
👋 Oi, mga repapips, Brian Dys here! I love music, photography, and creative stuff like UX design and art. This is a place where I collect my thoughts and works. Apart all these, I’m Jaycelle’s better half and Bryce’s dad. 🥰
Just several months after the covid lockdown of 2020, I was already in dire need of hope. While in a life and death, sink and swim situation, a figure appeared on TV who gave me goosebumps that indeed I can rely on the government that we, as Filipinos, got it together. A “we’re figuring it out” response was just what I needed.
What kind of Philippines do I want for myself and for my family? A country that stands for human rights. A country that stands for fairness and justice. A country that stands for accountability. A country that inspires hope that in order to have a better life, we need to be better with ourselves, and with one another. A holistic approach.
Thank you, Leni, for inspiring us to hope for a better now and future. That inspiration is the intrinsic spark of your vice-presidency and presidential campaign run.
Naaalala niyo pa ba nung magsimula ang covid lockdown dito sa Manila? On-going pa noon ang ashfall mula sa Taal volcano, kaya mag stock na kami ng masks. Magkasunod na pagsubok bumagsak sa ating lahat. Makalipas ang ilang buwan tsaka ko naramdaman ang kawalan ng pag-asa. Pakiramdam ko parang bangkang may butas ang ating bansa pagdating sa pandemic response. Isang araw, lumabas sa TV si Leni at nagpahayag ng mensahe ng pag-asa. Literal na tumindig ang balahibo ko dahil tsaka ko lang na-realize na pwede pala akong kumapit sa gobyerno.
Ito sa harapan ko ang isang tao na nakatayo sa gitna ng kaguluhan, nagsasabi na ito ang mga pwede nating gawin para ‘di tayo maglugmok ng epekto ng pandemya — sa kalusugan at ekonomiya. Salita lang ang mga ‘yon pero napakalaking bagay para sa akin na maging matatag at harapin ang takot.
Anong klaseng Pilipinas ang gusto ko para sa sarili at para sa pamilya ko? Pilipinas na nagpapahalaga sa buhay at karapatang pantao. Isang bansang makatarungan at patas. Isang bansang pinamumunuan ng mga tao na responsable sa kanilang mga tungkulin sa bayan. At higit sa lahat, isang bansa na nangingibabaw ang pag-asa. Pag-asa ang gas at langis natin upang bumangon at magpatuloy, upang maging mabuti unang-una sa ating sarili at sa isa’t-isa. Sa pamamagitan ng pag-asa tayo yayabong.
Nagpapasalamat ako sa’yo, Leni, dahil para sa akin naipakita mo kung ano ang posible para sa isang pinuno. Ang pagiging matino at pagbibigay ng inspirasyon at pag-asa.
Para sa inspirasyon na dulot mo ang kantang ito. May mga ilang salita akong naisulat na nagsisilbing pundasyon ng gusto kong sabihin sa kanta:
Tuloy-tuloy lang
Huwag pigilan
Ang pagbuhos ng rasyon ng inspirasyon
Tindig-balahibo
Solusyon
May pag-asa
May takdang araw
May araw-araw
Ang mismong eleksyon, isang araw. Ang buhay natin, araw-araw.
Lahat tayong mga Pilipino ay nasa iisang bansa. Nasa iisang bangka. Magkakaiba tayo at magkakasama tayo. Isang matapat na pamumuno ang pinanghahawakan natin para patuloy tayo sa paglayag.
