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Learn How To Play The Venezuelan Cuatro – Fast & Easy!
Introduction Start to learn how to play the Venezuelan Cuatro with this new and innovative method. Within the palm of your hands lies a powerful and concise method for developing your abilities with TuCuatro.com, the e-learning platform for the Venezuelan Cuatro. By making use of this resource, you will learn the basic skills for learning how to play in a short period of time. If you are starting from scratch with the Cuatro, have never played it and would not know where to begin, then this method is ideal for you How will we achieve teaching you in such a fast and efficient way? At TuCuatro.com we are pioneers in the area of online & self paced learning for the Venezuelan Cuatro. Our web portal is the product of our complete dedication & passion to the comprehension of the Venezuelan Cuatro with the goal of unlocking it’s mysteries to those interested in both Venezuela and abroad. No other site to be found on the web will provide you with an experience such as that the one we have to offer in relation to the Venezuelan Cuarto: As part of TuCuatro, we have compiled the largest amount of materials, videos and audio files to learn how to play the Cuatro through the internet from your very own home. “Very good, thank you very much for all of the help you offer to those who are in the process of learning how to play this marvelous instrument.” José Escobar “Excellent, if there only had been a guide such as this one when I started 47 years ago..”Arnol T. Reyes
What does this mean? Learn with high level technology, videos of impeccable quality, audio and images which will permit you to play in no time! Simply no other method can compare and we invite you join our community of future cuatristas. …It’s time to get started!
Adrián Toro Director TuCuatro.com
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Learn How To Play The Venezuelan Cuatro – Fast & Easy!
Cuatro Basics Effective playing positions The most effective way of playing the Cuatro is whilst sitting. This proves to be advantageous and permits the cuatrista to move their right & left hand without losing control of the Cuatro. When you sit, play according to the following recommendations: 1. 2. 3. 4.
Take the Cuatro and ensure that it rests on your upper leg Adjust your position towards the back rest of the chair Keep your back straight, but comfortably relaxed Slightly angle the Cuatro towards you so that you can see your actions
On some occasions, it may be necessary to play standing. In such cases, the recommendations are as follows: 1. Hold the Cuatro with the right arm so that the your hand remains free 2. Place the Cuatro in the palm of your left hand so that you will be able to move your fingers freely
The neck “mástil” of the cuatro
The neck of the Cuatro is divided into frets. Each fret is the space between two strips of metal found on the neck. The majority of Cuatros have a minimum of 14 frets, which can reach up to 21 frets on more advanced Cuatros. All references made to the frets are provided according to its number, for example fret number 1 is the first as is illustrated in the image below. The strings of the Cuatro are also numbered. The numbering does not take place by physical order but rather by order of sound. From the highest to lowest. -
1st is the sound of FA# (the highest) 2nd is the sound of RE 3rd is the sound of SI 4th is the sound of LA (the lowest)
Always make sure that your Cuatro is properly tuned by entering here.
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Learn How To Play The Venezuelan Cuatro – Fast & Easy!
The left hand
The positioning of the left hand is fundamental to be able to play well. It is important that your hand is relaxed and that you do not injure yourself by placing it in a bad position. The backside of the neck should be held as is illustrated below:
Have you noticed how the thumb should be placed? Please avoid placing the thumb like this:
X too below
X too above
The thumb should never be placed on the lowest side of the neck, by doing so you should feel a tension build up which can lead to injury if maintained for long periods of time.
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Learn How To Play The Venezuelan Cuatro – Fast & Easy!
With respect to the front side, the neck of the Cuatro should be held in a manner which facilitates you to easily move your four free fingers. The neck should NOT be sustained against the palm of the hand, but by the support and applied pressure from the back with the arc formed by the index finger and thumb.
For the marking of chords, it is important to press the strings firmly in the correct spot. Have a look at the illustration below:
This is the chord LA7. When play this chord on your Cuatro, ensure that you are marking the correct position with each finger. The strings should be marked in the middle of the fret, directly in between the two metal strips. The Cuatro produces its clearest sound by doing so. To assist you with the proper marking of the strings, please take the following into account: 1. Ensure that your left hand fingernails are short 2. Make only use of your fingertips to press the stings 3. Ensure that each string sounds clearly and not “muffled”
Enter here to hear the sounds of a Cuatro
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Learn How To Play The Venezuelan Cuatro – Fast & Easy!
