Flamenco

A brief flamenco history over the last 500 years since ancient conception.

What makes flamenco sound flamenco, medieval Greek Dorian sound and more.

Richness, diversity and complexity of the music on guitar.

FLAMENCO Paco de Lucia by Ian McPherson

Featuring bios of flamenco legends Pepe Habichuela to Paco De Lucia, Moraito Chico to Manolo Sanlucar

Intro into the philosophy of flamenco

by Charles H Keyser

MANUAL OF RARE FLAMENCO ‘HARMONIES’ (CHORDS)

THE PERFECT HANDBOOK FOR NOVICE & PROFESSIONAL

CONTENTS PHILOSOPHY OF FLAMENCO Why does it exist, what is its purpose? What do flamenco enthusiasts believe in? What kind of attitude of life is required to pursue it?

02 HISTORY OF FLAMENCO From the gypsies of Rajasthan to the modern age Paco de Lucia, where did it all come from? How did it evolve over the years? Trace back the roots of flamenco through the waves of crusades, oppression and the magnificent, cultural explosion in Spain.

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MUSICAL ANALYSIS In depth musical analysis on why flamenco sounds different to other generes of music and gain better understanding on how to make ore flamenco.

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SPECIAL CHORDS Flamenco is known for its magical, dissonant chords and harmonies. This section gives you access to an unprecedented number of chords collected from flamanco’s biggest online community at foroflamenco.com

220+ Rare Chords FLAMENCO TECHNIQUE

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Understand what key right hand and left hand techniques are needed to conquer this mesmerizing genre of music.

EDITORIAL You may be new to this form of art or may be thinking of beginning it. You may be an experienced player looking to extend your horizons. There are resources in here for everyone. The first section stars with a broad level understanding of flamenco, its purpose and philosophy. To closely examine why flamenco came to be what it is, the next section will take you on a journey, 500 years in the making.

All information in this booklet is provided as is. None of the works are under copyright by the author and the images are property of their respective rights holders. They are only used for illustrative purposes. This booklet must not be resold for any value as this will result in copyright infringement. The information in this booklet has been sourced from various locations and simply consolidates the information into a convenient format.

Fla

t s i g o l menco

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The Philosophy of Flamenco

by Charles H Keyser P.hd.

My own view of Flamenco is that it is an artistic expression of an intense awareness of the existential human condition. It is an effort to come to terms with the concept that we are all “strangers and afraid, in a world we never made”; that there is probably no higher being, and that even if there is he/she (or it) is irrelevant to the human condition in the final analysis.

The truth in Flamenco is that life must be lived and death must be faced on an individual basis; that it is the fundamental responsibility of each man and woman to come to terms with their own alienation with courage, dignity and humor, and to support others in their efforts. It is an excruciatingly honest art form.

My own view of Flamenco is that it is an artistic expression of an intense awareness of the existential human condition. It is an effort to come to terms with the concept that we are all “strangers and afraid, in a world we never made”; that there is probably no higher being, and that even if there is he/she (or it) is irrelevant to the human condition in the final analysis.

The truth in Flamenco is that life must be lived and death must be faced on an individual basis; that it is the fundamental responsibility of each man and woman to come to terms with their own alienation with courage, dignity and humor, and to support others in their efforts. It is an excruciatingly honest art form.

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Flamenco Dancers: Elaborate art form.

For flamencos it is this ever-present consciousness of death that gives life itself its meaning; not only as in the tragedy of a child’s death from hunger in a far-off land or a senseless drive-by shooting in a big city, but even more fundamentally in death as a consequence of life itself, and the value that must be placed on life at each moment and on each human being at each point in their journey through it.

And it is the intensity of this awareness that gave the Gypsy artists their power of expression. For the gitanos in the Morón del la Frontera, Lebrija, and other small towns around Sevilla (the cradle of cante flamenco) this consciousness was clearly evident in the sense of community among the artistic families and the value that they placed in their art.

Flamenco is an adult art and philosophy, in which the axiom that “if god is dead, everything is permitted” must be balanced by a secular humanism; with a sense of care and compassion about life in general and human beings in particular.

As the struggle for physical survival and the necessity for competition for the basics of life become less relevant for man in the light of technological and social advances, the old mechanisms for “meaning” (religion, flag, greed) lose their relevance.

In the world (in the 60’s and early 70’s) into which the flamencos that I knew existed, these ideas (in a less modern sense) were expressed in the essence of their art. Certainly religion was irrelevant to their lives (except as required by Franco’s Spain); after all, the Gypsies originally came from India with a completely different intellectual heritage than that of the Catholic church.

Rather, the art of flamenco became a center of meaning for them, with a very real consciousness of the art to be preserved and passed from generation to generation as a justification for family. In this sense, music, dance and song in the secular world became their religion.

Flamenco is not an art without responsibility; the technical demands of the art required a discipline, complete with peer review (the grandmother chiding her grandchild for losing rhythm (“fuera compas, niño”). In Morón, the existential aspects of the cante were evident immediately -children were surrounded by the cante jondo from a very young age.

Through the cante, they became aware of the consequences of consciousness of their existence early on; for the parents it was a solution of the problem of creating life in the face of having to teach the meaning and consequences of natural death - it was provided by the surrounding culture.

