The purpose of the online course of Venezuelan maracas is to show in only five movements the traditional language of maracas. Subsequently, these movements transform into 25 basic combinations that allow students to work on independence with both hands, and to discover the true source from where all traditional Venezuelan rhythms come.

By mastering the 25 combinations students will be able to play Venezuelan music genres in 3/4 such as Vals, Pasaje, Joropo Llanero, Joropo Oriental, Joropo Tuyero, Onda Nueva; in 6/8 as the Danza, Pajarillo, Joropo Oriental con Estribillo, Joropo Tuyero, and in 5/8 as the Venezuelan Merengue.

“In this method 5 Movements Are The Key, I want to share the experience that helped me understand the traditional techniques of the Venezuelan maracas and that lead me to design a musical writing that shows with clarity and discernment the execution of the instrument in each Venezuelan genre according to the vocabulary and variations that have been standardized throughout time”

The full course includes :

CHAPTER I: 5 MOVEMENTS ARE THE KEY

• Basic principle to know the maracas
• Gripping forms
• Margin of Movements
• Basic notions of notation

Movements

• MOVEMENT #1
• MOVEMENT #2 (escobilla’o)
• MOVEMENT #3 (continuous escobilla’o)
• MOVEMENT #4 (continuous escobilla’o 2)
• MOVEMENT #5

CHAPTER II: BASIC COMBINATIONS

• Combination #1
• Combination #2
• Combination #3
• Combination #4
• Combination #5

CHAPTER III: BASIC Accompaniments OF TRADITIONAL VENEZUELAN GENRES

Traditional Venezuelan rhythms in 3/4

• Venezuelan Waltz
• Llanero Passaggio
• Joropo Llanero
• Joropo Oriental
• Joropo Tuyero

Venezuelan traditional rhythms in 6/8

• Joropo Llanero (Seis por derecho)
• Joropo Oriental (Refrain)
• Joropo Tuyero
• Zuliana Dance

Venezuelan traditional rhythm in 5/8 (Venezuelan Merengue)

Venezuelan contemporary rhythm Onda Nueva (New Wave)

CHAPTER IV: LINKS AND DIRECT CONNECTIONS OF BASIC RHYTHMS TO VARIATIONS OF ORNAMENTS

• Links and connections in 3/4
• Links and connections in 6/8
• Links and connections of Merengue
• Links and connections of New Wave

The course has 130 videos with animation of trajectories and illustrations of the bigrama, videos with traditional Venezuelan pieces of each genre.

Who is this course meant for?

To all musicians and / or non-musicians who wish to learn or deepen the traditional technique of maracas.

Prior knowledge required

The maracas course is designed to begin the learning of the instrument without previous knowledge.