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Compared to flamenco dance teachers… Flamenco Guitar Teachers are harder to locate online and for those who want to learn flamenco guitar in Australia, the top navigation (by City) is there to make that task a whole lot easier.
Rather than repeat myself by listing them all again here, I will devote this article to learning flamenco guitar online. Covering a shortlist of the best courses, online lessons, classes and tutorials for Flamenco Guitar.
But first I will outline a basic checklist of 10 easy steps for absolute beginners.
Any acoustic nylon string guitar will do until your sound is worthy of a true Flamenco Guitar which is lighter, shorter, made of Spanish cypress and spruce, the strings are closer to the finger board and it generally has a crisper, more percussive sound. This brighter sound can also be sharpened by using a capo (crucial if your want the guitar melody to rise above palmas and percussion). Flamenco guitars often come with a protective tap plate above or/and below the strings. Many flamenco guitarists develop a string formula mixing brands and string types for a specific sound.
Grow your nails long-ish (just above the tip of your skin finger) on your strumming hand, as you progress you will learn to shape them so that they are long enough to catch the strings but make a nice sound as they roll off and let go, angled to match the alignment of the hand position with the strings. The nails on your fret hand (left) are best left short.
The number one skill to work on… If you can’t tune a guitar, commit to mastering this skill!!! You can start with a guitar tuner but you really need to learn relative tuning where you tune the fifth string to A – 440hz concert pitch
To begin with you just need to learn about four chords and practice switching between them without breaking a consistent rhythm.
Learn a basic Rasguedo (flicking the fingers out independently across the strings of a particular chord creating a percussive hit on the notes, start with just the index finger down stroke 1-2-3_1-2-3_1-2-rest, then add the more complex flick-out of each finger, an occasional tap on the guitar with your nail alternating with index finger down-strokes and eventually working up to repeating the flick outs in a rolling motion) .Basically a lot of practice to develop independence and flexibility in your fingers.
Master a basic 3 chord strumming rhythm that combines the Rasguedo, Alzupua and Tremolo with a Golpe (a percussive finger tap on the sound board, above or below the strings). I highly recommend Sal’s Rumba Lesson on Youtube, he is Australian and very generous with his information.
When you can hold a basic flamenco rhythm its time to learn a simple melody based on either the Phrygian or the Phrygian Dominant scale and played using the Picado technique (playing single string scale passages with lots of attack). Once you know a scale you can improvise within it and work your way up to some more interesting falsetas.
Many people think Flamenco is a rhythm or a particular style of song (Cante), often comparing it to a Tango. However, flamenco consists of over 50 different Palos (forms, styles and dances), amongst guitarist this is refered to as the Toque. These can be categorized according to Compas (timing or rhythmic structure). You need to choose one of these to master as a beginner, learning flamenco guitar. Below are two entry level compas to choose from. Begin simply with Palmas (hand clapping every beat with accents on the bold).
Each of the forms, in turn, has a defined structure. As a flamenco guitarists you need to know the basics of these structures and what the dancer and singing is doing during each segment. You don’t play fancy falsetas over the letras (lyrics) you go back to your basic chords and then there are times when the dancer will set the pace. The guitarists is sandwiched in between, taking the key from the singer and the rhythm and tempo from the dancer, it is the guitarists job to bind everything together together.
Once you conquer a Tangos, a Soleares, a Bulerias, an Alergrias and a Sevillanas. The best thing you can do is volunteer your time once a week with a Flamenco Dance Class. You don’t need to be a flamenco guitar genius, just hold a basic and steady rhythm in each of those major forms (a beginners flamenco dance teacher will only focus on one at a time). When you start working with a flamenco dance teacher, just be extra respectful of when she/he is talking, when a teacher talks to the class you stop playing and wait for the nod to come back in.
Flamenco dancers start on the twelve (12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11), do a lot of percussive footwork and when not dancing they often do Palmas. Working with dance instructors will slowly expose you the full flamenco experience; Guitar, Cajon, Palmas, Cante and Dance. They also get invited to perform small 15 minute gigs for private functions and are always on the look out for a guitarist who can provide accompaniment for three different Palos.
Finally, and just because you made it this far, I will leave you with:
To learn flamenco guitar you just need to work your way through these 10 steps and stick at it!!! Lock in a rock solid practice schedule every day. There is enough practice here to last you months.
Facebook comments:
Hi, I like the idea of starting to use jaleos as a guitarist accompanying dancers, but my gut instinct is I will feel silly… any tips?
I’ve started reading Lorca’s “La Poema del Cante Jondo” – very very expressive.
Thanks again
Congratulations on a great website, and keep it going!
Just want to say what a great site you got here!
I’ve been around for quite a lot of time, but finally decided to show my appreciation of your work!
Thumbs up, and keep it going!
Cheers
Christian
This web page and all the information it provides – Is great and so helpful for people who love flamneco music I wish I discovered it earlier – Its a great credit and thanks for those who organised this site,
Todd
Hi again, I had a go at accompanying a dance class tonight.
It was interesting to find the focus shifting from all guitar to dancing with guitar… It was exciting to take on a more creative role due to trying to come up with falsetas to suit the dancing.
Thank you Quentin for taking the time to leave some feedback.
I personally believe that volunteering for a flamenco dance class is the best way to progress as a flamenco guitarist. It’s one thing to sit alone and become an exceptional player (solo), but flamenco is a cultural and group experience and in Australia the dance class is the closest thing we have to that.
It will also pay to learn some Jaleos (utterances of approval), guitarists often hide behind the guitar and don’t really give much more than music, but the dancers thrive of encouragement and throwing out the odd Olé, Ale, Hassa (great), Eso es (that’s it), Toma que toma (take it) or Vamos ya! (lets go), can make a great addition to any performance or demonstration of flamenco dance.
Make sure you subscribe to the newsletter and keep me informed on your progress.
Thanks Paul,
I have been learning flamenco for a year now, having flamenco guitar lessons, learning from books and YouTube. I’m keen now to volunteer for a flamenco dance class here in Perth.
Regards, Quentin