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Continued Philosophy of Flamenco “Flamenco is an art of courage, dignity, and humor in the face of existential chaos.”

This perspective means that sexual motivation plays a secondary role in the serious interpretation of the art (indeed, attractive members of both sexes are often viewed as distractions unless they are flamenco aware, or “entrao”); rather it is an adult expression of existential ideas by both sexes in ways that are most attractive to their roles as men and women in preserving their dignities under these absurd conditions.

It is an expression of the courage to face not only the consequences of existential consciousness as a philosophical principle, but a determination to express them with the essence of one’s being in an art form that is highly technically demanding, requiring a deep commitment to mastery of even the basic techniques.

For a flamenco artist, it requires facing them every day in technical practice - it is a race against time to master technique in order to be able to interpret and improvise meaningfully, and requires the courage to face the prospect of losing technique in the face of life’s requirements for survival, or the fact of merely growing older.

This courage is often expressed by a sense of humor in the great flamenco artists as well; fully capable of expressing profound desolation, they are also deeply aware of the absurdity of extending this to a general characterization of life.

Even the absurdity of human existence must be taken as a joke occasionally. As most performance artists are acutely aware, death makes life transient by its very nature; how can even the most meaningful expression have enduring meaning?

In spite of the pressure to make products, the essence of the art is spontaneous performance (as expressed in improvisational technique - guitar, cante, and dance) rather than created “things”- on community artistic relationships rather than acquisition of material wealth.

In summary, Flamenco is an art of courage, dignity, and humor in the face of existential chaos - it is a codification of the search for human values in a world free of institutionalized superstition and an emphasis on these values as expressed in the art in defining the flamenco community.

Centuries in the making: Gypsies give birth to Flamenco in Spain and Gypsy Jazz in France.

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Flamenco: A History

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The 15th century marked a small revolution in the culture and society of Southern Spain. We must highlight the following landmarks, all with future implications on the development of flamenco: first, the arrival of nomad Gypsies in the Iberian Peninsula in 1425. Later on, the conquest of Granada, the discovery of America and the expulsion of the Jews, all of them in 1492.

In the 13th century, the Christian Crown of Castile had already conquered most of Andalusia. Although Castilian kings favored a policy of repopulation of the newly conquered lands with Christians, part of the Muslim population remained in the areas as a religious and ethnic minority, called mudéjares.

Granada, the last Muslim stronghold in the Iberian Peninsula, fell in 1492 when the armies of the Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and queen Isabella of Castile invaded this city after about 800 years of Moslem rule.

The Treaty of Granada guaranteed religious tolerance, and this paved the way for the Moors to surrender peacefully.

Months after, the Spanish Inquisition used its influence to convince Ferdinand and Isabella, who were political allies of the Church of Rome, to break the treaty and force the Jews to either convert to Christianity or leave Spain.

The Alhambra decree of March 31, 1492 ordered the expulsion of all non-converted Jews from Spain and its territories and possessions by July 31, 1492, on charges that they were trying to convert the Christian population to Judaism. Some chose to adopt the Catholic religion (Conversos), but they often kept their Judaic beliefs privately. For this reason, they were closely watched by the Spanish Inquisition, and accusations of being false converts often lead them to suffer torture and death.

The conquest of Andalusia implied a strong penetration of Castilian culture in Andalusia, which surely influenced the music and folklore. The expulsion of the Sephardi Jews and Moriscos could have led to a weakening of middleEastern influence on Andalusian culture.

However, during the 15th century groups of Roma people (gypsies), known as Gitanos in Spain, entered the Iberian Peninsula. At the beginning, they were well tolerated. The Spanish nobles enjoyed their dances and music, and they were regularly employed to entertain guests at private parties. The Gypsies, therefore, were in touch (at least geographically) with the Morisco population until the expulsion of the latter in the 16th century.

According to some theories, suggested by authors like George Borrow and Blas Infante and supported by other flamenco historians like Mairena and Molina, many Moriscos even joined the Gypsy nomad tribes and eventually became indistinguishable from them. This has not been proved scientifically. It is generally accepted, however, that the Zambra of the Gypsies of Granada, still performed nowadays, is derived from the original Moorish Zambra.

“Alhambra is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Andalusia, Spain. It was originally constructed as a small fortress in 889 and then largely ignored until its ruins were renovated and rebuilt in the mid-11th century by the Moorish emir Mohammed ben Al-Ahmar of the Emirate of Granada, who built its current palace and walls. It was converted into a royal palace in 1333 by Yusuf I, Sultan of Granada.”

The Alhambra in Spain

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The clash between Gypsies and the Spanish would be manifest by the end of the century. For centuries, the Spanish monarchy tried to force the Gypsies to abandon their language, customs and music. During the Reconquista, tolerance towards Gypsies ended and they were put into ghettos.

This isolation helped them retain the purity of their music and dance. In 1782, the Leniency Edict of Charles III restored some freedoms to the Spanish gypsies. Their music and dance was reintroduced and adopted by the general population of Spain. This resulted in a period of great exploration and evolution within the art form.

Nomadic Gypsies became social outcasts and were in many cases the victims of persecution. This is reflected in many lyrics of palos (cqatagories of songs) like seguiriyas, in which references to hunger, prison and discrimination abound.

