Rhythm of Joropo Central
The Joropo Central is a very rich rhythm from the Llanos. It is normally played with Harp, Maracas and the Cuatro.
Joropo Central is normally played at a high pace and with passion! Notice the speed which with this genre is being played, it is at about 120 BPM which is for this reason that the strumming technique must be mastered before trying to play the Joropo.
If you are just starting off with the Cuatro and want to dive right into the Joropo Central, the recommendation is to first command the frenado strums (both ascending and descending) along with then practicing the rhythm with some basic chords.
Typically, as with the Llanero, the progression for Joropo Central will be I – V – IV . The example provided above is a Joropo Central demonstration in D Major which uses the following progression of chords:
There are some variations similar to that of a Pajarillo which will be explored in more detail later on in this course. What is important to be aware of is the tempo of the rhythm and to always maintain the 1 count which can be challenging especially with bearing in mind that there’s a frenado also played along with that 1 count.
Now upload your audio so we can listen to the way you’re doing the Joropo. A teacher will approve your audio and mark this lesson as completed or give you some other guidance:
