Sobre las Olas

Historically, waltzes are often associated with European composers like Beethoven, Brahms and the “Waltz King,” composer Johann Strauss II. However, there’s another culture that is synonymous with this style, vals Mexicano or Mexican waltzes. One of the most famous waltz composers in Mexico was Juventino Rosas.

Similar to Minuet in G, “Sobre las Olas” had long been attributed to the wrong composer, in this case Strauss had been given credit. Despite this spurious claim, Rosas’ piece gained international fame and was the subject of a 1950 biopic film. It has been largely appropriated by country/western artists and has been featured on albums by Willie Nelson, Chet Atkins and The Beach Boys. Sobre las Olas is in the key of C major and features double stops, a chromatic melody and tied notes. This version includes standard notation, ukulele tab & MP3 backing download.