The influence of the New World Recent research has revealed a major influence of SubSaharan African music on flamenco’s prehistory. This developed from the music and dance of African slaves held by the Spanish in the New World.

There are 16th and 17th century manuscripts of classical compositions that are possibly based on African folk forms, such as negrillas, zarambeques, and chaconas. We also find mention of the fandango indiano (Indiano meaning from the Americas, but not necessarily Native American).

Some critics support the view that the names of flamenco palos, like the tangos or even the fandango, are derived from Bantoid languages, and most theories state that the rhythm of the tangos was imported from Cuba.

It is likely that in that stay in the New World, the fandango picked up dance steps deemed too inappropriate for European tastes. Thus, the dance for fandango, for chacon, and for zarabanda, were all banned in Europe at one time or another. References to Gypsy dancers can be found in the lyrics of some of these forms, e.g., the chacon. Indeed, Gypsy dancers are often mentioned in Spanish literary and musical works from the 1500s on.

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However, the zarabandas and jácaras are the oldest written musical forms in Spain to use the 12-beat meter as a combination of terciary and binary rhythms.

The basic rhythm of the zarabanda and the jácara is 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12. The soleá and the Seguiriya, are variations on this: they just start the metre on a different beat.

The rise of flamenco During the late-eighteenth to mid-nineteenth centuries, flamenco took on a number of unique characteristics which separated it from local folk music and prepared the way to a higher professionalization and technical excellence of flamenco performers, to the diversification of flamenco styles (by gradually incorporating songs derived from folklore or even other sources), and to the popularization of the genre outside Andalusia.

The first time flamenco is mentioned in literature is in 1774 in the book Cartas Marruecas by José Cadalso. During this period, according to some authors, there is little news about flamenco except for a few scattered references from travelers.

This led traditional flamencologists, like Molina and Mairena, to call the period of 1780 to 1850 as “The Hermetic Period” or the “private stage of flamenco”. According to these flamencologists, flamenco, at this time was something like a private ritual, secretly kept in the Gypsy homes of some towns in the Seville and Cádiz area.

Flamenco guitarist: A flamenco guitarist with cutaway guitar, giving easy access to high pitches

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M A N O LO SA N LU C A R “I wish the experts in universal music to understand that they may approach flamenco, so they do not consider it something tribal and topical, so they see a branch of music in flamenco that allows very profound musical analysis and has extraordinary poetic and musical quality�.

A typical flamenco guitar.

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Musical Analysis In most Western music, only the major and minor modes are explicitly named by composers, (except as an occasional oddity in jazz and classical music) flamenco has also preserved the Phrygian mode, commonly called the “Dorian mode” by flamencologists, referring to the Greek Dorian mode, and sometimes also “flamenco mode”. The reason for preferring the term “Greek Dorian” is that, as in ancient Greek music, flamenco melodies are descending (instead of ascending as in usual Western melodic patterns). Some flamencologists, like Hipólito Rossy or guitarist Manolo Sanlúcar, also consider this flamenco mode as a survival of the old Greek Dorian mode. I will use the term “Phrygian” to refer to this mode, as it is the most common way of referring to this mode in English speaking countries.

The Phrygian mode is in fact the most common mode in the traditional palos of flamenco music, and it is used for soleá, most bulerías, siguiriyas, tangos and tientos, and other palos. The flamenco version of this mode contains two frequent alterations in the 7th and, even more often, the 3rd degree of the scale: if the scale is played in E Phrygian for example, G and D can be sharp.

In the descending E Phrygian scale in flamenco music, G sharp is compulsory for the tonic chord. Based on the Phrygian scale, a typical cadence is formed, usually called “Andalusian cadence”. The chords for this cadence in E Phrygian are Am– G–F–E. According to guitarist Manolo Sanlúcar, in this flamenco Phrygian mode, E is the tonic, F would take the harmonic function of dominant, while Am and G assume the functions of subdominant and mediant respectively.

When playing in Phrygian mode, guitarists traditionally use only two basic positions for the tonic chord: E and A. However, they often transport these basic tones by using a cejilla (capo). Modern guitarists, starting with Ramón Montoya, have also introduced other positions. Montoya himself started to use other chords for the tonic in the doric sections of several palos: F sharp for tarantas, B for granaína, A flat for the minera, and he also created a new palo as a solo piece for the guitar, the rondeña, in C sharp. Later guitarists have further extended the repertoire of tonalities and chord positions.

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The Rhythm & Melody There are also palos in major mode, for example, most cantiñas and alegrías, guajiras, and some bulerías and tonás, and the cabales (a major mode type of siguiriyas).

The minor mode is less frequent and it is restricted to the Farruca, the milongas (among cantes de ida y vuelta), and some styles of tangos, bulerías, etc.

In general, traditional palos in major and minor mode are limited harmonically to the typical two-chord (tonic– dominant) or three-chord structure (tonic–subdominant– dominant). However, modern guitarists have increased the traditional harmony by introducing chord substitution, transitional chords, and even modulation.

Fandangos and the palos derived from it (e.g. malagueñas, tarantas, cartageneras) are bimodal. Guitar introductions are in Phrygian mode, while the singing develops in major mode, modulating to Phrygian mode at the end of the stanza.

