TOWARDS A HYBRID APPROACH TO MARIACHI EDUCATION - BRIDGING THE

GAP BETWEEN FORMAL AND INFORMAL TRANSMISSION OF MUSICAL

CULTURE

A PROJECT REPORT

Presented to the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music

California State University, Long Beach

In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree

Master of Music

Concentration in Instrumental Performance

Committee Members:
Robert Frear, M.M. (Chair)
Daniel Zanutto, Ed.D.
Ryan Darke, M.M.

College Designee:
Jonathan Talberg, D.M.A.

By Oscar Garibay

B.M., 2014, California State University, Sacramento

May 2017
 ABSTRACT

TOWARDS A HYBRID APPROACH TO MARIACHI EDUCATION - BRIDGING THE

GAP BETWEEN FORMAL AND INFORMAL TRANSMISSION OF MUSICAL

CULTURE

By

Oscar Garibay

May 2017

Mariachi programs have gained interest and acceptance among music educators in most

regions of the United States. Successful mariachi programs are energizing students and creating

positive relationships between the schools and their communities. Mariachi programs are

growing as more students identify and connect with this Mexican folkloric music. An example of

a flourishing mariachi program can be found in the Las Vegas Clark County School District,

which has seen its program grow from 250 students to over 3,000 since 2002. Considering that

the Hispanic population is expected to reach about 106 million in 2050, about double what it is

today, the potential for mariachi instruction in public schools will likely follow these growing

population trends. However, due to the highly stylized idiomatic music that is mariachi, music

educators not familiar with its innate teachings might hinder the art form at a pedagogical level.

This research paper explores three current approaches to mariachi pedagogy in U.S. public

education: informal, formal, and a hybrid approach between the two aesthetics. The hybrid

approach will be the basis of rehearsal practice in preparing for Seor Trompetas in my

graduate recital to test its efficacy to teaching authentic mariachi music.

ii
TOWARDS A HYBRID APPROACH TO MARIACHI EDUCATION - BRIDGING THE

GAP BETWEEN FORMAL AND INFORMAL TRANSMISSION OF MUSICAL

CULTURE

Introduction

The complex styles that reside within popular and folkloric musics are each native to

their own idiom and are not always apparent in standard band literature and practice.1 Since

mariachi is folkloric music, its style was developed through the aural/oral tradition, passed down

through generations of musicians.2 Because of this folk tradition, the absence of a natural

enculturation process may create difficulties for a teacher not familiar with the music to teach an

authentic mariachi style, which could potentially endanger the art form.3 Mariachi musical style,

similar to jazz, cannot be taught in the context of a traditional, formal style. Jeff Nevin, a

professional mariachi brought up in the formal style states in his book Virtuoso Mariachi,

Remember, the first mariachis did not read their music. They felt it. Now that we are
writing down what mariachis have been playing for centuries (the son is of course one of
the oldest types of song that mariachis play) we need to try and not do anything to cause
players to feel the music differently You can not count this music you must feel it!4

1
Lucy Green et. al., Ashgate Popular and Folk Music Series: Music, Informal Learning
and the School: A New Classroom Pedagogy (Farnham: Ashgate, 2013), 5.

Mary-Lee Mulholland, Mariachi, Myths and Mestizaje: Popular Culture and Mexican
2

National Identity, National Identities 9, no. 3 (September 2007): 257.

Carlos Abril, Music That Represents Culture: Selecting Music with Integrity, Music
3

Educators Journal (Sep 2006): 40.

Jeff Nevin, Virtuoso Mariachi (Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 2002),
4

239-240.

1
 This paper is an examination of three pedagogical approaches currently used to teach

mariachi: what I will refer to as informal, formal, and a hybrid approach between the two.

Informal refers to mariachi taught in the traditional aural approach versus formal, which is

often taught in a regular music class, reliant on standard methods and music notation.5 An

example of informal learning is what Lucy Green, author of Ashgate Popular and Folk Music

Series: Music, Informal Learning and the School: A New Classroom Pedagogy describes as

young musicians are introduced, and explicitly trained or just generally helped by an individual

adult or a community of expertise.6 In contrast, an example of formal learning is studying

music attributed to cultures outside the Anglo-American tradition Limited by the music and

information found in textbooks, teachers might have presented students with impressions of a

culture that were superficial, inaccurate, or stereotypical.7

The teaching method presented in my graduate performance recital adopted the hybrid

method in order to test its efficacy in preserving the nuanced styles embedded in authentic

mariachi music. An example of hybrid learning is described in the article by Keith Ballard and

Rene Benavidez, Mariachi: Ethnic Music as a Teaching Tool,8 where the authors suggest

implementing a full-time mariachi teacher dedicated to teaching that music. This research may

Lauryn Salazar, From Fiesta to Festival: Mariachi Music in California and the
5

Southwestern United States (PhD Diss., University of California; Los Angeles, 2011), 140.
6
Lucy Green et. al., Ashgate Popular and Folk Music Series, 6.

