I can’t say that I understand my grandfather’s panacoustic system. At least, I don’t understand it, yet. From what I’ve gathered thus far, my grandfather, Ernest Rocha Sr., developed this musical system as his response to what her learned as a lifelong professional musician.
When I was little, my mom and uncle would talk about their father’s music with not much more than disdain. He left them when my mom was around 9 months old. The this was that Ernest was only around 20 when he bounced. Music and the life of a traveling musician was his destiny and he played all over the southwestern US and even into Central America.
He was Hermes Nino’s piano player and played complex rhythms and chord structures with what seemed a natural inclination. I’ve listened to whatever recordings of his I can find. He may have been a horrible father and grandfather (I only met him twice), but he was a high-caliber musician.
Throughout my life, music has been the main undercurrent that drives me. When I was in high school, I had no doubt that I would follow Ernest’s footsteps. I’ve played sax and guitar since I was around eight years old and never thought I’d do anything else but play.
Life and my parents, however, had other plans. I learned how to program computers thanks to a BASIC algorithm for creating a music synthesizer on a Commodore 64. I used that code and tore it apart until I understood computer programming as well as I understood music. Computer programming paid more and has provided a decent life for me and my family.
But I never gave up on music.
When life threw a curveball my way, it not only ended one path, but it opened up a whole new path. Over the last several years, I have become more and more convinced that music is medicine. The panacoustic system has returned me to my intellectual and emotional roots. I am studying it and the only way I can really delve into its intricacies is to implement a MIDI-based digital audio workstation (DAW) and I am in the early stages of getting it built. I may not have known my grandfather in life, but I believe that I am his intellectual and musical heir and nothing can change that now. Through the panacoustic system, I am now a fully integrated human being. Gracias, mu abuelo. Tu musica es en my corazon….