Traditionally, flamenco guitarists did not receive any formal training, so they just relied on their ear to find the chords on the guitar, disregarding the rules of Western classical music. This led them to interesting harmonic findings, with unusual unresolved dissonances. Examples of this are the use of minor 9th chords for the tonic, the tonic chord of tarantas, or the use of the 1st unpressed string as a kind of pedal tone.

Compás is the Spanish word for meter or rhythm or time signature in classical music theory. In flamenco, besides having these meanings, it also refers to the rhythmic cycle, or layout, of a palo or flamenco style. When performing flamenco it is important to feel the rhythm — the compás — rather than mechanically count the beats. In this way, flamenco is similar to jazz or blues where performers seem to simply ‘feel’ the rhythm.

Flamenco uses three basic counts or measures: Binary, Ternary and the (unique to flamenco) twelve-beat cycle, which is difficult to confine within the classical measure.

There are also free-form styles, not subject to any particular meter, including, among others, the palos in the group of the tonás, the saetas, malagueñas, tarantas, and some types of fandangos.

“Compás is the Spanish word for meter or rhythm or time signature in classical music theory. In flamenco, besides having these meanings, it also refers to the rhythmic cycle, or layout, of a palo or flamenco style.”

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Rhythms in 2/4 or 4/4. These meters are used in forms like tangos, tientos, gypsy rumba, zambra and tanguillos.

Rhythms in 3/4. These are typical of fandangos and sevillanas both of these forms originate in Spanish folk music, thereby illustrating their provenance as non-Gypsy styles, since the 3/4 and 4/4 measures are the most common throughout the Western world but not within the ethnic Gypsy, nor Hindi musical tradition.

12-beat rhythms usually rendered in amalgams of 6/8 + 3/4 and sometimes measures of 12/8 in attempts to confine it within the classical constraints. The 12 beat cycle is fundamental in the soleá and buerías palos, for example. However, the various accentuation differentiates these two. These accentuations don’t correspond to the classic concept of the downbeat, whereby the first beat in the measure is emphasized.

In flamenco, the different ways of performing percussion (including the complex technique of palmas) make it hard to render in traditional musical notation. The alternating of groups of 2 and 3 beats is also common in the Spanish folk or traditional dances of the 16th Century such as the zarabanda, jácara and canarios.

They are also common in Latin American countries. 12beat amalgams are in fact the most common in flamenco.

There are three types of these, which vary in their layouts, or use of accentuations: The seguiriya.

The soleá.

The bulería Soleá, whithin the cantiñas group of palos which includes the alegrías, cantiñas, mirabras, romera, caracoles and soleá por bulería (also “ bulería por soleá”): 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12. For practical reasons, when transferring flamenco guitar music to sheet music, this rhythm is written as a regular 3/4.

Bulerías is the emblematic palo of flamenco, today its 12 beat cycle is most often played 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11. The accompanying palmas are played in groups of 6 beats, giving rise to a multitude of counter rhythms and percussive voices within the 12 beat compás.

Among the flamenco rhythms, the Bulerias remains supreme as the favorite fiesta rhythm. It is highly complex rhythmically with many variations and a rich tapestry of guitar, dance, and song effects.

Between coplas of the cante and steps of the dance, the guitarist has quite a bit of freedom - he can play any number of 6/8 or 3/4 six count or 12 count measures of guitar rasgueados and falsetas. (Singers and dancers also have this freedom, of course; that is why Bulerias can always be accompanied with the preferred dobles palmas since it gives everyone a six count reference.

Compás is fundamental to flamenco, it is the basic definition of the music, and without compás, there is no flamenco.

Compás is therefore more than simply the division of beats and accentuations, it is the backbone of this musical form.

In private gatherings, if there is no guitarist available, the compás is rendered through hand clapping (palmas) or by hitting a table with the knuckles.

This is also sometimes done in recordings especially for bulerías. The guitar also has an important function, using techniques like strumming (rasgueado) or tapping the soundboard. Changes of chords also emphasize the most important downbeats. When a dancers are present, they use their feet as a percussion instrument.

There are two main approaches to Bulerias - one in its interpretation as a rhythm in its own right, and the other is its use as a finale to many of the other songs and dances.

The Bulerias is performed in most keys easily available to the guitar; A and E Phrygian Modes, A and E Minor, and A and E major (although usually not in C major - it doesn’t seem to have the required “punch”). Sometimes, for fun, guitarists will solo in F# or B Phrygian as well.

The structure of the bulerias cante was derived from that of Soleares, complete with cambio. The traditional verse form is called copla; however, many popular versions of Bulerias verses exist (called cuples).

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Forms of Flamenco Flamenco music styles are called palos in Spanish. There are over 50 different palos flamenco, although some of them are rarely performed. A palo can be defined as musical form of flamenco.

Flamenco songs are classified into palos based on several musical and non-musical criteria such as its basic rhythmic pattern, mode, chord progression, form of the stanza, or geographic origin. The rhythmic patterns of the palos are also often called compás. A compás (the Spanish normal word for either time signature or bar) is characterized by a recurring pattern of beats and accents.

