The Master Class
Ria Ria Pita Master Class is the only comprehensive guide to playing the castanets — a structured online e-course of practical classes devoted to the Spanish castanets.
The course is taught on three levels, from complete beginner to advanced professional standard. The levels can be acquired individually or together, in any combination, and each is studied at your own tempo.
The principle
Ria Ria Pita is onomatopoeia before it is a name — the sound of the left hand answering the right, and the first phrase most Spanish children learn to play. Deanna Blacher OAM has built a complete pedagogy around it, drawn from more than sixty years of study, performance, choreography and teaching.
The three levels
I
Level 1 — Foundation
An in-depth introduction explaining the origins of the castanets, with twenty-plus exercises for hand and arm position, flamenco rhythms and single-finger strength.
II
Level 2 — Clarity & Strength
An historical vignette with twenty-plus exercises to develop clarity and strength, re-examining the Level 1 material through control work.
III
Level 3 — Speed & Stamina
A summary of how the castanets are made and by whom, with twenty-plus exercises for speed and stamina, especially in the execution of the carretillas.
How the course is taught
- Filmed practical classes you can repeat as often as you need
- Levels purchased individually or in any combination
- Suitable for complete beginners through to professional dancers
- Sixty years of knowledge, taught in sequence and without shortcuts
Ria. Ria. Pita. Say it until your hands say it for you.
Join the Ria Ria Pita Master Class
Your access to sixty-plus years of knowledge starts here.