Self-taught guitarist excels on stage
ON a typical afternoon, instead of having his meal during the lunch break, Cristopher Aban, 37, would drive home from his workplace to take a quick nap.
He said he would not be able to survive the day if he does not take a short nap in the afternoon.
Cristopher works 11 to 12 hours a day as a translator at the Sandakan High Court during the day, and a singer and guitarist from 9 pm to 1am.
After taking his nap, he returns to work until almost 6 pm, and leaves home again for his night job at about 8.30pm.
At 9pm, he would be on stage to entertain the guests at the Best Brew in Four Points Hotel by Sheraton in Sandakan.
“It is very tiring to be working two jobs, but I am more than happy to do it because music is my passion and I am blessed to be able to do what I love every night,” he said.
Cristopher is a familiar face among the locals and musicians as he has performed on many occasions and won a lot of guitar competitions.
In 2010, Cristopher won third place in the first competition that he entered in the Bunyi Gitar Festival in Kuala Lumpur.
He then won first place in the same year in Tommy Emmanuel Finger Style Competition in Kuala Lumpur.
In 2011, he made it to the finals in Bakat TV RTM and in 2013, he won the Borneo International Guitar Festival as a solo guitarist. Most of the competitions that he won were also participated by guitarists from abroad.
Cristopher, born and raised in Sandakan, surprised a lot of people with his achievements as he had never attended formal music lessons before. He learnt his guitar skills from his brother, friends, and YouTube.
“I started playing the guitar when I was nine years old. My brother taught me how to play with an old and almost damaged wooden guitar.
‘I remember that I cried when people laughed at me because my fingers were too short to play certain chords, but my brother told me not to give up. So I kept practising until I was good at playing guitar.
“After I learnt how to play basic songs, I started to play in church and that was how I slowly improved. I also did a lot of research on new techniques and skills through YouTube. With the internet at the tip of our fingers now, I believe a lot of youngsters are able to do the same. They will be able to learn if they have the right attitude, never give up and stop learning. They can be very good even without attending formal music classes,” he said.
After he got married in 2005, Cristopher wanted to pursue music as a career but as a father of one, he was afraid that it would be hard for him to make a living with only music.
He was working as a banker and he hesitated to quit his job.
“At that time, it was very difficult. Living in a small town and having big dreams, I was really afraid that I would not be able to make a living as the breadwinner for my family if I were to pursue music as a full time career.
“However, after I won a few competitions that I participated in, it gave me the courage to take a risk. So, I quit working as a banker in 2011, and went to a local music school to teach music. That is when my career in music started,” he said.
Cristopher said that he still found it hard to earn money through teaching music, so when he was offered to work in court the following year, he took the job.
“I thought that it was the end of my musical journey, until the Four Points Hotel took me to perform at the Best Brew six nights a week after listening to me perform once (singing, playing guitar and handling a loop station alone). Since then, I have been working two jobs,” he said.
Now, Cristopher gets to do what he loves the most at night, and still be able to meet his family’s financial demand.
“A lot of people are afraid to pursue a career in music because they believe that it is almost impossible to make money with only passion in music, especially in a small town like Sandakan. But there are a lot of things you could do. If you cannot perform, you could teach, fix instruments, and provide sound system and more. The scope in music is so huge that there are opportunities everywhere,” he said.
Cristopher, who has produced two original instrumental songs, said that his future plans include organising a guitar clinic for young guitarists, to guide them in becoming self-taught guitarists without spending too much money on formal classes.
He also urged the locals, especially the people of Sandakan, to support local talents.
“Many cafes and hotels that are looking for performers are not willing to spend money on local talents. This is very sad. So I hope that more people would start to appreciate and support local musical talents,” he added.