To really understand the different palos, it is important to understand their musical and cultural context: Some of the forms are sung unaccompanied, while others usually have a guitar and sometimes other accompaniment.

Some forms are danced while others traditionally are not. Amongst both the songs and the dances, some are traditionally the reserve of men and others of women, while still others could be performed by either sex.

The classification of flamenco palos is not entirely uncontentious, but a common traditional classification is into three groups. The deepest, most serious forms are known as cante jondo (or cante grande), while relatively light, frivolous forms are called cante chico. Other non-musical considerations often factor into this classification, such as whether the origin of the palo is considered to be gypsy or not.

Forms which do not fit into either category but lie somewhere between them are classified as cante intermedio. However, there is no general agreement on how to classify each palo. Whereas there is general agreement that the soleá, seguiriya and the tonás must be considered cante jondo, there is wide controversy on where to place cantes like the fandango, malagueña, or tientos.

Many flamenco fans tend to disregard this classification as highly subjective, or else they considered that, whatever makes a song cante grande is not the song itself but the depth of the interpreter.

The classification below reflects another traditional classification of cantes more based on rhythmic pattern, but also taking the origin into account.

Many of these traditional distinctions are now breaking down; for example, the Farruca is traditionally a man’s dance, but is now commonly performed by women too.

Many flamenco artists, including some considered to be amongst the greatest, have specialized in a single flamenco form.

“Compás is the Spanish word for meter or rhythm or time signature in classical music theory. In flamenco, besides having these meanings, it also refers to the rhythmic cycle, or layout, of a palo or flamenco style.”

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Toná Palos (usually known as Cantes a palo seco)

Palos based on the Soleá rhythm Alboreá

Debla Martinetes Carceleras Saetas Tonás Trilla

Bulerías - Bulerias (and Jaleos from extremadura, a variety of Bulerías)

Palos derived from Fandango Fandangos de Huelva Fandangos orientales (from Eastern Andalusia and Murcia) Fandangos abandolaos, including: Verdiales Rondeñas Jabera Fandangos libres (free of rhythmic pattern): Granaínas Media Granaína Malagueñas Cantes de las minas (songs originated in mining areas): Minera, Tarantos, Tarantas, Cartageneras, Murciana, Levantica, Cantes de madrugá Fandangos personales (personal creations) Palos de “Ida y vuelta” Other palos with a tango rhythm are often considered as “Ida y vuelta”, that is, originated in Spanish America.

Colombianas Guajiras Milonga Rumba Vidalitas

The Cantiñas group, including: Alegrías Caracoles Mirabrás Romeras Peteneras Romances The related palos Caña and Polo.

Soleá - Soleares and Bulerías por Soleá.

Seguiriya Palos Cabales Livianas Siguiriyas - (also seguiriyas) Serrana Palos with a Tango rhythm Farruca Garrotín Marianas Tarantos (when played for dance).

Tientos Tanguillos Tango Other palos of difficult classification Campanilleros Bambera Sevillanas Nanas Zambras Zorongo 17

~1500AD

BIRTH OF FLAMENCO ART FORM

1859

FLAMENCO GUITAR

1920

BLUES GUITAR

1925

JAZZ GUITAR

1956

ROCK GUITAR

1960

FUNK GUITAR

CLASSICAL GUITAR

PH: Lorem ipsum Edited: Lorem ipsum Written: Lorem ipsum

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The Flamenco Guitar Although, the flamenco guitar may look like the classical type, it is built differently to produce a harsher, brighter and percussive sound. Both guitars were invented by the same father of the classical guitar, Antonio Torres. The two guitars, competed, classical for the upper class and the flamenco guitar for the poorer low classes.

An examination into the guitar is given by LESTER DE VOE.

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We are all familiar with classical guitars and some of us have had the opportunity to play a flamenco guitar. I would like to explain what makes a flamenco guitar different from a classical.

Flamenco guitars feel lighter, play easier and have a more immediate and percussive sound. These features reflect differences in the method and types of woods used in construction. The differences in construction are subtle and vary from one maker to another, so I speak from my own perspective.

Typically, the depth of the guitar body of the flamenco is shallower than the classical, with the soundboard and the back of the instrument usually 1/8” ­1/4” closer together.

This reduces the volume of air in the soundbox and raises the pitch slightly. Internally, the length of the fan braces of a flamenco guitar are not as long and this shortens the duration of tone, giving a more immediate sound the characteristic “punch” that is a desirable flamenco attribute.

This “punch” or “edge” allows the guitar to cut through other sounds when in accompaniment with the flamenco song, dance and clapping (palmas).

Juan Martin plays a Flamenca Negra 20

On the flamenco guitar, the action as measured by the height of the strings above the twelfth fret is 1/32� lower than on the classical. To facilitate right hand strumming (rasgueados) and finger tapping (golpes) on the tap plate (golpeador), the strings must also be closer to the soundboard, which requires a lower bridge and saddle height.

Flamenco guitars are tuned with tuning machines or, more traditionally, by wooden friction pegs of ebony or rosewood.

Based on the woods used in construction, flamenco guitars fall into two categories: traditional or modern. In the traditional or blanca flamenco guitar, light colored cypress is used for the back and sides while the modern or negra guitar uses dark colored rosewood.

