Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote, “Music is the universal language of mankind.” And at irocku we are firm believers in that mantra. That is why this week, we are taking you on a road trip across the border to Guadalajara, Jalisco, to introduce you to the Mexican pop-rock sensation, Mana.
Formed in 1986 by Jose “Fher” Olivera, Ulises and Juan Calleros and 15-year-old drummer, Alex Gonzalez, Mana has forged a career that has them recognized as the most successful Latin American band of all-time. Combining pop, progressive rock, calypso, Latin pop, ska and reggae, Mana has concocted a musical stew that has resulted in 4 Grammy Awards, 8 Latin Grammy’s, 5 MTV Music Video Awards, 19 Billboard Latin American Awards and 15 Premios Lo Nuestra Awards.
And with over 40 million records sold and numerous world tours behind them they were awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2016, a fitting tribute to these Latin American superstars! With that said, irocku is thrilled to offer you, “Corazon Espinado”, their 1999 collaboration with the great Carlos Santana from the epic album, Supernatural.
For his Supernatural album, Carlos Santana put together a masterpiece recording that featured the likes of; Dave Matthews, Everlast, Rob Thomas, Lauryn Hill, Eric Clapton, and in this case Mana, with the widely popular song, “Corazon Espinad0″, in English, “Wounded Heart,” or, “Thorned Heart.” Written and sung by Fher Olivera, the song has its foundation deeply rooted in the Latin music traditions of greats like Tito Puente and Arturo Sandoval, with tight syncopated keyboards and percussion holding the melody firmly in place, giving it an undeniable rhythm. The song’s theme is centuries old, it is the lament of a broken heart, but it is more than that, it is the desperate plea of an anguished man, delivered beautifully by Fher Olivera who begs the question, “tell me my love, how much love and pain remains?” The songs real power, however, is rooted in the melody, founded in Latin traditions resulting in a hypnotic swing that explodes into visceral pain with the scorching guitar solo of the master, Carlos Santana. At first the lyrical beauty of Fher’s voice along with the melody seem to be at odds with Santana’s assault, but in their totality each reveal the pain of a wounded heart. Ironically, Mana means, “a supernatural force or power,” and “Corazon Espinado” from the album, Supernatural is a perfect example of the force and power of music! Supernatural earned Santana 9 Grammy Awards; including, Album of the Year, and Best Rock Album, and the song “Corazon Espinado” solidified Mana’s status as the greatest Latin American band of all-time.
In this lesson you will learn to play Montuno. Montuno is the syncopated piano pattern that accompanies the vocals; a key element of many latin genres. Montuno’s transform the piano into a percussive instrument while reinforcing the harmonic structure of the song. We introduce both harmonic (chord based) and melodic ( arpeggio based) Montunos along with Tumbao; the highly syncopated bass line rhythm pattern that holds down the song’s groove. The syncopation in latin genres can be even more complex than New Orleans style second-line rhythms. In this song, the Tumbao spans multiple measures with most of the accents on the upbeats. So lock down your left-hand groove and gradually add in the right-hand melody lines.
This lesson was written and taught by Baden Goyo, a three-time Latin Grammy winner.
Written by Fher Olvera
Administered by Warner/Chappell
All Rights Reserved Used by Permission
Practice Schedule
Practice the B minor scale and learn the Bm and F# chords. Visit our Piano Resources page to learn the chords and scales.First Week: Beginners practice the Lesson. Intermediate and Advanced students practice the Groove Chart and the Lesson. Master the left-hand bass line before adding the melody.
Second Week: Add the Exercise and Improvisation to your practice. Master the left hand groove before improvising with your right hand. The Bm pentatonic and B harmonic minor scales work well for this song. Start with a simple quarter note improvisation and then work your way up to eighth-notes, sixteenths, and syncopated right hand patterns.
The above video is a preview from the lesson. Every lesson includes a groove chart that teaches how to play the song with a rock band, a rock theory and dexterity exercise, an improvisation, and a full arrangement of the song itself. All lessons include instructional videos as well as the sheet music.
Practice Schedule
Practice the B minor pentatonic scale, the B harmonic minor scale and learn the Bm and F# chords. Visit our Piano Resources page to learn the chords and scales.First Week: Beginners practice the Lesson. Intermediate and Advanced students practice the Groove Chart and the Lesson. Master the left-hand bass line before adding the melody.
Second Week: Add the Exercise and Improvisation to your practice. Master the left hand groove before improvising with your right hand. The Bm pentatonic and B harmonic minor scales work well for this song. Start with a simple quarter note improvisation and then work your way up to eighth-notes, sixteenths, and syncopated right hand patterns.
The above video is a preview from the lesson. Every lesson includes a groove chart that teaches how to play the song with a rock band, a rock theory and dexterity exercise, an improvisation, and a full arrangement of the song itself. All lessons include instructional videos as well as the sheet music.
Practice Schedule
Practice the B minor pentatonic scale, the B harmonic minor scale and learn the Bm, the Em and F#7 chords. Visit our Piano Resources page to learn the chords and scales.First Week: Beginners practice the Lesson. Intermediate and Advanced students practice the Groove Chart and the Lesson. Master the left-hand bass line before adding the melody.
