Michael Chapdelaine views the current wave of electronic music in almost apocalyptic terms.
As the head of UNM guitar studies, Chapdelaine understandably feels strongly about such things. He gestures at a DJ blasting music in front of the SUB, which wafts in through the window of his second-story office at the Center for the Arts.
“I think there can be some great artists who do that kind of stuff, but playing recorded music outside the music building really loud is the ultimate spanking to music professors,” he said. “It’s like if we had a morality building and there were public whippings outside.”
Chapdelaine said the rise of electronic music is a cultural step backward, symptomatic of a wider decline.
“We are leaving the age of enlightenment and entering back into the Dark Ages. I don’t think anybody would doubt that. And this place is one of those places where we’re trying to hang on,” he said.
From Chapdelaine’s point of view, the guitar program may be benefitting from the current state of social affairs.
“We have the most (students) now that we’ve ever had,” he said. “I’m not a sociologist, so I can’t speak from a position of academic expertise on it, but I think given this era, which is becoming more and more cynical, that tends to bring art out of people.”
Electronic music popularity may also be driving students to study guitar.
“With so much (electronic) music out there and Lady Gaga, it’s not even about drugs and rock ’n’ roll anymore. It’s about sex. And dancing,” Chapdelaine said. “I think that’s bringing people into classical music and particularly the guitar.”
Besides a heavy dose of cultural criticism, what do students learn when they study in the UNM guitar department?
Guitar professor Benjamin Silva said plenty.
“You’re immersed in the culture of music,” he said. “In addition to your guitar studies, you’re also required to study theory and the history, and so you know all the workings of what music is. The level of teaching here is, I would say, a little bit different from what you would get in a studio outside UNM.”
Student Carlos Vinajeras-Gallegos said the guitar department challenges students to become experts in their field.
“I’ve learned a crazy amount studying with professor Chapdelaine. The classes are really difficult — all of the music classes are really difficult — but, you know, they’re also really rewarding,” he said. “You learn a lot of things that are priceless, musically, if you have the determination.”
Guitar majors can choose from four degree options, including an education degree, a degree in theory/composition, a BA in music and bachelor’s of music in performance, which Chapdelaine said is the most intensive degree.
“That’s where you really try to become a great guitarist. If you finish the program, you probably are pretty darn good,” he said.
Silva said guitar majors don’t always have jobs lined up when they graduate, but they’d rather study guitar because of passion for the instrument.
“It is kind of a tough field to be going into, but I think there’s always a way to make a living and to be creative and have that kind of creative spirit,” he said.
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These same qualities that make someone choose to major in guitar are likely to make them successful after graduation, Silva said.
“You spend all this time in your studies. You spend years. And when you get out, there’s no guarantee of anything,” he said. “So a person that would do well in music is someone that’s self-motivated, who has strong willpower and strong goals.”
True to this description, Vinajeras-Gallegos said he doesn’t have any concrete plans after graduation.
“The only thing that I really know for sure after I graduate is that I’m going to keep studying music,” he said. “I’m going to study classical to learn this really ancient art form, and after that, who knows where it will take me. But I’m definitely going to study music for the rest of
my life.”
