William Gradante has taught mariachi since 1980 in Fort Worth, Texas; is the author of a definitive article on the life of Jose Alfredo Jimenez; and is a scholar in the field of Colombian regional folk music.
The
armonías section of the mariachi ensemble provides the rhythmic and harmonic foundation upon which the melodic offerings of the trumpet and violin sections are laid. “
Armonías” best translates as “harmonies” or “accompaniment” and includes the
vihuela, guitar, and
guitarra de golpe players, and occasionally the
guitarrón and harp players. However, performing the role of accompanists in the mariachi ensemble represents only a small part of what students do in my
armonías classes.
Because
armonías players are not the “melody-makers” of the ensemble, some mariachi teachers “leave them to their own devices,” allowing them to develop their own strumming and chording techniques while the teachers concentrate on developing the melodic skills of the violin and trumpet players. This oversight may be due to the relative lack of guitar expertise on the part of the teacher. Whatever the case may be, it is my opinion that mariachi guitar students are being given short shrift when it comes to their musical education. I have on several occasions spoken with high school
armonías players in different schools, districts, and states and discovered that many are not only unaware of the music theory-related aspects of their accompaniment playing, but even the names of the open strings on their instruments! It goes further: I have given professional development training to practicing mariachi instructors who themselves demonstrated a similar lack of awareness.
It took a number of years to impress upon my school district the educational value—even necessity—of teaching the mariachi students in homogenous classes. An especially poignant argument was that the
armonías students were graduating from high school with no music education options, as one cannot make college entrance auditions on
guitarrón,
vihuela, guitarra de golpe, or even mariachi guitar. Once I was permitted to teach my
armonía players in a “Guitar Class,” however, I was able to design a Mariachi
Armonía curriculum around the development of classic guitar technique, opening a wide range of opportunities to my students. Furthermore, I feel that it makes the teaching of the mariachi ensemble both easier and more efficient.
Classic Guitar in the Mariachi Classroom
The study of mariachi music in our school district has traditionally begun at the 6th grade level and continued through the 12th grade. In the first three to four weeks of school, 6th grade students are taught the basics of both music literacy and guitar performance practice. We refer to the class as “Guitar Class” and not as “Mariachi Class,” and stress that the techniques presented apply to whatever specific musical styles the individual student’s tastes may be oriented. From the moment the 6th graders arrive in my classroom, they want to know exactly when they are going to have a guitar placed in their hands. I respond that they must first achieve mastery in six distinct areas of “Guitar Knowledge”:
- Guitar Parts;
- Finger Names and Right-Hand Alternation;
- Performance Posture;
- Guitar Care;
- Note Values; and
- Note Reading.
Getting Started
During the first month of class, 6th graders are given a syllabus describing the kinds of things they will learn. More effective is for me to simply perform the scales, chords, and songs that they can look forward to learning, indicating the month by which they can expect to have mastered them. They also need to purchase their textbook, bring in the instrument rental/maintenance fee, and turn in the school district’s Instrument Use form (see
Figure 1).
Parts of the Guitar
Sixth grade students are told that they are being made privy to a secret language of specialized guitar terminology from which even band, orchestra, and choir members are excluded. We create a “Word Wall” that displays the definitions of musical, mariachi, and guitar jargon. A diagram of guitar parts is included in their textbook (see Figure 2 below) so they can study the part names at home. For the first several weeks, I spend the first ten minutes of class drawing a guitar on the chalkboard following specific instructions from the students as to the location, size, and function of the various parts. I will then hold up the guitar and have individual students name each guitar part as I point to it.
Finger Names and Right-Hand Alternation
The next area students should master is the naming of right and left hand fingers. The left thumb remains numberless, as its function is to provide counter-resistance to the actions of the fingers, which are numbered as follows:
- 1 index
- 2 middle
- 3 ring
- 4 pinkie
The right hand fingers derive their names from their Spanish designations:
- p pulgar (thumb)
- i índice (index)
- m medio (middle)
- a anular (ring)
- c chico ("pinkie," not used)
We begin learning the patterns of alternation between right hand fingers in the performance of both scales and melodies, including:
After making a clear distinction between rest stroke (
apoyando) and free stroke (
tirando), students perform this exercise in their laps, using their left hand fingers as “strings.” It is important to point out that the right hand fingers should press the string into the sound hole from a 45-degree angle, ending their arc-like motion with the fingernails approaching the palm.
