Whenever we hear about a folk/Latin musician, we can’t resist ourselves and love to see them perform and listen to their amazing masterpieces. Today, on Guitaa Artist Centerstage, we are talking about an amazing singer-songwriter from Ecuador and her name is“Sara Ontaneda”.
Sara’s genre is alternative pop and has followed the musical culture of Pop, Latin, and R&b Rhythm.
Let’s find out about the musical journey of this beautiful musician, her challenges as a musician and many more!
- Introduce yourself to our audience, what genre of music do you consider your work to be?
I’m Sara Ontaneda, I’m a singer-songwriter based in New York City. My music is a colorful blend of Folk, Latin, and R&B rhythms. I call it Alternative Pop.
- What and who were your early passions and influences, What inspires you to make music?
I started music at 7 years old, playing classical piano, so I have classical favorites like Chopin and Debussy, but I take inspiration from many different genres and artists like Chet Baker, Corrine Bailey Rae, Natalia Lafourcade, Laura Marling, among others. I would say what inspires me to play music is the ability to connect to strangers and together embark on a story-telling journey.
- Tell us about that one memorable performance and favorite venue which you still wish to happen again?
I got to play at the NAMM Show 2018 in Anaheim, California with my band. It was amazing! Not only did we have a responsive crowd, and a blast, but people were coming up to us and thanking us for representing Latino artists at the conference. I’m forever proud of that moment.
- Any funny story of a mess up during your performance where you handled that situation like nothing happened?
One of my songs is in Open D tuning and during one performance after tuning the guitar and starting the song, I realized something sounded very off. The guitar was out of tune, maybe it was the new strings or not, but I started to get nervous. I decided to keep going through the song and do my best. In the end, I asked some people at the show if they had noticed how out of tune it was, and they said everything sounded great. So maybe I was hearing things.
- If you could collaborate with any musicians(dead/alive), who would you collaborate with and why?
Chet Baker comes to mind. He was an incredible musician and I always loved the timbre of his voice and his trumpet playing. I learned to “scat” many of his solo’s when I was in college.
- What has been your biggest challenge as a Musician? Have you been able to overcome that challenge? If so, how?
Believing in myself constantly proves to be a big challenge. I have come a long way and the older I get the more I realize that being a musician is about evolving and trusting your path.
- Any Tips to keep the balance between professional and music life?
I think this is the tricky part of being a free-lance artist but I would say, make to-do lists, keep a journal/agenda with appointments and goals and try to meet those weekly. Practice your instruments! Do your scales and arpeggios even when you don’t want to. Also, check-in with yourself. Find time to meditate, do yoga, exercise, eat healthily and sleep.
- What Tools and techniques you use to improve your singing/instrumental playing?
Practicing things like time with a metronome is very important to me. I also believe in always warming up before playing or singing. For singing, I like starting with lip trills and get my breathing going. For Guitar, I usually do scales as well and some finger-picking patterns. I also like learning covers. As a singer-songwriter its easy to get in the habit of only practicing my own music. Learning other people’s music gives me an insight into the harmony and other techniques they are using.
- What type of Gadgets and instruments do you use while practicing? And, Do you have any specific name of your instrument?
When I want to practice acoustically, I practice guitar and voice with my Baby Taylor guitar. When I want to get more into guitar, I prefer plugging my Fender telecaster to my Super Champ X2 amp. I also like practicing with my laptop in front of me to look up new exercises, chord voicings, etc.
- Would you like to share a testimonial for Guitaa? If Yes, Why do you love Guitaa?
Guitaa is an awesome place for musicians around the world to follow and learn more from each other.
- What advice would you have for someone wanting to become an Artist?
Follow your instincts, and be yourself. If something doesn’t feel right to you, it probably isn’t. Believe in yourself.
So, this was the amazing artist Sara. Want to know how you can follow her on social media? Then, check out the links below:
Facebook :
Instagram :
YouTube :