7
Abril, Music That Represents Culture: Selecting Music with Integrity, 39.

Keith, Ballard, and Rene Benavidez, Mariachi: Ethnic Music as a Teaching Tool,
8

Teaching Music 9, no. 4 (February 2002): 22-6.

2
be used as a tool to assist teachers unfamiliar with mariachi to develop an understanding of the

genuine style in order to preserve its authenticity.

Literature and research of mariachi style is limited, as mariachi has seldom been studied

in academia.9 The scarcity of resources and materials emphasizes the need for a viable study of

mariachi pedagogy. Of special note is Jeff Nevins book Virtuoso Mariachi, in which he

provides analysis of the mariachi style and provides references to many professional groups and

recordings. Nevin compares the teaching of mariachi style to the teaching of jazz, every jazzer

will agree whether or not someone is swinging, but very few can state in words precisely what

differentiates swing from not-swing. Mariachi is very much the same.10 In his book, Nevin

studies several recordings by Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitln and Mariachi Tapato de Jos

Marmolejo. Nevin is important to my research because he provides insight into the mariachi

style as a musician brought up in the formal music culture. His analysis compares mariachi

pedagogy to other genres, notably classical music.

An important historical resource that documents the evolution of mariachi and its style

through an informal perspective is the autobiography by Miguel Martnez, a recognized

mariachi pioneer. In his book, Martnez describes the highlights of his professional life,

including memberships in Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitln and Mariachi Mexico. Both ensembles

were renowned for establishing the mariachi style. Martnez describes several key influences of

his musical development, along with the careful study of classical music. Although he does not

provide a specific pedagogical approach to the mariachi style, he does provide insight into his

9
Salazar, From Fiesta to Festival, 6.

10
Nevin, Virtuoso Mariachi, 23.

3
professional development as an informal mariachi musician, which may be a helpful resource

for teaching.

Lauryn Salazars dissertation, From Fiesta to Festival: Mariachi Music in California and

the Southwestern United States, studies the evolution of mariachi through the lens of American

innovations: mariachi festivals, the publishing industry, and mariachi education co-opting a

traditional American approach. She expresses concern in her research that mariachi loses its

authenticity when formal teaching practices are used. As a student at UCLA, Salazar worked

closely with mariachi masters and historians Laura Sobrino, Chuy (Jess) Guzmn, Jonathan

Clark, and Mark Fogelquist.11 Salazars dissertation influenced my research through an

examination of mariachi pedagogy in a hybrid model between informal and formal teachings.

Music educators must carefully examine mariachi pedagogy and performance practice, as

expanding interest in mariachi music is a viable form of music education in U.S. schools.

Currently, there are K-12 mariachi programs in California, Nevada, Arizona and Texas. At the

college level Southwestern College and Pima Community College offer a specialized degree in

Mariachi.12 Developing pedagogical approaches that promote authentic interpretations of

mariachi music provides music educators with a better approach by teaching it in a formal way,

while retaining the authenticity of this Mexican folkloric music.13

11
Salazar, From Fiesta to Festival, viii.

12
Salazar, From Fiesta to Festival, 156-157.

13
Abril, Music That Represents Culture: Selecting Music with Integrity, 41.

4
 Mariachi and Public Education in the United States

Mariachi programs are flourishing in many regions of the United States, transforming and

connecting students with their cultural identity.14 Mariachi music is an important facet of

post-colonial Mexican culture, and with that comes a sense of pride and validation that provides

many Mexican American students a level of gratification and significance.15 As a recognized

musical art form worthy of study, mariachi programs have anecdotally raised student

engagement and achievement. Jesse Torres from Montgomery Middle School says, mariachi

makes me want to go to school more because I have something fun to do.16 An article from

Education Digest reports that 15% of high school Hispanics drop out, partly due to the absence

of parent involvement in the childs education.17 Most music programs require a 2.0 GPA, which

may encourage students to take their classes more seriously as an incentive to participate in

mariachi classes. A student from Chula Vista, California reinforces, That made me think more

about doing well in school. Before, I used to slack off.18 Salazar also reinforces in her

dissertation, Participation in educational programs such as those centered on mariachi

performance, have been shown to encourage higher academic achievement.19

14
Salazar, From Fiesta to Festival, 156-157.
15
Salazar, From Fiesta to Festival, 200.

Mary Ann Zehr, Mariachi Motivation, Education Week 22, no. 24 (February 26,
16

2003): 22.

