Plena Music Course
Course Created and Led by Plena Master Class Artist Sammy Cordero

Category: Latin / Traditional

“Plena” is a very rhythmic, narrative song form, native to Puerto Rico, and very popular particularly along and among the peoples of the coastal regions.  Its origins have been variously stated as early as 1875 and as late as 1920. 

The lyrics are call and response vocals that express themes about everyday life, from the smallest incident in the community to universal occurrences.  The instruments used for this type of music are the clave’ the tamborine and a style of hand drum called the Panderos.  The musicians are called Pleneros/Pleneras and there are three main styles of Plena: Ponce, Mayaguez, and Santurce.

The Plena Music Course is a series of sixteen workshops. Following, in no particular order are the topics covered:

Seven Steps to Improve Your Skills for Plena

1- Set your goal for practice.

2- Choose a place where there will be no interruptions.

3- Establish how long your session will be.

4- Always warm-up.

5- Work on what needs improvement.

6- Use your own instrument and have a pencil & notebook ready to take notes.

7- Remember to memorize what you practice and practice what you memorize.

  Three Fundamental Beats on the Pandero

1 - The Bass- (“TUM” = the approximate sound made when pronounced)

-approximately between 2-3” away from the edge of the Pandero
-usually executed using only the thumb
(index finger may be used instead) on the bottom part of the Pandero

2 -The Slap- (“PA” = the approximate sound made when pronounced)

-located in the center of the drum

-cup your hand as if you are going to clap

except with your thumb closer to the index finger and slap the drum

3 - The Ring- (“TIN” = the approximate sound made when pronounced)

-located on the edge of the Pandero (also known as a rimshot)

-executed with the finger tips hitting the edge of the drum and quickly sliding off

* If the Pandero is touched in the center without slapping, as if holding to keep from vibrating when the bass is executed, the sound made when pronounced is ta.

When the last three fingers (middle, ring, and smallest) of the left hand holding the Pandero tap the edge of the drum the sound made when pronounced is ca.

* Drums must always be properly tuned before they are played.

    The Three Basic Rhythms of Plena

1- Seguidor (largest Pandero) - hit the bass once, immediately touch the center of the Pandero, and repeat consecutively (2 beats). The sound made should be TUM-ta-TUM-ta-TUM-ta-TUM-ta, etc…

2 - Llamador (medium sized Pandero) - hit the bass twice, touch the center of the Pandero, and repeat consecutively (3 beats).  The sound made should be TUM-TUM-ta-TUM-TUM-ta-TUM-TUM-ta-TUM-TUM-ta, etc…

3 - Punta Clavo (smallest Pandero)- hit the bass once, slap twice, bass once, slap once, and repeat consecutively (5 beats). The sound made should be TUM-PA-PA-TUM-PA-TUM-PA-PA-TUM-PA, etc…

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