During the time that Antonio Torres was defining classical and flamenco guitar construction, Spanish cypress wood was used because of local availability and low cost and was generally used for flamenco guitars although some of Torres’ most famous classical guitars were constructed with Spanish cypress.

The Spanish guitarist, Paco de Lucia, popularized the use of the flamenco negra. The use of denser rosewood gives flamenco guitars a fuller and richer tone approaching that of classical guitars. However, if a guitarist has a strong attack, with a low action, the rosewood negra still yields the familiar flamenco sound and attack.

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Rare Flamenco Harmonies (Chords) The Andalusian cadence is a term adopted from flamenco music for a chord progression comprising four chords descending stepwise--a VI-V-IV-III progression. It is otherwise known as the minor descending tetrachord. Traceable back to the Renaissance, its effective sonorities made it one of the most popular progressions in classical music About this sound Play (help¡info).

Despite the name it is not a true cadence (i.e., occurring only once, when ending a phrase, section, or piece of music; it is most often used as an ostinato (repeating over and over again). It is heard in rock songs such as “Runaway� by Del Shannon.

A popular melodic pattern of Ancient Greece offers a possible starting point for the Andalusian cadence. Called the Dorian tetrachord, the sequence resembles the bass line of the chord progression developed centuries later. Some theorists consider that the same structure may have occurred earlier in Judah. A sequence more or less close to the Greek tetrachord structure might have been known to the Moors in Southern Spain and spread from there through Western Europe.

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Francisco Gustavo Sánchez Gomes, known as Paco de Lucía, was a Spanish virtuoso flamenco guitarist, composer and producer. A leading proponent of the New Flamenco style, he helped legitimize flamenco among the establishment in Spain.

De Lucía was noted for his fast and fluent picados (fingerstyle runs).

A master of contrast, he often juxtaposed picados and rasgueados (Flamenco strumming) with more sensitive playing and was known for adding abstract chords and scale tones to his compositions with jazz influences. These innovations saw him play a key role in the development of traditional Flamenco and the evolution of ‘New Flamenco’ and Latin jazz fusion from the 1970s.

Richard Chapman and Eric Clapton, authors of Guitar: Music, History, Players, describe de Lucía as a “titanic figure in the world of flamenco guitar”, and Dennis Koster, author of Guitar Atlas, Flamenco, has referred to de Lucía as “one of history’s greatest guitarists.

Manolo Sanlúcar (Manuel Muñoz Alcón) is a flamenco composer and guitarist born in Sanlúcar de Barrameda (Cadiz) in 1943.

He is considered one of the most important Spanish composers of present times, and together with Paco de Lucía,Tomatito, and Vicente Amigo, one of the main figures in the evolution of the flamenco guitar in recent years. His album Tauromagia is regarded as one of the greatest flamenco albums of all time.

He soon began to research, aware that the guitar had infinite possibilities that had hardly been explored. The most ambitious of his contributions to the art has been his constant striving to integrate flamenco in symphonic music. Several works of the greatest interest have placed his name among the great composers of our time.

Pepe Habichuela (born 1944 as José Antonio Carmona Carmona in Granada) is a Spanish flamenco guitarist, cited as one of the great flamenco masters and one of Spain’s finest contemporary guitarists.

He belongs to a flamenco dynasty of gypsies started by his grandfather, known as “Habichuela el Viejo” (Old Bean), who took the nickname, and continued by his father José Carmona and his brothers Juan Habichuela (1933), Carlos and Luis. Pepe later pushed the boundaries of flamenco by fusing it with classical Indian symphony.

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A Chords

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Carlos García Montoya (13 December 1903 – 3 March 1993) was a prominent Flamenco guitarist and a founder of the modern-day popular Flamenco style of music.

His unique style and successful career, despite all odds, have left a great legacy for modern day Flamenco. It is because of his pioneering work in popular Flamenco music that have allowed other great modern groups such as the Gipsy Kings to take hold in all parts of the world. A few of his video recordings can still be found on YouTube.

Diego del Gastor (March 27, 1908 in Arriate Málaga, Spain – July 7, 1973) was a renowned flamenco guitarist. Diego del Gastor was the creator and best known exponent of the guitar playing tradition of Morón de la Frontera, Sevilla. Few today are able to capture the flamenco essence like Gastor. His tradition has been inherited by his nephews Diego de Morón, Agustin Ríos Amaya, Paco and Juan del Gastor, several grandnephews and nieces.

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Gerardo Núñez Díaz (born 1961) is a Spanish guitarist and composer.

His roots lie in flamenco, but he has also ventured into fusion with other genres, especially jazz. As a composer, his music is complex and rich, but it allows him to demonstrate his playing ability, as he is a great guitarist. He has composed a large number of pieces for one of his best artistic partners, Carmen Cortés.

Sabicas (Agustín Castellón Campos) was a Flamenco guitarist, of Romani origin, who was born on 16 March, 1912 in Pamplona, Spain and died in 14 April 1990 in New York.

Sabicas was instrumental in the introduction of Flamenco to audiences outside of Spain. He was probably best known for his technical skills: blazingly fast picados(scales), fast arpeggios, quality composition for the many forms of flamenco, and infallible rhythm..