Michelle Adam, Fighting the Latino Dropout Rate, Education Digest 68, no. 6
17

(February 2003): 24.

18
Zehr, Mariachi Motivation, 22.

19
Salazar, From Fiesta to Festival, xiii.

5
 Mariachi programs might also encourage Mexican American parents to be more involved

in their childs education. Since mariachi is folkloric music, it is a major part of the parents

culture. A student from Wenatchee High School says in an NBC news article, she grew up

listening to mariachi in her home, where her parents often danced to the music.20 The

fascinating part of folk music compared to western classical music is that there is no apparent

generational gap.21 The songs that the children will learn are the same songs their parents grew

up listening to. Interactions between parents and the mariachi program may act as a bridge

between the parents and the students education, promoting parent involvement in band boosters

and PTA meetings, which has been historically low amongst Latino parents.22

Informal Learning

In order to understand how to teach authentic mariachi it is important to become familiar

with how professional mariachis have traditionally acquired their musical training. A mariachi

musician learns music through informal, oral transmission, which is much different than the

formal methods used in public schools.23 Specifically, mariachis often gain experience working

as street musicians. Salazar recalls working in the streets of Boyle Heights, California where she

would share her experiences working with master musicians who learned by ear and had an

NBC News, 'Mariachi Has Changed My Life': Mexican music grabs US students,
20

U.S. News, last modified Friday May 4, 2012, accessed Sept. 18, 2016.http://usnews.nbcnews.co
m/news/2012/05/04/11526485-mariachi-has-changed-my-life-mexican-music-grabs-us-students.

21
Lucy Green et. al., Ashgate Popular and Folk Music Series, 6.

Maria Zarate, Understanding Latino Parental Involvement in Education: Perceptions,

22

Expectations, and Recommendations (New York, The Thoms Rivera Institute, 2007), 10,
accessed October 5, 2016, http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED502065.pdf.

23
Salazar, From Fiesta to Festival, 183.

6
impressive knowledge of vast mariachi repertoire.24 This informal learning in the street method

is beneficial for mariachis, as it allows a deeper understanding of requisite musicianship skills

and acquisition of the mariachi style. As mariachi programs expand to public schools, they are

likely to be taught in the systematic, formal manner familiar in band and orchestral settings and

this informal mariachi education is lost. Nevin also believes that the informal aural experience is

what perpetuates the style of mariachi:

it is this persistent climate of master and student which perpetuates the style of
mariachi, and keeps it fresh Notated music is rarely used as a teaching aid, and
precisely because of this (because a student learns from hearing a master play as opposed
to reading dry notes on a page), style is considered an equally important element of the
musicif mariachi music were primarily learned from the printed page (as is much of
Western classical music), then style would necessarily be considered subordinate to
notes, and over time it is only logical that the style would become less clear or focused,
less concentrated, less important.25

In recent years, a handful of publishers have produced mariachi transcriptions and

method books, but the transcriptions can be problematic. In the article Music That Represents

Culture: Selecting Music with Integrity, Carlos Abril states when discussing performance

details within cultural musics, standard notation cannot always capture the subtleties that make

certain musics unique.26 Music notation can only go as far as communicating notes and

rhythms. Similar to other informal musics, the mariachi style cannot be fully expressed through

notation, and much of the heart of mariachi is often lost or neglected through notated

arrangements.