Rasyon ng Inspirasyon Chords by Brian Dys Sahagun 12 May 2022 Intro 1 DM7 - A - E - F#m-G DM7 - A - E - F#m-E Verse 1 A - Bm - D - A-E A - Bm - E - D-A Refrain 1 Bm - C#m - E - D C#m - Bm - E - A Bm - C#m - D - E ↑ Bm - C#m - D-E Verse 2 A - Bm - D - A-E A - Bm - E - D-A Chorus 1 DM7 - A - E - F#m-G DM7 - A - E - F#m-E Verse 3 A - C#m-Bm E - Bm-C#m D - A - E - F#m-G-A D - A - E - Bm-C#m ↑ D - E - Bm - C#m - D-E Chorus 2 ↓ DM7 - A - E - F#m-G-A Verse 4 A - Bm - D - C#m-Bm A - Bm - E - Bm-C#m E - D - A Refrain 2 C#m - Bm - A - E C#m - Bm - E - A Bm - C#m - D - E ↑ Bm - C#m - D - E Bm - C#m - Bm - C#m - D-E Verse 4 A - C#m - Bm A - Bm - C#m A - Bm - E - D-Dm Outro C#m-Bm E - D-E - A
What I’m showing in this video is a microphone recording of a guitar that’s why there’s an amount of noise. To enhance it, I apply noise reduction and normalize in Audacity.
From a simple coda in the song Tingin Ngiti, comes the birth of another song, Tara Kiss. They are related yet independent. I felt like I wouldn’t have given it justice if it were to remain within the main song. It’s a story about how we, as a couple, are wooing each other after an LQ (lovers’ quarrel).
Tara Kiss Chords & Lyrics
Tara Kiss
Chords & Lyrics by Brian Dys Sahagun
10 April 2022
Intro 1
A - A - A - A
---
Verse 1a
A
Pahingi ng kiss
A
Dito lang sa cheek
C#m B
Nah nah
---
Verse 1b
A
Kahit isang tingin?
A
Palipad sa hangin
C#m B
Nah nah
A G
Ahh
---
Refrain 1
D
Ta-ra-ta tara
D
Huwag nang mainis
D
Ki-ri-ki kiss
C#m B A
Bati na tayo, please?
G-F#m
---
Instrumental 1
E-E-E - E - G-A
D-D-D - C#m-B
---
Verse 2a
A
Bigyan kita ng kiss
A
How about sa lips?
B C#m
Yeah yeah
---
Verse 2b
A
Pikit ang 'yong mata
A
Anong nadarama?
B C#m
Yeah yeah
C#m-B-A
G-A-E(hold)
---
Outro
E - E - E - E
E
Ta-ra-ta tara
E
Ki-ri-ki kiss
E
Ta-ra-ta tara
E
Ki-ri-ki kiss
E - E - E - E(hold)
This instrumental version of Tingin Ngiti is nearing completion. What I mean by “completion” is self-satisfaction. Satisfaction that the melodic story has run its full course. Satisfaction that parts of the song have individual subtle flavors to them — this was done by sprinkling and interjecting chords and notes that I wanted to try. Without these twists, it might sound like a broken record, and I’m aiming for uniqueness in the verses.
“Tingin, ngiti lang ba ang isusukli sa akin?” One line, yesterday morning, was dropped by my muse in my head. I excitedly shared it with Jaycelle even if the story has yet to unfold. A song title that was a mere wordplay is unraveling itself into a story of our lives together. The lyrics are currently crystallizing, taking the shape of the melody, and the melody taking the shape of the lyrics — a heterogeneous mixture.
See Tingin Ngiti Chords & LyricsTingin Ngiti Lyrics
Latest Version
Version 4
Tingin Ngiti
Lyrics by Brian Dys Sahagun
2 April 2022
Intro
Instrumental
Verse 1a
Isang tingin ang namagitan sa atin
Isang sulyap na puno ng lihim
Nagkakwentuhan, nagkakiligan
Ako ba'ng nasa YM status mo?
Verse 1b
Isang ngiti mula sa'yo
Isa rin mula sa akin
Nagpapakipot, paikot-ikot
Urong-sulong
Chorus 1
Tinginan, ngitian
Mapupunta ba sa
Halika nga
Dito tayo magsosolo
Sa loob ng sarili nating mundo
Verse 2a
Tingin lang ba ang isusukli sa akin?
Ano ba ang gusto mong sabihin?
