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About
Musician, composer, and regularly gigging-pianist with over 15 years’ experience teaching adults and children in private and educational settings, including University of Maimonides (Buenos Aires), National University of the Arts (Buenos Aires), Julio Bocca Foundation (Buenos Aires) and the Bicentennial Orchestra of Los Coihues (Bariloche).
Has led for the last 20 years his own groups and played in the exciting Buenos Aires music scene. There he has had the experience of playing all kinds of music, from more traditional and modern jazz, to different fusions with latin american rhythms tipical of Buenos Aires, like tango and candombe. Played for several years in jazz orchestras, touring throughout Argentina. Among his recent performances are the International Jazz Festival 7 Lagos 2020 Masterclass with saxophonist Carlos Lastra, the International Jazz Day 2019 with Experimento Nutria, the International Contest for Big Band Composition 2018 with Anónimus Big Band Orquestra, the Buenos Aires Jazz Festival 2017 with Anónimus Big Band Orquestra and the Trio Argentine Tour 2017, led by Uruguayan percussionist Jhonny Neves, among others.
In 2016 he recorded the album Mar Rojo with Anónimus Big Band Orquestra, released with the sponsorship of Union de Músicos Independientes (UMI).
In 2018 he recorded the album Antes de lo Inesperado, with his quintet/sextet The Bragas Experience, with material entirely composed by the artist.
With a bachelors degree in Composition and Arrangement, on top of the experience of playing and gigging in groups for 20 years, Marcelo Bragagnolo has the musical knowledge and sensitivity to guide begginers as well as advanced musicians in their path to learning.
A teacher´s main goal is to give an experienced and sensitive outside view in order to help the student get past whatever difficulty he or she is having and help unlock their full musical potential. The teachers sensitivity is also important in understanding how to communicate this to the student. Some personalities tend to benefit from a more theoretical approach, and others tend to be more intuitive. Once a teacher can tell what the student needs, and what the best way to communicate it is, the rest is easy.
I like to work with material the student has an emotional connection with. By going directly to their interests, classes become engaging from the first note. In the process of working on these interests, different areas of focus arise, depending on each student. In order help the student improve those areas, I draw from a vast array of exercises that I have come across through the years or created myself.
In the case of children, it is also important to find the material that will get them engaged. A favorite of children is learning to play the melody of a song they are familiar with, and in doing so learning names of the notes, proper hand placement, and reading skills, leading up to notions related to articulation, and most importantly, enjoying the music. These activities become fun and easy through the use of child-friendly slides that guide the learning process. For example, with a child that loved crocodiles, I made up a slide where the first five notes (C-D-E-F-G) were turned into a fun sentence that was easy to remember: Crocodiles Don´t Eat Friendly Gorillas.
Something that children enjoy very much is composing on the spot. Being a composer myself, I am able to compose songs and lyrics with my students, based on something the child is excited about, whether musical or experiential. Even if it is just changing a few words to a song they like, the act of making a song their own gives the learning process a much deeper sense of emotional connection.
Whether teaching adults, children, beginners or advanced musicians, what I find most gratifying is being able to help my students enjoy the art of making music!
Completed his Bachelor’s in Music with an orientation in Composition and Arrangement and his Bachelor’s in Art Education with orientation in Music, at Maimonides University, Buenos Aires, in 2010. Completed his Music Performer (Piano) degree at School of Popular Music, Argentine Musicians Association jointly with the Conservatory of Music Manuel de Falla, Buenos Aires, in 2002. Courses taught include piano, music theory, harmony, ensemble performance and music history. Native English and Spanish speaker with background in virtual teaching platforms and extensive experience in jazz, blues, pop, rock, classical, tango and latin american music, as well as composing and arranging.
Has had private tutoring with reknown musicians from the argentine jazz and classical scene, like Ernesto Jodos, Guillermo Romero, Manuel Fraga, Paula Schocrón, Carlos Lastra, Pepi Taveira, Enrique Norris, Volker Ziemendorf, throughout 2002 to 2018. Including Barry Harris, during his Jazz Workshop at Kirchner Cultural Centre, Buenos Aires, in 2018. Completed 50% of the Jazz Degree Program, at the Conservatory of Music Manuel de Falla, Buenos Aires, before moving to Bariloche in 2018.
Inside Improvisation. Jerry Bergonzi
Jazz Arranging And Composing. Bill Dobbins
Harmony 1, 2, 3, 4. Barry Nettles, Berklee Press
The Chord Scale Theory & Jazz Harmony. Nettles, Barrie And Graf, Richard
Modal Jazz Composition & Harmony, Vol. 1 & 2. Ron Miller
Pentatonic Scales for Jazz Improvisation. Ramon Ricker
Modern Jazz Voicings. Ted Pease & Ken Pullig