24
Salazar, From Fiesta to Festival, 187.
25
Nevin, Virtuoso Mariachi, 24.

26
Abril, Music That Represents Culture: Selecting Music with Integrity, 41.

7
 Learning through the informal aesthetic is important to developing mariachi style.

Folkloric music is consequential to the evolution of songs, interpreted through players orally,

transformed by culture, and re-interpreted from one player to another.27 Lucy Green, author of

Music, Informal Learning and the School, believes it is crucial for learners to be enculturated

in the folkloric music. She states:

Most folk and traditional musics of the world are learnt by enculturation and extended
immersion in listening to, watching and imitating the music and the music-making
practices of the surrounding community. In some folk and traditional musics, as well as
in art musics of the world such as Indian classical music, and to a large extent in jazz
explicitly trained or just generally helped by an individual adult of a community of
expertise.28

She continues that folk musicians learn music similar to ways in which we acquire linguistic

skills. If a musician wasnt brought up within the context of the music it may be difficult to hear

all its nuances and perform the music authentically correct.

Informal is learning music aurally and less dependent on written music. This may help

influence and develop a sharper ear. Students not only listen for pitch, they also analyze

musical form and style naturally and quickly to memorize complete songs, including all parts

and inner voices. The informal aesthetic often borrows from traditional pedagogy; mariachis rely

heavily on solfge.29 An adverse aspect of learning informally is that the traditional reliance on

aural transmission results in less written notation.30 Aside from recordings or through an expert

27
Abril, Music That Represents Culture: Selecting Music with Integrity, 40.
28
Lucy Green et. al., Ashgate Popular and Folk Music Series, 6.

29
William Ricketts, Mariachi as a Music Education Genre: A Study of Program Status,
Pedagogical Practices, and Activities (PhD. diss., Boston University College of Fine Arts,
2013), 67.

30
Nevin, Virtuoso Mariachi, 24.

8
familiar with both schools that can translate the idiom into written notation, there has been

very little documentation of its rich origins. It is difficult to teach mariachi to students who learn

from a formal background because those musicians rely on notated music.

Formal Learning

As mariachi education gains acceptance, classically trained music educators may miss

culture influences, including the importance of the aural approach as traditionally used in

mariachi. Salazar states that there is a trend among school districts to hire band teachers who

are unfamiliar with the mariachi tradition to teach mariachi.31 She states that formal teachers

who teach mariachi in a conventional manner, often overly-reliant on notation, do not teach as

mariachis traditionally learn, aurally.32 However, there is controversy. Traditionalists have a

negative view of the notation approach, and see it as being harmful to the traditions of mariachi

culture and authenticity of the idiom. Salazar believes differently:

This is an American innovation and is changing the ways in which mariachi music is
disseminated and learned. Although mariachi is a legitimate genre in its own right, these
changes are the impetus for the process of legitimization that the genre is undergoing in
American mainstream culture.33

Salazar argues that American innovations, such as mariachi festivals, actually help preserve the

mariachi idiom, by exposing students to the best mariachis in the United States and Mexico.

Additionally, despite music educators teaching with a formal aesthetic, they preserve the

mariachi idiom by promoting the music to their students. According to Salazar, it seems to

31
Salazar, From Fiesta to Festival, 17.

32
Salazar, From Fiesta to Festival, 183.

33
Salazar, From Fiesta to Festival, 19.

9
motivate the students to actively seek heroes, attending international mariachi festivals where

they learn to perform mariachi in the informal aesthetic.

Formal aesthetic requires standard curriculum and materials to teach from, which isnt

very accessible to mariachi since authentic pedagogies, which emphasize aural learning, are not

readily available.34 This challenges music educators to find a means of teaching through a unified

approach. Salazar implies that additionally, most music educators will tend to encourage

teaching with classical technique, however close observation of the best mariachis in the United

States will omit that quality. Mariachis have developed their own technique to execute the style.

For example, Salazar recalls studying under Los Angeles mariachi virtuoso, Jess Guzmn, and

noticed that he does not hold his bow at the frog and tends to place all of the hair on the string

while putting a lot of weight on the bow to achieve a heavy and sometimes scratchy sound.35

Bridging Formal and Informal

Bridging the gap between formal and informal is essential to an authentic mariachi

experience, as Keith Ballard and Rene Benavidez describe in their article, Mariachi: Ethnic

Music as a Teaching Tool.36 In the article, the authors suggest implementing a full-time

mariachi teacher dedicated to teaching that class. This teaching arrangement may be difficult to

implement because music teachers are expected to teach multiple and varying ensembles.

However, having a dedicated mariachi educator would be ideal because of reasons discussed

earlier about the cultural aspects of the music and its unique specialization in learning from the

34
Salazar, From Fiesta to Festival, 159.
35
Salazar, From Fiesta to Festival, 199.
36
Ballard and Benavidez, Mariachi: Ethnic Music as a Teaching Tool, 22-6.

