Chapter 3
The Social Life of Mariachi Music
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(1) AA
Pages 39 – 47
Social Aspects of Mariachi Music
1. Conduct a survey of your classmates and/or family. Ask them to respond to the following survey.
a. Describe your impressions of mariachi music.
b. Describe the contexts where you have experienced mariachi music.
c. Describe the social parameters of mariachi music. For example, does mariachi
music in your community “make a social statement as well as an artistic one?”
2. Brainstorm and see if you can discover any other musicians who have had a “fire within,” like “Nati” Cano, to make their musical dreams come true. (For example, what about Ry Cooder, Miles Davis, Tito Puente, Rubén Blades? )
3. Explore the following questions.
a. What music do you value? And why?
b. What are the social, personal, and musical meanings that your musical experiences have for you? For example, if you perform, do you do so because of the social aspects it provides, or because it is an easy “A”, or because of the “goosebump moments” you experience?
Compare and contrast your responses with other members of the class.
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(2) AA
Pages 47 – 51
Music and Its Meaning
1. Complete Worksheet 3.1, “Music and Its Meaning.” This worksheet asks you to select five pieces of music and then describe what each piece of music means to you and why.
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(3) AA
CD Track 18: José Hernández, “La malagradecida,” from Sentimiento ranchero. Mariachi Sol de México. Courtesy of José Hernández and Serenata Records. 2004. Available from www.mariachi-sol.com.
1. Play selection. Complete Worksheet 3.2, “Characteristics of Mariachi Sound.” Fill in the categories: Instruments, Meters, Rhythms, and Structure as you listen to “La malagradecida.”
2. Compare and contrast this canción ranchera with the other examples of this type of mariachi form on the accompanying book CD. Listen to CD track 3, “El Rey/The King” and CD Track 12, “Allá en el Rancho Grande.” Consider the following musical elements (“instruments / meters / rhythms / structure”) in your comparison and contrast.
Canción ranchera – “The canción ranchera most often is a simple, two-part song delivered by a soloist (male or female) in an extroverted, emotional style.”
Source: Sheehy, Daniel. Mariachi Music in America. NY: Oxford University Press. 2006. Glossary, page 94.
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(4) AA
Pages 54 – 57
Tradition, Change, and the Media
1. Consider your impressions of mariachi music based on your experiences with the media. How have you been influenced, either positively or negatively, by the presentations of mariachi?
(Note: Refer to “DVD Resources for Viewing” in Daniel Sheehy’s Mariachi Music in America. NY: Oxford University Press. 2006. Page 106.)
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(5) AA
Pages 57 – 60
Women and Mariachi Performers
1. Select a music ensemble. Can you find any that are gender specific, that may have prohibited (or still do prohibit) women or men from performing? For example, one of the court ensembles of Thailand, khruang sai, was once composed of all women.
2. As a research project, explore when female musicians started to play in symphony orchestras, military bands, marching bands, jazz bands.
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(6) AA
CD Track 19: Pepe Martínez, “Tema Mujer 2000,” from La nueva imagen del milinio. Mariachi Mujer 2000. Courtesy Marisa Orduño, director/founder, Orduño Productions, and Mariachi Mujer 2000. 2002. Available at www.mariachimujer2000.com; e-mail, .
1. Check on the internet for additional information about this all-women mariachi.
2. See also www.mariachi-sol.com (Mariachi Las Reynos) and www.mariachidivas.com (Mariachi Divas) for other examples of all-women ensembles.
Worksheet 3.1
“Music and Its Meaning”
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Instructions: Select five pieces of music. Give their titles and the names of the performing artists most associated with them. Describe what each piece of music means to you: Why do you like it (or not like it)?
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1.
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2.
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3.
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4.
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5.
Worksheet 3.2
“Characteristics of Mariachi Sound”
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Instructions: As you listen to the music, write down your answers for the following categories; Instruments, Meters, Rhythms, and Structure.
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Instruments:
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Meters:
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Rhythms:
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Structure: