Las mañanitas
Traditional Mexican song
Mexico's birthday song, in three-four time: the melody comes with its second voice a third or a sixth below, the way mariachis sing it.
G major · 3/4 · 113 beats per minute · 16 bars · 25 s · intermediate level
The form
The sections of the piece and their chords: the map you learn before playing a single note.
Pickup A B
| Section | Bars | Chords | Phrase ending |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pickup | 0–0 | D V |
— |
| A | 1–8 | G6 · Asus4 · Bsus4 · D/A · G · Bsus4 · E7 · G I6 · IIsus4 · IIIsus4 · V · I · IIIsus4 · V7/ii · I |
— |
| B | 9–16 | F♯m/A · G/B · F♯m/A · C7 · F · G · E7 · G vii · I · vii · IV7 · ♭VII · I · V7/ii · I |
— |
The key
- G major
- 1 sharp in the key signature: F♯
- Scale
- G · A · B · C · D · E · F♯
- Pillar chords
- I = G · IV = C · V7 = D7
The tricky passages
- Bar 6: fast runs (7.5 notes per second), notes outside the key
- Bars 13–14: fast runs (7.5 notes per second), notes outside the key
The plan: 10 days
Half an hour a day. First I help you understand the map of the piece, then we lay down the chord framework, learn each section phrase by phrase, work on the tricky passages, put it together and bring it up to tempo, until you can play it from memory.
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