The right hand The Cuatro is strummed with the right hand. This hand is placed above the sound hole of the soundboard. Have a look at how this is done in the image below: RIGHT HAND PHOTO
It is important not to play the Cuatro neither directly above nor below the sound hole as you can hurt your fingers by doing so and the resulting sound would not be the most adequate.
XAbove the soundhole
X Below the soundhole
Only during some occasions when plucking the strings individually would you play on the lower end of the sound hole for a higher sound, see how this sounds on the Cuatro.
Remember! Having a good posture will give you a strong advantage for playing the Cuatro and will save you numerous years of work in order to correct a poor posture. Now you are ready to learn about the chords. Upon completion of this next section, you will be able to play 3 chords of the Cuatro. RE, SOL and LA7.
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Learn How To Play The Venezuelan Cuatro – Fast & Easy!
How to read tablatures and mark chords The Tablatures Generally, the kind of diagrams used to teach Cuatro are simple drawings which represent the chords. With tucuatro.com such drawings will not be made use of, we will be using photographic illustrations of a real Cuatro’s neck where we will indicate precisely where to mark each string and with which finger to mark it. By making use of this method, you will have a clear understanding of how to place your fingers when marking chords.
As indicated above, all of the chords which you will see as we progress are illustrated on a real Cuatro so that you can easily see the connection between the strings and the fingers positioning. Now that we have the tools with which we will be working, we will add the position symbol to each of the left hands fingers so that you know which note to play:
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Learn How To Play The Venezuelan Cuatro – Fast & Easy!
The Chords The three chords which we will be using are RE major, SOL major, and LA7. Upon completion, you will be able to interpret a song made up of these three chords. Re Major Chord
For RE major, you will make use of finger 3 to mark the third fret of the SI string. Try to mark this on your Cuatro, in order to do so you should place the finger as is illustrated above. This chord is possibly the easiest chord to mark on the Cuatro. If you would like to hear the RE major chord, enter here and observe in detail how this is done.
Sol Major Chord
The SOL major chord is marked by placing your first two fingers exactly as indicated in the illustration. This chord is accompanies the RE major chord very well and will permit us to form a song which you will learn how to play upon the completion of this module. Observe how the SOL major cord sounds and try to play this chord on your Cuatro.
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Learn How To Play The Venezuelan Cuatro – Fast & Easy!
La7 Chord
The La7 chord is slightly more complicated, it is described as a triangle due to the form which the fingers make when marking the chord. When marking this chord, play it one string at a time to ensure that the sound is clear and not muffled. Review how this chord is played in this video which we have recorded for you.
At this point, try to mark the three chords which you have just learned one after another and feel free to strum the strings with your right hand.
RE
SOL
LA7
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Learn How To Play The Venezuelan Cuatro – Fast & Easy!
Basic Rhythm There are many genres and rhythms to be found in Venezuelan music. Despite this, there are two which particularly stand out because of their enchanting peculiarity. In this module, we will teach you these two basic rhythms so that you can start to play a variety of songs. By making use of detailed illustrations, we will show you how to play rhythms. It is easy to interpret and play, as each arrow indicates the direction in which the right hand should move. Each group of arrows demonstrated within the diagram is known as a bar. This bar has the duration from the first arrow to the last. As we progress, we will be making use of numerous bars together in order to play a complete song.
El Vals Venezolano (Venezuelan Waltz)
Bar: To play the rhythm of Vals, follow the arrows with your right hand moving it upwards, downwards; upwards and downwards. View this video which explains in exact detail the Vals rhythm.
Merengue or Aguinaldo
Bar: The Venezuelan Merengue or Aguinaldo is a rhythm consisting of 5 strums per bar. It is not a particular rhythm which can be found in the world of music, so once you learn it you will already be playing a genre which is can be considered as unique to many musicians worldwide. To play it, just follow the direction of the arrows with your right hand. Please do review the video where we go into detail as to how to play this rhythm.
Remember! For practicing, it is best to play a little bit every day. Your mind will assimilate more by providing it with smaller portions of information on a daily basis, which will ultimately permit you to recall what you have learned more effectively on a short term.
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Learn How To Play The Venezuelan Cuatro – Fast & Easy!