Tumalikod, sumimangot
Naiwan akong nag-iisip
Verse 2b
Ngiti lang ba ang hiling mo sa akin?
Paano ang nasaktan kong damdamin?
Nagpapasuyo, nagpapahabol
Timpla 'di maipinta
Refrain 1
Kanina ay nagkukulitan
Ngayo'y nagtatampuhan
Sunod niyan ay maglalambingan
Tapos halika ng mag
Chorus 2
Tinginan, ngitian
Mauuwi na ba sa
Halika na
Dito tayo magkukulong sa lilim
Ng lihim ng ating mundo
Bridge 1
Kay tayog ng tanaw
Kay lapit ng ngiti
Pisngi sa pisngi, noo sa noo
Naduduling, nahuhumaling
Chorus 3
Tinginan, ngitian
Dalhin na natin sa
Holding hands
Ang 'yong tingin nakakatunaw
Ang 'yong ngiti nakakapukaw
Sa aking mundo
Outro 1
Instrumental
Chorus 4
Instrumental
Outro 2
Ako, ikaw, ang tanaw
I-higpit ang 'yong kapit
Nasa atin lang palagi
Ang pagtingin at mga ngiti
Version 3
Tingin Ngiti
Lyrics by Brian Dys Sahagun
27 March 2022
Verse 1a
Isang tingin ang namagitan sa atin
Isang sulyap na puno ng lihim
Nagkakwentuhan, nagkakiligan
Ako ba'ng nasa YM status mo?
Verse 1b
Isang ngiti mula sa'yo
Isa rin mula sa akin
Nagpapakipot, paikot-ikot
Urong-sulong
Chorus
Tinginan, ngitian
Mauuwi na ba sa
Halika na
Dito tayo magsosolo
Sa loob ng sarili nating mundo
Verse 2a
Tingin lang ba ang isusukli sa akin?
Ano ba ang gusto mong sabihin?
Tumalikod, sumimangot
Naiwan akong nag-iisip
Verse 2b
Ngiti lang ba ang hiling mo sa akin?
Paano ang nasaktan kong damdamin?
Nagpapasuyo, nagpapahabol
Timpla 'di maipinta
Refrain
Kanina nagkukulitan
Ngayon nagtatampuhan
Tapos naglalambingan
...
Version 2
Tingin Ngiti
Lyrics by Brian Dys Sahagun
26 March 2022
Verse 1a
Isang tingin ang namagitan sa atin
Isang sulyap na puno ng lihim
Nagkakwentuhan, nagkakiligan
Ako ba'ng nasa YM status mo?
Verse 1b
Isang ngiti mula sa'yo
Isa rin mula sa akin
Nagpapakipot, nagpapahabol
Urong-sulong
Chorus
Tinginan, ngitian
Mapupunta na ba sa
Halika na
Dito tayo magsosolo
Sa loob ng sarili nating mundo
Verse 2a
Tingin lang ba ang isusukli sa akin?
Ano ba ang gusto mong sabihin?
Tumalikod, sumimangot
Naiwan akong nag-iisip
Verse 2b
Ngiti lang ba ang hiling mo sa akin?
Paano ang nasaktan kong damdamin?
...
Version 1
Tingin Ngiti
Lyrics by Brian Dys Sahagun
25 March 2022
Tingin lang ba ang isusukli sa akin?
Ano ba ang gusto mong sabihin?
Tumalikod, sumimangot
Naiwan akong nag-iisip
Ngiti lang ba ang hiling mo sa akin?
Paano ang nasaktan kong damdamin?
...
Isang tingin ang namagitan sa atin
Isang sulyap na puno ng lihim
Nagpapakipot, nagpapahabol
Urong-sulong
I’m particularly excited because I finally have a follow-up (potential) song for Jaycelle to sing. The last time was a long time ago.