Developing a “Correct” Posture
In teaching proper performance posture, a fundamental tenet is “centering,” positioning the instrument in the center of the torso in both sitting and standing postures. In order to keep the neck/fingerboard at an angle somewhere between 30 and 45 degrees to the floor, the left foot may be propped up, ideally with a classic guitar footstool. This means that the guitar should rest on the left, rather than the right thigh. “Centering” the guitar facilitates the movements of both hands in performance and allows the back, arms, and shoulders to remain aligned and relaxed, while ensuring that the resonating surfaces of the guitar do not rest against the body.
Figure 3. Posture
As all bodies are unique, there is no single “correct” posture. A “correct” posture promotes the physical comfort of the guitarist, allowing him or her to perform comfortably for extended periods. In general, the body should be poised, leaning into and around the guitar, not slumped behind it.
I demonstrate my personal performance posture—standing and sitting, both with and without a guitar— for the students to imitate (see Figure 3 above). We practice the movements required in “shifting” between upper and lower positions, moving the elbow alternately toward and away from the torso, keeping the knuckles, wrist, and elbow in alignment. Still with no instruments, on our right thighs, we practice various right hand finger alternation combinations.
Care of the Guitar
In the process of the students’ completing the school district’s Instrument Use forms required to rent a school-owned guitar, I emphasize that students will be personally and financially responsible for its everyday maintenance, including cleaning, polishing, re-stringing, and tuning the instrument. Since students will be held responsible, we devote time to ensure that they thoroughly understand the “DOs” and “DON’Ts” of guitar care:
DO:
- Keep a handkerchief-sized piece of cloth in your case to wipe the instrument clean for 10–30 seconds after every class and at-home practice session
- Along with the cloth, keep your textbook, talís (classic guitar strap), pencil, and a set of extra strings in your case
- Clean, polish, and correctly re-string your guitar before the Winter and Spring concerts
- Keep the instrument in tune using proper procedures
DON'T:
- Don't expose your guitar to extreme temperatures (don't leave it in your trunk or on your porch)
- Don't apply furniture polish to its surfaces
- Don't use steel strings
- Don't leave your guitar unattended—instead, lock it in the classroom instrument cabinet
- Don't leave candy or chewing gum in your case—or you may end up with uninvited guests!
Notes, Lines, and Spaces
The focus of instruction then turns to the names of the lines and spaces above, below, and on the staff. We use mnemonic devices to help students learn the names of each, such as “Elvis’ Guitar Broke Down Friday” for the lines and “FACE” for the spaces.
Note Values
We now recite the names and shapes of the different types of notes, rests, and their relative values as part of our daily routine. I find it helpful to teach these terms bilingually, as the Spanish designations are free of certain areas of confusion inherent in the American system. For example, students logically expect that a “whole note” should receive a “whole” beat. By contrast, kids can easily see that a
redonda, a “Spanish whole note,” is actually round, as its name suggests:
- whole note = 4 beats = redonda
- half note = 2 beats = blanca
- quarter note = 1 beat = negra
- eighth note = 1/2 beat = corchea
- sixteenth note = 1/4 beat = semicorchea
Handclapping simple rhythms written on the chalkboard is next. Students create their own rhythms, and then we get to clap them out. As all students are aware that no guitar will be assigned until the entire class “gets all this stuff,” full clapping participation is virtually guaranteed—plus, the kids love being asked to get loud!
Placing Instruments in Their Hands!
The students then take their four-part examination in “Guitar Parts,” “Guitar Care,” “Note Values,” and “Lines & Spaces.” Afterward, I assign guitars to everyone, allowing “re-takes” for those who failed to earn perfect scores. The students’ dedication through the first four weeks has paid off, as I can say, “Play me some half notes on the first string!” and they enjoy immediate success! Within two or three days I send the guitars home with the students, having them promise that they will practice thirty minutes a day.
