CHIRIMBA

CHIRIMBA is a method for learning the basics of music by playing . The instrument itself , unlike the violin , for example , is easy to play , which frees the student to experience the expression of rhythm , melody, and , to a lesser extent , harmony . The chirimba is a series of metallic chimes , 12 in all , that reproduce the white keys of the piano .

The course of study begins with simple exercises in tempo , i.e. keeping the same beat as one’s partner , and two-part arrangements of children’s songs . Be it an exercise or a song , each piece acts as a medium for a more complex experience : a simple march-step is a platform from which to explore and master the rhythms of the blues and Afro-Latin music . Every piece is designed for at least 2 players : to play well you must be able to play together . One part is melody , and one part is the basic pulse .

No written music is involved , except what is kept on file by the instructor to document the curriculum . No child needs to identify nouns and verbs in learning how to speak ; in like manner CHIRIMBA arms the student with the experience of 3/4 time , for example , so that when , in advanced study , she encounters that time signature , she will already have played it.

My goal is to bring the popular music of the Americas into the educational repertoire . This music is characterized by the strongly syncopated rhythms found in the blues and Caribbean music . When in my research into the history of musical education I came upon classical etudes for the guitar that I was able to refashion as Latin-style grooves , my way was clear : the conservatory would marry the ’street’ , and cultural diversity could be realized in the experience of making music .

Chirimba is learning by doing .

Chirimba is holding the beat , learning a song and its variations

Chirimba is playing together .

Chirimba is proof .

You can play.

SONGNOS is the knowledge of song , and CHIRIMBA is how to learn rhythm , melody and harmony by playing . A new and revolutionary approach using both song and dance .

Chirimba is a three-step course of performance : Step One concerns melody and beat - learning the vocabulary of song and setting the rhythmic foundation ; Step Two concerns both the 'grammar' of music and the syncopations central to pan-American dance - how chords operate , and how the clave beat is applied ; Step Three is creative and independent - using the tools gained to arrange , create , and play new material with practiced musicians .

The selections that follow are a taste of what Step Three promises .