piano and guitar beautifully, skilfully and effortlessly so much feeling and depth. As a musician, he showed such passion for what he did or played or sang. When playing or teaching or performing - it was always about MUSIC, not about him showing off cos that was never Ronnie.

A most unassuming man, Ronnie would always try to impart his love for that particular song, his 'feel' and 'groove' for that piece of music. Eyes closed, he would play in oblivion, forgetting the rest of us in the room. Sometimes, he, Yong and I would be sitting on the swing in my garden singing away as he strummed his guitar.

I cannot forget those times when a knock on my backdoor would tell me the two of them would be coming over for the evening or afternoon.

When they broke up a few years later, I was deeply saddened for it was never the same again. We all went our separate ways. Yong left for UK and Ronnie was busy performing and doing his music school and shop with Philip, his dear brother.

Occasionally, we would bump into each other and talk about our spouses, our kids and where we were in our lives, particularly in music. A few months ago, I took my older boy to Art Tune Music Supplies at Kajang Road to buy another guitar pedal. I was so happy when I bumped into him and he showed my son various techniques and we chatted. Indeed he was very happy then that my son is now a music undergrad majoring in violin and minoring in guitar. We chatted happily not knowing what was ahead for us in the future.

Two weeks ago, I picked up a copy of The Star. My husband only buys The Star on public holidays and weekends. As I turned to the Obituary section, my heart sank when I saw the announcement about Ronnie's demise. I held the newspaper in my hands in shock and eyes flooded Much as I was devastated by his passing, I could not bring myself to attend his funeral because since my dad's passing, I have not attended any funerals. It is just too painful. And this has been a particularly BAD year cos every month, someone - a friend or a relative or a friend's relative passed away. I shared my grief with Jen, another old friend who lived two roads away in my old neighbourhood. The last time we spoke was when another old friend - Lim Kheng Suan - passed away.

A few days later, I called Ronnie's brother, Philip, to ask how he passed away. With much grief and sadness, Philip explained how Ronnie, was so busy and committed about developing his business that he never went for a medical checkup even though there were some medical issues.

Ronnie Ng Kah Peng left behind his music in my heart and in the hearts of those who loved him, knew him and enjoyed his music. I feel very sad that not many knew of him. That was Ronnie. He did not hanker after fame, fortune or glamor or bright lines. He could have been so famous but he was contented to just be who he was - playing the music that he loved and money was secondary to him.

I sincerely hope that Philip will produce an album of his songs that his music might live on...

This post is dedicated to the memory of my dear old friend and guitar sifu, Ronnie Ng Kah Peng. Thank you for the music. Thank you for the friendship and thank you so much for teaching me to love music and life. You taught me to always be happy and not to worry. You listened to my teenage angst and made me see that all it takes is the right attitude - in life and in music. I am sorry that I did not take time to touch base with you and to spend some time with you to catch up and now, it is too late. May you always rest in peace and live in our hearts, Ronnie.

Here's a video clip that I http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifjust produced. Pardon my amateur approach. This is my third time making a video clip and I still have lots to learn.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO.

Thanks to Philip who sent me the photograph and mp3 file of this song.

If any of you knew Ronnie, or wish you had known him, please leave a comment. Thanks! May each of us cherish life and take care of our health and spend precious moments with our loved ones and friends. After I learnt of Ronnie's passing, I went for a thorough medical check up an blogged about it HERE. If you have not gone for your check up, please do so. Life is precious. Take care, eat well, live happily and have a lovely day!