Note Reading
Individual notes are learned on a string-by-string basis, beginning with String #1 (E), the thinnest and the closest to the floor when the guitar is in playing position. After learning the notes on each of the first three strings (E, B, and G), the students learn and memorize five simple melodies. This process is then repeated using the three bass strings (D, A, and E). By Thanksgiving Break, all 6th graders are able to do the exercises depicted in
Figure 4. The students will also be able to perform a number of simple melodies and carols, and can navigate through a piece, observing such conventions as repeat signs, first and second endings, Fine, Segno, Coda, D.C. al Fine, and D.S. al Coda.
Learning Our First Chords
The Winter Concert in mid-December marks our first foray into traditional mariachi repertoire. I invite a dozen or so guitarists who have mastered all ten songs required to rehearse “Cielito Lindo” and “De Colores” after school with the 6th grade violin students. Having developed sufficient finger independence, strength, and dexterity through our regimen, these students have a relatively easy time learning the basic chords necessary to perform in the mariachi setting in the two weeks prior to the concert.
Second Semester of 6th Grade
Beginning in the second semester, students learn to perform duets and trios and, before Spring Break, arrange their own simple duets, notating the two parts both manually and using the music-writing program on the computer. We break up into “mini-mariachis” as we perform in guitar trios (“Cielito Lindo”), quartets (“De Colores” and “Las Mañanitas”), and quintets (“Las Chiapanecas” and “En Tu Día”). Each arrangement in our 6th grade text includes melodic and harmonic lines, as well as a bass part and a chordal accompaniment. Students are assigned specific parts for each ensemble piece, to ensure that they are becoming well-rounded guitarists.
As the year winds down, students naturally begin to separate into ability-level groups. Students are not measured against each other, but are encouraged to progress at their own rate, studying the pieces that interest them. I provide exceptionally talented and motivated students with three selections from the State of Texas “Prescribed Music List” (hereafter referred to as the “PML”) for “University Interscholastic League” (UIL) Solo and Ensemble competition.
7th Grade
A fundamental goal of 7th grade Guitar Class is learning to perform polyphonically. That is, students will perform melodic and harmonic lines with their right hand fingers while simultaneously providing a bass line with the thumb. Seventh graders also study expanded scales, the seven scale degrees, and the major, relative natural, harmonic, and melodic minor scales. This means each class now begins with the kids naming, defining, and performing the scales depicted in
Figure 5 and
Figure 6, along with associated arpeggio (“Word Wall!”) exercises.
When one examines the repertoire of any mariachi ensemble (see the
MENC October 2006 Mariachi Newsletter offering by Mark Fogelquist), the existence of several genres of mariachi music becomes evident. The easiest way to distinguish these genres is by the specific
mánico (strumming pattern) employed by the
armonía players. These genres/
mánicos, listed in the approximate order of their introduction, include:
(see
Figure 7,
Figure 8, and
Figure 9 for examples of typical
mánicos)
This has an enormous effect upon the manner in which you can teach your classes. Obviously, in order to perform their traditional role in the mariachi ensemble, the
armonía players must learn to play chords, so I teach these one key at a time, reinforcing the I-IV-V7-I model, utilizing a student-generated rubric to evaluate and reward student progress toward what we call “Key Mastery.” To claim “mastery” of chordal performance in any given key, the student would have to demonstrate the following:
1. the ability to name the three primary chords in the key
2. the correct fingering of each chord
3. making all six chord changes (I-V7, V7-I, I-IV, IV-I, IV-V7, V7-IV)
4. making all six chord changes in rhythm—NO PAUSES
5. making changes with fingers jumping into position—NO WALKING
6. proper right hand wrist strumming—NO FOREARM ACTION
7. clear sound production—NO BUZZING
8. sight-reading a piece in the given key (the "Mastery Song")
When 7th graders feel ready to demonstrate mastery of a given key, they can perform the required test—sight-reading a previously unknown piece of music—while referring to the posted rubric and then tell me themselves which standards they feel they have mastered and which require further practice