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Victor Monge ‘Serranito’. Flamenco guitarist and composer was born in Madrid (Spain). He was self educated and at the age of 12 he started as a professional. He is regarded as one of the best guitar virtuosos in History, and one who has demonstrated in his trajectory a great ease for performing, as well as an usual interest in his own evolution and artistic growth.

Rafael Riqueni (born 1962 in Seville) is one of Spain’s top flamenco guitarists. Accomplished from a very young age, at just fifteen years old he was awarded the Ramón Montoya Prize in the Concurso Nacional (National Competition) inCórdoba.

Rafael Cortés is one of the few composers who unites the tradition with the present time and maintains pure flamenco, playing modern style.

In the Alcaicería young guitarist demonstrates in impressive form not only to be a technical magician but that also being a sensible musician who can transmit all the emotions and feelings with his guitar.

Niño de Pura is one of the greatest flamenco geniuses of our time, Niño de Pura and his four-member troupe from Spain brings a level of world-class authentic flamenco rarely experienced outside of Andalucía. A child prodigy, Niño de Pura became one of the most international prizewinning flamenco guitarists in history.

Get ready for spectacular energy, brillance, blazing fast finger runs and never ending passion.

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B Chords

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C Chords

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C# Chords

Paco Cepero (born 6 March 1942) is a Spanish Flamenco guitarist. In addition to accompanying numerous artists, he has released several solo albums, including Coraz贸n y Bord贸n and De Pura Cepa.

Paco Cepero is undoubtedly one of the best guitarists to accompany singing there in these times. It has come at a time when other guitarists are already more established, but has succeeded precisely because they like them, to have personality, and, of course, being a great performer cleaning their executions. It is difficult to define the characteristics or contours of his art, but when do you have to take into has at least two fundamental data: it de Jerez, which involves deep domain knowledge and compass

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Manitas de Plata (born Ricardo Baliardo; 7 August 1921 – 5 November 2014) was a French flamenco guitarist. Despite achieving worldwide fame, he was known for disrespecting certain rhythmic rules (compás) that are traditional in flamenco.

Ricardo Baliardo was born in a gypsy caravan in Sète in southern France. He became famous by playing each year at the Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer gypsy pilgrimage in Camargue, where he was recorded live by Deben Bhattacharya.

Manitas de Plata (“Little Hands of Silver”) only agreed to play in public ten years after the death of Django Reinhardt, unanimously considered the king of gypsy guitarists. One of his recordings earned him a letter from Jean Cocteau acclaiming him as a creator.

Upon hearing him play at Arles in 1964, Pablo Picasso is said to have exclaimed “that man is of greater worth than I am!” and proceeded to draw on the guitar.

José Fernández Torres, known as Tomatito (born Almería, 1958), is a Spanish Romani flamenco guitarist. Having started his career accompanying famed flamenco singer Camarón de la Isla (with Paco de Lucía). Tomatito, who had been playing clubs in Andalusia, became a flamenco sensation when he was discovered by guitarist Paco de Lucía. He accompanied legendary flamenco singer Camarón de la Isla for two decades.

Tomatito incorporates elements of jazz in his style of flamenco; both, he says, “emerged as a response to discrimination, a cry of suffering, or the joy of liberation”. Half of what he plays is improvised, he said. He frequently employs the Phrygian mode.

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D Chords

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Niño Ricardo (11 July 1904-14 April 1972), born as Manuel Serrapí, was a Flamenco composer, considered by some sources as the most accomplished flamenco player of his day. He played a significant part in the evolution of the flamenco guitar. He lived in the city center of Sevilla. A child guitar prodigy, his early audiences referred to him as the son of Ricardo, leading to his stage-name Niño [de] Ricardo.

Paco Peña (born 1 June 1942) is a Spanish flamenco composer and guitarist. He is regarded as one of the world’s foremost traditional Flamenco players. Peña has collaborated with the Classical guitarist John Williams. Peña generated so much interest among a British public previously uninitiated in Flamenco that he soon found himself sharing concerts with artists such as Jimi Hendrix, and made his solo debut at Wigmore Hall in 1967.

Manuel Moreno Junquera, Moraíto Chico (Jerez de la Frontera, Cádiz, Spain, September 13, 1956 - Jerez de la Frontera, August 10, 2011) was a Flamenco guitarist.

He was known as one of the greatest and most in-demand accompanying guitarists of his generation, and was the regular accompanist for José Mercé, Diego Carrasco and other popular flamenco singers. He also played regularly for such stars as La Paquera de Jerez, Camarón de la Isla and Manuel Agujetas. Moraito was particularly renowned for his powerful, full and round sound, driving rhythm and exceptional rasgueos. He was one of the finest exponents of the buleria and can be seen and heard paying in this style on Carlos Saura’s influential ‘Flamenco’ and “Flamenco, Flamenco’ films.

