1. LOVE SONGS IN SPANISH (THREE COURSES)
1. Love songs in Spanish. Fifteen songs from several countries. There is lots of discussion of background and theme and you become very familiar with the Spanish words in detail. This is a pleasant way to develop your knowledge of Spanish. May 13 to June 24, 2011. 11 a.m. to 1 (Fridays). Monterey Center. $87.
2. Love songs in Spanish. Monterey Center. Sept. 7 to Oct.26, 2011. 1-3 p.m.
These courses have two objectives:
A. to familiarize you in depth with fifteen very beautiful Latin-American songs (one exception: “Hey”, sung by Julio Iglesias, is from Spain).
B. to teach you the Spanish language through these songs. We start with the relatively easy Solamente una vez and end with the difficult Miraron llorar a un hombre. You will be thrilled when you can understand every word of Julio Iglesias singing Sabor a mi or exactly what Eydie Gormey is saying in Noche de ronda. Many people (including dancers of “latin” rhythms) have told me that this course opened up a whole new world for them. I use several different recording artists.
My method enables you to see the exact connection between every Spanish word and its English equivalent.
1. At the beginning of the course I give you a copy of my book, “Spanish love songs”. It contains the words in Spanish to every song we will be learning. It also has room for you to write in your own translation and take notes (optional!).
2. When we listen to each song on the CD player you will see via the overhead projector exactly where the recording artist is in each song. You follow word by word. We go through each song several times. The first time is just to follow the words on the overhead while you listen. The second time is to identify the nouns only and discuss pronunciation. The third time is to locate and define the verbs. By the fourth time we are identifying all the other words and getting a firm grasp of the song. You will probably have some of the songs memorized by the end of the course because there is constant revision.
3. The idea is to write your English translation right into your book so you can see the connection between the two languages. By this time you will appreciate the phrasing and the power of the words and music as they work their magic together. It is the same method that I developed in my recent (2009) book, “Operatic Italian”. See article in “The Times Colonist” (Victoria), of Feb. 21, 2009
http://www.timescolonist.com/news/Opera+amore/2593584/story.html