Here’s a “music video” with the song, Save Myself, which I composed on August 2, 2003 and recorded it with Jaycelle on June 28 this year. The footage and stills are from her birthday picnic last November 28. This song is for you, darling.Save Myself Music Video
Right before I was about to finish New Song 4, my muse already gifted me a new melody to mull over. And here I find myself almost every morning continuing the tune, branching out, going back and forth, shining a light into a path that I am paving at the same time. I’ll be updating this post as I go along — just like “working with the garage door up“.
Tingin Ngiti Chords & Lyrics
Tingin Ngiti
Chords & Lyrics by Brian Dys Sahagun
3 April 2022
Intro 1
A
D - A - E - A
Hi D - A - B - A
---
Verse 1a
E
Isang tingin ang namagitan sa atin
A
Isang sulyap na puno ng lihim
E
Nagkakwentuhan, nagkakiligan
F#m A
Ako ba 'yang nasa YM status mo?
---
Verse 1b
E
Isang ngiti mula sa'yo
A
Isa rin mula sa akin
B
Nagpapakipot, paikot-ikot
G A
Uuu-urong-sulong
---
Chorus 1
D A
Tinginan, ngitian
E A
Mapupunta ba sa halika nga
Hi D A B
Dito tayo magsosolo sa loob
A
Ng sarili nating mundo
---
Intro 2
E - F#m - E - C#m-B
Ooohhh
---
Verse 2a
E
Tingin lang ba'ng isusukli sa akin?
A
Ano ba'ng gusto mong sabihin?
E C#m
Tumalikod, sumimangot
B A
Naiwan akong nag-iisip
---
Verse 2b
E
Ngiti lang ba ang hiling sa akin?
F#m
Paano ang nasaktang damdamin?
A C#m
Nagpapasuyo, nagpapahabol
C#m B A
Timpla 'di maipinta
G - F#m - E
---
Pre-chorus 1
F#m G#m
Kanina ay nagkukulitan
A B
Ngayo'y nagtatampuhan
F#m G#m
Sunod niyan ay maglalambingan
A B G A
Tapos halika ng mag
---
Chorus 2
Hi D A
Tinginan, ngitian
E A
Mauuwi na ba sa halika na
Hi D A B
Dito tayo magkukulong sa lilim
G A C#m
Ng lihim ng ating mundo
---
Bridge 1
D C#m
Kay tayog ng tanaw
B C#m
Kay lapit ng ngiti
D C#m B A(hold)
Noo sa noo, pisngi sa pisngi,
G A C D
Naduduling, nahuhumaling
---
Solo 1
D
Tsa-Tsa-Tsa-ra - Tsi-Tsi-Tsi
Tsa-Tsa-Ta-ra - Tsi-Tsi-Kiss
Tsa-Tsa-Tsa-ra - Tsi-Tsi-Tsi
Tsa-Tsa-Tsa-ra - Tsi-Tsi-Tsi
---
Chorus 3
Strum D A
Tinginan, ngitian
E A A7(hold)
Dalhin natin sa holding hands
Pluck-strum Hi D A
Ang 'yong tinging nakakatunaw
B A Am(hold)
Ang 'yong ngiti pumupukaw
---
Outro 1
Strum Lo C#m - B - A
Sa aking mundo
Strum Lo G - A - E
Strum Lo C#m - B - A
Strum G-A
---
Chorus 4
D - A - C#m - A
Hi D - A(hold)
---
Outro 2
Hi C#m B A
Ako at ikaw ang tanaw
Hi G A E
I-higpit ang 'yong kapit
Hi2 C#m B A
Nasa atin lang lagi
Hi2 G A D(hold)
Ang pagtingin at mga ngiti
---
Coda
A - A - C#m - B
A - A - C#m - B
A - G
D - D - D - C#m-B-A
G-F#m
E - E - E - E
G - A
E - E - E - E(hold)
I found myself a victim of the hot glue. It was a scene taken out of a comedy show wherein a fool was impatiently pumping a piping hot glue gun. He was doing that not over anything other than his other hand. And then, boom! The nozzle spewed a glob of loogie right on my left pointing finger. There was instant pain as soon as it contacted with my skin and a second after that, it was multiplied by 10.
