Masterclass for Musicians: Playing without Reading

Professor: Marina Ruiz Matta
Aimet at: Professional musicians seeking to approach the language of popular music or enhance their improvisation tools.

Improvisation is not (solely) about developing a jazz solo. Improvisation is essential for intervening in a popular song—whether by adding melodic commentary,
introducing a rhythmic foundation, or providing an introduction. It is necessary for finding an expressive way of "speaking" with form, substance, and color, ensuring the music does not sound the same from beginning to end. Improvisation is vital for managing discourse with the necessary dose of silence, avoiding monotony, and engaging in a musical dialogue with others.

Objective:
The goal of this masterclass is to provide multiple tools to introduce or deepen the practice of what we call in Argentina "tocar a la parrilla" (playing "off the grill"). This is simply playing spontaneously while developing a coherent, expressive discourse
that aligns with the contributions of the other ensemble members. The class will cover elements of harmonic discernment, syntactic organization, and discourse development, applicable to solo situations as well as accompaniment or
counterpoint to the main melody, regardless of the musical genre or style.

Contents:

● The musical phrase.
● Spaces, silences, and contrasts for musical commentary.
● Rhythmic creation and variation.
● Guide notes (practical harmonic-melodic relationship).
● Motifs, musical materials, and development possibilities.
● Tools for harmonic, rhythmic, and structural orientation.
Pedagogical Framework:
The class will be conducted through musical practice and activities related to Dalcroze rhythmic.
Using various pieces selected by the instructor (including popular songs, tango, and Latin American folklore), as well as works proposed by the students, we will explore different strategies for melodic enunciation (rhythmic phrasing, slurs, dynamics, contrasts, hairpins). Special attention will be given to orientation regarding structure, pulse, and musical context (particularly interaction with other musicians), applied to both the main melody and the improvisation of commentaries, counterpoints, and
accompaniment textures. Dalcroze rhythmic is a pedagogy that proposes approaching musical learning using the body as a mediator or translator of listening. By anchoring music in the physical body and movement through space—via activities designed by the
instructor—students can organize what they hear, discern, and incorporate a physical notion of musical time and its various syntactic structures. This methodology includes a profound ear-training system that fuses traditional
literacy with improvisation, collective composition, and movement. The instructor, trained in Dalcroze Eurhythmics, utilizes elements of this pedagogy combined with musical practice to provide rhythmic, harmonic, and
ensemble-orientation tools.
The class is designed to introduce these contents in an organized and playful manner, using the student’s own instrument, voice, and body as pedagogical anchors.

Marina Ruiz Matta is a pianist, composer, and arranger from Buenos Aires. She holds a bachelor’s degree as a piano Professor with a specialization in tango and a postgraduate degree in Dalcroze rhythmic issued by the Universidad Nacional de las Artes and validated by the Instituto acques Dalcroze in Geneva, Switzerland.
She is currently the pianist of the National Orchestra of Argentine
Marina has released six albums of her own music, with arrangements for different musical ensembles. One of these albums received the Third National Music Prize in the “Jazz” category. All of her albums have received numerous positive Music reviews and have been promoted in print media, TV and radio.As an arranger,composer, pianist, and musical director, she has participated in several albums as well as mejor artistic events,