Danza Soleado Elem/Int/Adv Paraguayan score/videos £10

Although I love autumn I do have that very Scottish feeling that the sun is about to disappear for ever, or for months at least, so I wrote this tune at the end of September as the golden light dappled the kitchen walls and danced across the floor. It’s a Paraguayan polca, but written on my lever harp and perfectly playable on it, giving a good introduction to some Paraguayan techniques and the basic polca rhythm. So have fun with it!

There’s two scores, an easier one page version and a more intermediate/advanced level version with three pages.

The video in the image gallery to the left is a play through of the tune starting off with the easier version and going into the more advanced one with a variation at the end. There are also samples of the score in the gallery.

There are 5 other teaching videos of 2-4 minutes each looking at:

• the basic melody
• the Paraguayan polca rhythm
• playing the melody in octaves
• adding colour to the right hand
• how to get a Paraguayan sound on a lever harp.

Key of F, no lever changes

The easy version uses a single line melody and triad chords in the bass.

The intermediate one uses octaves in the melody as well as in the bass.

There are more advanced suggestions of using octaves with thirds or sixths in the melody, and an arpeggio variation.