One of the first things to realize in wanting to learn latin music is the importance of
listening and learning by listening. Often times the only way to get a hold of a piece of music is to just learn
it from the recording. Those of us who have been trained by the classical mold often times are too rigidly attached
to the idea of looking at printed music. In fact, the only way to get the feeling of freedom in performing a piece
is to learn it with our ears not with our eyes. The expression of risk and abandon which is so necessary for the
performance of a Joropo or a soulful tonada can only gained through making the music be a part of ourselves, and
that has to be done by listening and a lot of repetition. So my first suggestion is to get a hold of some tune
you like from any record, and start committing it to memory by listening and repeating it 'till you know it. You
will feel like you've accomplished a lot after you do this. Also by listening to recordings of other players you
get many ideas for things you can try that you may want to incorporate into your playing. My second advice is to
develop a steady rhythm as you learn the music, and only after you're rock solid in the technique and the expression
should you begin to pull on the rhythm. In order to do this you need to be playing with accompaniment so you can
feel the tension that develops when trying to pull the rhythm against the strong beat of the cuatro or guitar.
This is very common when performing merengues and joropos as well. In the performance of slow pieces try to incorporate
dynamic contrast as well as many colors to express the changes in mood. Finally, don't ever let up in your quest
for mastery over the instrument, the better you play the more fun you will have playing fast Joropos, or Choros,
and remenber, Perseverance is the key to achievement. Gracias.
Marco Granados