My son witnessed all this careless stupidity. While the heat was bearing on my skin, I was frozen, not knowing what to do but to wait for the hot glue to dry. I even thought of swatting it out of my finger like a bug. And I did, so I smudged it, causing a bit of collateral damage to one of my fingers. The unbearable pain made me drool. And my son snickered at the sight of that.
As soon as the hot glue petrified, I ran to the kitchen to wash and cool off my finger. My son, beside me, was coaching me to not scratch off the glue as he had experienced a similar accident himself while working on one of his school activities. At that moment while the water was running, I realized that I knew the feeling my son endured when he had his fine time with the hot glue. Definitely excruciating moments.
Not an affliction on my finger could stop me from playing the guitar — especially that I was trying to scratch an itch to figure out the chords that I used for a decades-old song that I wanted to bring back to life. Try as I might, I was confined to playing out that song by forming simple chords not requiring bars.
Simple chords just near the head of the guitar reminds me of two distinct periods in my life when I was starting to learn to play the guitar. It was my cousin, Coco, who taught me the earliest chords I knew, which were D - A - G - A
of the song “Line to Heaven” by Introvoys. The second period, was when I became part of a religious organization’s musical band. I was mainly the drummer but subbed on the rhythm guitar. The chords that overplayed in the gospel songs that we played were C - Am - Dm - G - C - C7 - F - Em - Am - Dm - G - C
.
This electronic music that I composed in MTV Music Generator around that time is an embodiment of those latter chords. And frankly, I find it cheesy.
The hot glue accident happened in February and it’s been a full month already. My finger grew a new skin, even though still tender, I am training it to grow a thicker one by playing different chords, especially with bars. The song has come a long way since then. After 22 versions, I finally settled.
New Song 4 Chords
New Song 4
by Brian Dys
Intro
C - C7 - G - F - Fm(hold)
Verse 1
[C - Cmaj9/B - Am] - [F - C/E - Dm]
[C - Cmaj9/B - Am] - [G - Gsus2/F# - Em]
Hi [C - Cmaj9/B - Am] - [F - C/E - Dm]
Hi [C - Cmaj9/B - Am] - [3/4 G - Gsus2/F# - Em]
Chorus 1
Dm-Am - G-F
Fm - G(hold)
Verse 2
Hi [C - Cmaj9/B - Am] - [F - C/E - Dm]
Hi [C - Cmaj9/B - Am] - [G - F - C]
3/4 G - Gsus2/F# - Em(hi)
Chorus 2
Hi Am-Dm - Em-F
Hi Fm - G(hold)
Verse 3
Hi [C - Cmaj9/B - Am] - [F - C/E(hi) - Dm]
Hi [C - Cmaj9/B - Am] - [G - F - C]
G - F - C - C(add9)
Chorus 3
[Am - Cmaj9/B - C] - [Dm - C/E - F]
G - F
[Am - Cmaj9/B - C] - [Dm - C/E - F]
G - F - C
G - F
Verse 4
Hi [C - Cmaj9/B - Am]-hold - [F - C/E(hi) - Dm]-hold
Hi [C - Cmaj9/B - Am]-hold - [3/4 G - Gsus2/F# - Em(hi)]-hold
Chorus 4
[Am - Cmaj9/B - C]-hold - [Dm - C/E - F]-hold
G - F - C
3/4 G - Gsus2/F# - Em(hi)-hold
Coda 1
G - Gsus2/F# - Em
3/4 Hi G - Gsus2/F# - Em(hi)
G - Gsus2/F# - Em
3/4 Hi G - Gsus2/F# - Em(hi) - Em(reverse hold, hammer)
Coda 2
C - C7 - F - Fm
3/4 G - Gsus2/F# - Em
C - C7 - F - Fm
G - F - C
G - F - C-Cmaj7(reverse hold, hammer)