Carnegie Hall

• Listen to the audio track “La Guacamaya.”
• Learn the lyrics to the chorus using the audio track.
• Sing the chorus using the “La Guacamaya” chorus audio track. During the chorus, students can move their arms to mimic the macaw flying.

• Son jarocho songs are most commonly in either 6/8 or 3/4 meters. Sometimes, these songs can be performed with 6/8 and 3/4 rhythms layered on top of each other. There are some easy phrases that can be used to learn to put these rhythms together.
• Start by having your students put the six counts of the 6/8 rhythm in their feet, emphasizing beats 1 and 4. Ask your students if they notice which beats are stronger and which beats are weaker.
  • Feel the way your body wants to move with the music. This is the steady beat of the song.

• Next, speak the first rhythm for “La Guacamaya” using the Café con pan rhythm audio track, while your students continue to keep just the steady beat (beat 1 and beat 4) in their feet. As they get comfortable with this, invite them to speak the rhythm, all while maintaining the steady beat.
• Now, speak the second rhythm for “La Guacamaya” using the Chocolaté rhythm audio track, while your students continue to keep the steady beat in their feet. As they get comfortable with this, invite them to speak the rhythm, all while maintaining the steady beat.
• After that, listen to Café con pan y chocolaté rhythmic layers to hear both rhythms together. Then, split the class into two parts. One will perform the café con pan rhythm, and the other will perform the chocolaté rhythm.

• Start the 6/8 steady beat again, then bring in each section to speak their rhythm. As your students get more comfortable, speed up the tempo. Then, try performing both rhythms with “La Guacamaya.”
• If your students are beginning to become familiar with notation, you can experiment with some basic audiation exercises by having them only perform the eighth notes or only the 16th notes while maintaining the son jarocho rhythms.

Dance Zapateado in “La Guacamaya”

• Both the café con pan and chocolaté rhythms have zapateado dances.
• While saying the phrase, “café con pan,” add the zapeteado step using the Café con pan rhythm audio track:
  • Step with your right foot on the word “pan.”
  • Step “left-left-right” on the other beats of the rhythm, “café con.”
  • Step with your left foot on the word “pan.”
  • Step “right-right-left” on the other beats of the rhythm, “café con.”
• Continue to alternate.

• While saying the phrase, “chocolaté,” add the zapeteado steps using the Chocolaté rhythm audio track. Step “right-right” on the syllables, “cho-co.”
  • Step left on the syllable “la.”
  • Step on your right foot on the last syllable “té.”
  • Step “left-left” on the syllables, “cho-co.”
  • Step right on the syllable “la.”
  • Step on your left foot on the last syllable “té.”
• Continue to alternate.