10
informal aesthetic. Some examples of schools that have full-time mariachi instructors are

Irving Middle School in San Antonio, Texas and Montgomery Middle School in San Diego,

California.37

It is challenging to find a credentialed music teacher with a mariachi background, as

many arent sufficiently versed in the mariachi tradition and meet state teacher education

requirements38 Although mariachi is growing in popularity, informal training in the mariachi

style is essentially nonexistent, and it is difficult for a teacher without preparation in the music to

quickly develop in the style. Mariachi, much like jazz, is highly stylized, and learning the style

can take several years. Acculturating oneself to the music, as Lucy Green suggests, means

acquiring authentic style similar to learning a new language; you may learn the words of the

language or the notes in the song, but to proficiently pronounce the words you must immerse

yourself with native speakers to understand all of its nuances and inflections.39 Music educators

need materials and practical methods to adequately prepare for a more authentic musical

experience.

The body of research and suggestions presented in this project were used during

preparations of Seor Trompetas for my graduate recital. Seor Trompetas is a polka written

by Jse Hernndez of Mariachi Sol de Mxico, featuring the trumpet as a solo instrument. As the

title suggests, Hernndez dedicated the piece to the father of mariachi trumpet, Miguel Martnez.

I approached learning the piece in context using both formal and informal aesthetics as a hybrid

37
Ballard and Benavidez, Mariachi: Ethnic Music as a Teaching Tool, 25.
38
Salazar, From Fiesta to Festival, 17.

39
Green et. al., Ashgate Popular and Folk Music Series, 5.
11
method. I rehearsed the piece through an American tradition using sheet music, while preserving

the authenticity of the mariachi style by running sectionals with professional mariachis and by

learning aurally. We learned the style by ear prior to using the sheet music as reference for the

notes. In rehearsal, the musicians found learning in the hybrid approach to be effective.

At first, we tried learning the piece aurally but had difficulty performing it by ear. Some

members of Mariachi CSULB werent versed in the aural tradition, and struggled memorizing

their parts. However, the pieces they did memorize, were performed closer to the authentic style.

Arguably, the sheet music was essential, but the informal and aural sequences were equally

important. Mariachi CSULB was able to perform the music authentically by learning in the

informal aural/oral tradition while also utilizing a formal aesthetic.

Conclusions

The teaching aesthetics discussed in this paper offered uniquely different approaches in

mariachi pedagogy. As music educators begin to employ a variety of strategies when selecting

multicultural repertoire to reflect the current trends of our racially diverse classrooms, educators

must exercise discretion in order to protect the authenticity of the genre. Music education is

evolving the traditional mariachi genre, however it is important to conserve the traditional

mariachi performances.

Recently, authentic mariachi educators have been using another method to teach the

mariachi style: YouTube. The article, The YouTube Effect: How YouTube Has Provided New

Ways to Consume, Create, and Share Music40 by Christopher Cayari, studies the impact of

40
Christopher Cayari, The YouTube Effect: How YouTube Has Provided New Ways to
Consume, Create, and Share Music, International Journal of Education & the Arts 12, no. 6
(July 2011): 1-28.
12
technology in music education. He explores how YouTube creates a new kind of musical

acquisition, where musicians can use YouTube to successfully model and explain

non-conventional musics. An example is mariachi educator Noe Garcia, member of the premiere

group, Mariachi Imperial de Mxico, who uploads high quality tutorials on his channel,

VihuelaTv. His videos have received over 2.5 millions views. This article is important to music

education because it studies how technology, specifically YouTube, can be a viable form of

instruction for teaching non-conventional musics. Future research for this paper can include how

YouTube can be used in conventional music courses to teach mariachi with a hybrid approach.

The trend that is observed among modern mariachi groups, and what I applied to Seor

Trompetas, is the hybrid formal and informal method. The very best mariachis in Los

Angeles learned from both aesthetics. They learn repertoire from written music, have regular

rehearsals and utilize section leaders to dictate style and phrasing. Yet, they seamlessly learn in

the oral/aural tradition. It is crucial to maintain these skills between both aesthetics to conserve

the rich idiom that is mariachi.

With the knowledge and experience that Ive gained during the process of this paper, I

want to be a pioneer and advocate for a hybrid mariachi method. Mariachi is gaining acceptance

and I believe it's at the point where jazz was when it was first integrated into public education. I

want to take leadership and be in the forefront of this movement.

13
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14
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17