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NIÑO MIGUEL Miguel Vega de la Cruz, better known as the Flamenco guitarist, Niño Miguel, passed away at the Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos del Hospital Juan Ramón Jiménez de Huelva in the early hours of Thursday 23rd of May 2013. Miguel died aged 61 of Pneumonia. Niño Miguel took the flamenco world by storm during the 1970’s with his aggressive virtuoso playing style, many consider him to be the greatest, but in later years he became largely forgotten, except in his home town of Huelva in southern Spain and flamenco aficionados. His legendary presence was felt by Paco de Lucia as an exemplary player and a fountain of pure genius. Able to play extremely long pieces with unparalled technical dexterity, he was set to become a legend of the flamenco world until drug abuse and a minor lack of left-right hand coordination ruined his career.

D# Chords

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Grigory “Grisha” Goryachev (born December 29, 1977 in St. Petersburg) is a Russian virtuoso flamenco and classical guitarist now living in the United States. A master of both flamenco and classical guitar, he is one of the world’s few guitarists to continue the traditions of solo flamenco in concert performances. He is heavily influenced by Paco de Lucía and Sabicas. Goryachev is technically a highly proficient player, testament to his background in classical guitar from a very young age. He has professed his desire to see more guitarists follow his example in playing traditional flamenco to keep the music alive and to encourage classical players to play flamenco compositions in their repertoire and accept it.

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E Chords

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F Chords

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F# Chords

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G Chords

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G# Chords

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The Technique In the minds of many guitarists, flamenco is “the king of guitar styles,” combining the most appealing aspects of all guitar playing: its spectacular, driving rhythms rival the most exciting popular styles; it shares improvisational freedom and great harmonic sophistication with jazz; it equals the musical depth and complete right-hand technique of classical guitar; and today’s flamenco players perform with a level of virtuosity that leaves even heavy metal players breathless.

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What was once an art limited to the narrow confines of ethnic boundaries—the Gypsies of southern Spain—today, flamenco is played all over the world by guitarists whose enthusiasm appears limitless.

Many are first drawn to flamenco by exposure to superficial “pop-flamenco” styles; many begin playing flamenco by “faking it” in an attempt to “sound Spanish” such as a basic rumba in Andalusian cadence. But, oh-so-often, these same guitarists, once they’ve heard the real thing, forget all that is fake and devote themselves to learning authentic flamenco.

From classical to rock, guitarists of other styles often express frustration about solving the mysteries of flamenco: “How can that technique possibly be done?” or, “I could never learn that complex rhythm,” and so on.

- Dennis Koster

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Flamenco is known for its heavy complexity and a range of difficult techniques, often completely unfound in other forms of guitar playing. The left hand is often identical to classical guitar, however there are many abstract and awkward chords that you will have to overcome in flamenco.

To add to the complexity, there are no such things as ‘chords’ in flamenco, they are harmonies and their sound changes depending on surrounding harmonies, like chameleons.

Adding to this, is the idea that flamenco is a music of rhythm, so no flamenco is played the same twice with variations and embellishments within the rhythm, much like its distant ancestor, Indian classical music.

Flamenco is therefore taught mostly by oral methods. Note that due to the different techniques, flamenco has a very wide dynamic range, from soft and mellow in one second to razor sharp, aggressive strokes the next second.

It is recommended that you Google and closely examine these techniques.

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The flamenco right hand is just as complex classical guitar.

The right hand incorporates the following fundamental techniques over which you must have a certain level of proficiency to play flamenco.

The following key right hand techniques are found, all of which must be mastered: Rasgueado There are over a 1000 variations of this right hand pattern and this is the cornerstone of the flamenco sound. It involves a rapid succession of outward finger flicks, the nail striking the strings. The pattern can be repeated in numerous variations. This technique requires a lot of dexterity, stamina and strength in the right hand.

Arpeggio Same as your average arpeggio however flamenco arpeggios are played with a thumb rest stroke unlike classical. Often, flamenco arpeggio’s can reach up to and over 500 BPM.

Tremolo The tremolo creates an illusion of two guitars playing.

The thumb rest strokes a bassline while the other fingers rapidly strike another treble string. The flamenco tremolo is different to the classical tremolo in that it is a 5 stroke tremolo, with thumb, index, third finger, middle and back to index. The classical tremolo is 4 strokes. The flamenco tremolo sounds like a slow moving stream of water while the classical tremolo is a fast river in constant motion.

Pulgar Flamenco is often played at very high speeds and therefore finger placement for arpeggios can be impossible. High speed and an extra punch is created when the thumb is used to strike strings into the soundboard.

Alzapua This virtuoso flamenco technique can create the illusion of multiple guitars playing and originates from the middle eastern oud method of playing. Notes are held, the thumb strikes one string and then flicks down to strum the remainder of the notes and then back up. Sounds like a baseline on top of chords being strummed.

Picado Another virtuoso technique, this technique gives flamenco its ‘blazing fast finger runs’. A succession of several notes are played after the other, however only two fingers are used in a mandatory alternating pattern to play an entire melody/ scale. Performing this technique with three fingers is often heralded as the most difficult technique to master.

Can exceed 500 BPM. Golpe Although, heavy tapping on the guitar is depreciated, this is a finger tap on the soundboard of the guitar, typically with the third finger, while playing something else. These are used to accent beats of a palo. This is a traditional technique, a cornerstone of flamenco.

Muting The strings of the flamenco guitar is often muted for dramatic effect using the last finger on the left hand or the left side of the right hand palm.

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Author reserves no rights on this document as it is a curation from numerous sources. Original authors are credited