Mazurka Choro - Basic Membership

Introduction

The Mazurka Choro by the genial Brazilian composer Heitor Villa Lobos is an enchanting piece that forms part of the Suite Populaire Brésiliene. The suite is made up of 5 pieces written between 1906 & 1923. The Mazurka Choro is the first in the group and it is dedicated to Maria Tereza Teran. Maria was the wife of Villa Lobos' good friend Tomas Teran - a Spanish pianist. 

Tips:

The piece spans 3 keys - A minor, C major, and A major. The form of the piece is - A B A C A D with all A sections being exact repeats of each other and all in the key of A minor. The B section moves into a happier and more moved C major key. The C section is in A major and it moves towards a descending melodic motif in contrast to the ascending motif first expressed in the A section(s). The D section is a complete contrast to the previous sections moving into triplets and descending from a high F at the 13th fret to a low F on the 1st fret of the 6th string.

A nice musical practice is to vary the way that the A sections are played each time. Try a bit of rubato, ponticello and sul tasto, stacatto and legato phrasing to keep things interesting for you and the listener!

Let your fingers fly!

Josh