Lesson 1: Basics
In this lesson, you will learn the four-line chorus to "La Negra Tiene Tumbao." The materials below break down the rhythm and syllables of this lyric.
The Rhythm
The rhythm is the same for all four lines of this lyric. Below is a recording of me chanting this line repeatedly.
- Listen through the entire file once to familiarize yourself with the rhythm.
- Play the audio file again and chant along with me.
- Once you can chant along with me with no error, try to chant the URB out loud by yourself.
- Replay the recording again to confirm that you have correctly chanted it from memory.
The Syllables
In the recordings below, I slowly articulate each syllable of the chorus.
- Play each recording and listen closely to each syllable.
- While listening, follow along with the phonetic spellings to confirm that you are hearing each sound correctly.
- Click here to review the key for the phonetic symbols.
- Click on a syllable below if you are having trouble understanding it.
In the next section, you will practice articulating and combining these syllables to construct the full lyric of each line. So make sure you are comfortable hearing each sound of syllable before moving on.
