El Manisero in E

El Manisero in E

Moisés Simons compuso 'El Manisero' en La Habana en 1927, y Don Azpiazú lo llevó a Broadway en 1930 desatando la primera fiebre de música cubana en Estados Unidos. Es el primer disco cubano en vender un millón de copias. El pregón del manicero — 'maní, maní' — sobre el son habanero en Fa mayor fue el punto de partida de toda la explosión tropical del siglo XX.

El Manisero in E

E major is arguably guitar's most powerful key. The open low E and high E strings ring sympathetically as the root, while the open B provides the fifth. This triple reinforcement gives E-based riffs and chords unmatched depth and volume. E is a beginner-level key on guitar because both the low E and high E strings ring as the root, and the open B is the fifth — three open strings reinforce the tonic chord. Beginners will find this key approachable since most chords use open voicings with minimal stretching.

Voice Leading

The bass line moves through E to B (descending perfect fourth), B to C# (ascending whole step), C# to A (descending major third), A to F# (descending minor third). The root motion by larger intervals (fourths and fifths) gives each chord change a strong, decisive character. When the progression loops, the bass returns from F# to E by whole step.

Scales for Improvisation

E major pentatonic works because every note is either a chord tone or a safe passing tone — there are no avoid notes. For soloing, this means you can play freely without clashing. Over dominant seventh chords, E Mixolydian adds the flat seventh for an authentic blues-rock edge.