The First Song Compadre Pancho is a popular Venezuelan Merengue song which can be easily executed. The rhythm of this song can be simply done, even for those with no experience. Simply strum the strings with your right hand according to the arrows illustrated within the Merengue diagram:
Bar: View how this rhythm is played with our demonstration video The first part of the song is as follows: “Oiga compadre pancho lo que me pasa lo sabe usted, que la negrita del rancho con el pulpero ayer se me fue…” To play this, following the rhythm of Merengue, play each cord according to the words of the song:
Oiga compadre
pancho lo que me
pasa lo sabe
RE
RE
RE
Que la negrita del
rancho con el pul
pero ayer se me
SOL
LA7
usted
SOL fue
LA7
RE
(…repeat this section) Notice that the RE major chord is played 3 times, SOL major is played 2 times and LA7 two times, which will finish off by playing the RE chord once more. This is what is known as playing a chord during 1, 2 or 3 bars. One bar is the amount of time your right hand takes to conduct the rhythm established in the previously provided illustration. Now, knowing the number of bars, you will be able to play the following verse:
x3
x2
x2
x1
Listen to the verse section www.tucuatro.com
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Learn How To Play The Venezuelan Cuatro – Fast & Easy!
To begin to play the chorus, we are going to make use of a chord similar to RE major and very easy to play called RE7.
Re7 The chorus is as follows: “Ay mi compadre, si usted la ve, dígale por su hijito, compadre pancho, vuelva otra vez.”. Try to play this following the chords and bars illustrated below: …Ay mi com
RE7 Dígale por su hi
RE
padre, . . . . .
. . . . si usted la
SOL jito, compadre
SOL pancho, vuelva otra
LA7
LA7
ve . . . . . . . .
RE vez . . . . . . .
RE
On the next page we have provided you with the complete song for you to play. Listen to the provided audio file and familiarize yourself with the song. After having done so, you can review the corresponding chords and play them yourself. Compadre Pancho – Cuatro Básico Acompañante
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Learn How To Play The Venezuelan Cuatro – Fast & Easy!
Compadre Pancho Autor: Lorenzo Herrera Arreglo: Tucuatro.com Ritmo: Merengue Oiga compadre
Pancho lo que me
pasa lo sabe
usted
que la negrita del
rancho con el pul
pero ayer se me
fue
Oiga compadre
Pancho lo que me
pasa lo sabe
usted
que la negrita del
rancho con el pul
pero ayer se me
fue
. . . Ay mi com
padre . . . . .
. . . si usted la
ve
dígale por su hi
jito, compadre
Pancho, vuelva otra
vez
. . . Ay mi com
padre . . . . .
. . . si usted la
ve
dígale por su hi
jito, compadre
Pancho, vuelva otra
vez
Verse
Chorus
Oiga compadre Pancho entre ella y yo no ha pasado ná solo que la camisa me la planchó sin almidoná Ay mi compadre si usted la ve . . Oiga compadre Pancho lo que me pasa le contaré palabras acaloradas y luego el puño que se me fue Ay mi compadre si usted la ve . . Oiga compadree Pancho lo que me pasa lo entiende usted; Me siento enguayaba´o, no tengo gusto ni pa´l café.
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Learn How To Play The Venezuelan Cuatro – Fast & Easy!
Next Step Congratulations as you have completed this manual on learning how to play the Cuatro fast and easily! How would you like to continue to learn more? As you have seen, all of our provided materials (videos, audio, images) are available online for you to learn how to play the Venezuelan Cuatro from the comfort of your own home and at your own pace. This makes us unique as the only providers of online learning with a systematic, professional and modern approach for the Venezuelan Cuatro. We invite you to continue your practice with our organization through our website http://www.tucuatro.com where hundreds of videos and documentation is available for your learning needs. We have exclusively recorded audio resources of high quality enabling you to play together with other musicians from your computer or mobile device. A membership to gain access to our services and sophisticated e-learning platform along with all of the resources and information we have to offer would cost approximately $150 USD per year. Although there may be numerous sites offering online services for instruments such as the guitar, TuCuatro.com is the only complete and professional e-learning site dedicated to the Venezuelan Cuatro. There may be other alternatives such as purchasing manuals from music stores with basic teachings of the Cuatro and this would end up costing a considerable amount of money without a comparable structure, interactive resources, enhanced learning methods or professionals who are available to assist you within a simple click of the mouse. TuCuatro offers you a learning experience valued at more than $150 dollars for less than what a book of chords would cost. You can also determine how you wish to make your payments and choose between a variety of subscription methods such as monthly, trimester, semester or in accordance to what is most convenient to you. Join the largest and most extensive network of cuatristas and learn how to play like the best!
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