Second Week: Add the Exercise and Improvisation to your practice. Master the left hand groove before improvising with your right hand. The Bm pentatonic and B harmonic minor scales work well for this song. Start with a simple quarter note improvisation and then work your way up to eighth-notes, sixteenths, and syncopated right hand patterns.
The above video is a preview from the lesson. Every lesson includes a groove chart that teaches how to play the song with a rock band, a rock theory and dexterity exercise, an improvisation, and a full arrangement of the song itself. All lessons include instructional videos as well as the sheet music.
Practice Schedule
Practice the B minor pentatonic scale, the B harmonic minor scale and learn the Bm, the Em and F#7 chords. Visit our Piano Resources page to learn the chords and scales.First Week: Beginners practice the Lesson. Intermediate and Advanced students practice the Groove Chart and the Lesson. Master the left-hand bass line before adding the melody.
Second Week: Add the Exercise and Improvisation to your practice. Master the left hand groove before improvising with your right hand. The Bm pentatonic and B harmonic minor scales work well for this song. Start with a simple quarter note improvisation and then work your way up to eighth-notes, sixteenths, and syncopated right hand patterns.
The above video is a preview from the lesson. Every lesson includes a groove chart that teaches how to play the song with a rock band, a rock theory and dexterity exercise, an improvisation, and a full arrangement of the song itself. All lessons include instructional videos as well as the sheet music.
Practice Schedule
Practice the B minor pentatonic scale, the B harmonic minor scale and learn the Bm, the Em and F#7 chords. Visit our Piano Resources page to learn the chords and scales.First Week: Beginners practice the Lesson. Intermediate and Advanced students practice the Groove Chart and the Lesson. Master the left-hand bass line before adding the melody.
Second Week: Add the Exercise and Improvisation to your practice. Master the left hand groove before improvising with your right hand. The Bm pentatonic and B harmonic minor scales work well for this song. Start with a simple quarter note improvisation and then work your way up to eighth-notes, sixteenths, and syncopated right hand patterns.
The above video is a preview from the lesson. Every lesson includes a groove chart that teaches how to play the song with a rock band, a rock theory and dexterity exercise, an improvisation, and a full arrangement of the song itself. All lessons include instructional videos as well as the sheet music.
Practice Schedule
Practice the B minor pentatonic scale, the B harmonic minor scale and learn the Bm, the Em and F#7 chords. Visit our Piano Resources page to learn the chords and scales.First Week: Beginners practice the Lesson. Intermediate and Advanced students practice the Groove Chart and the Lesson. Master the left-hand bass line before adding the melody.
Second Week: Add the Exercise and Improvisation to your practice. Master the left hand groove before improvising with your right hand. The Bm pentatonic and B harmonic minor scales work well for this song. Start with a simple quarter note improvisation and then work your way up to eighth-notes, sixteenths, and syncopated right hand patterns.
The above video is a preview from the lesson. Every lesson includes a groove chart that teaches how to play the song with a rock band, a rock theory and dexterity exercise, an improvisation, and a full arrangement of the song itself. All lessons include instructional videos as well as the sheet music.
Practice Schedule
Practice the B minor pentatonic scale, the B harmonic minor scale and learn the Bm, the Em and F#7 chords. Visit our Piano Resources page to learn the chords and scales.First Week: Beginners practice the Lesson. Intermediate and Advanced students practice the Groove Chart and the Lesson. Master the left-hand bass line before adding the melody.
Second Week: Add the Exercise and Improvisation to your practice. Master the left hand groove before improvising with your right hand. The Bm pentatonic and B harmonic minor scales work well for this song. Start with a simple quarter note improvisation and then work your way up to eighth-notes, sixteenths, and syncopated right hand patterns.
The above video is a preview from the lesson. Every lesson includes a groove chart that teaches how to play the song with a rock band, a rock theory and dexterity exercise, an improvisation, and a full arrangement of the song itself. All lessons include instructional videos as well as the sheet music.
Very cool! I used to play classical a lot when I was younger but quit in my early twenties. Picked it up again almost 15 years later wanting to play blues, pop and rock. That was over a year ago now and it’s been SO much harder than I thought it would be!
I randomly found this website a few days ago by searching for a video course and was really blown away by this arrangement. I signed up and can nearly play level 7 with exception of the improv section but the groove chart is quite the challenge for my still classical mindset.
Practicing and playing this is the most fun I’ve had behind the piano the past year though. I still feel locked down to the sheet music but the way you’ve broken down the rhythm and build on it is a real eye opener for me.
Thanks so much for providing this content at such a reasonable price! I’ve started working my way through the stride blues rock essentials course (I’m practicing the left hand now but I hope there’s more info about what on earth to do with my right later on in the course! ;)) and will probably get an annual after that. Thanks again to Chuck and to Baden! Would love to see more Latin stuff and/or more Santana!
Welcome to irocku. We’re glad you are enjoying the website. We suggest you also check out the IROCKU Piano Tips. They’re a great way of learning how to ‘get off the page’. There’s a lot of information to digest in the piano tips so don’t try to learn them in a few sittings. Spend time with each one and apply it to different songs you already play. Let us know what you think. Keep rockin!
BTW- Corazon Espinado is a difficult song. If you can learn it in a few days you must be quite a good player.