Flamenco Guitar
Created | Updated Mar 7, 2003
Flamenco 1
is a folk music style born of the Andalucian region of Spain. It comes from the Gitanos, or Gypsies, who were influenced by the Moors and their own Indian roots. Various regional flavors are named by the place of origin, or the topic. For example, the songs of and about Miners are called "Mineras". This history of the style and its 3 parts, singing, dancing and guitar playing, may be found in many sources. This guide entry will concentrate on the Toque, the guitar playing.Let us examine what it is about this particular style of guitar playing that makes us nod in recognition and say "ahhh, Flamenco".
First is the rythm: it is the beating heart of all music, it makes us dance. These patterns are called Compas in Flamenco. Playing strictly within a given beat is called toque campos. The rythm at the heart of Flamenco, sometimes called "the mother of Flamenco" is called soleá or soleares. It consists of 12 beats with accents on the 3rd, 6th, 8th, 10th, and 12th.
Over time there have developed variations on this theme. Alegrias come from Cadiz and allow for very ornate and rich guitar playing. Bulerias is a rythm from Jerez that is very lively and quick, a very demanding music of the dancer, singer and guitarist. Columbianis feature flavors picked up in South America. But all have roots in the the Soleares. There is another form, more related to the Fandango, called Malagueñas. It is not danced and is free form, without strict compas. Other twists on the theme have been influenced by other folk music of the region, like rhumba and tango. These fall under the overall heading of freeform, or tarantas, style. They are a whole area of research unto themselves so let us go on and leave the reader to delve into the nomenclature further on their own. It is the 12 beat compas that really makes one think "ahhh, Flamenco".
The melodic passages on the guitar are called Falseta. The interval between notes, or scale, is called the Picados. The playing of these single notes as melody, or in groups as chords, are determined by the right hand work, called punteado or plucking technique. Probably the most recognizable strumming technique is rasgueado, or "rough picking". The fingers play the notes of a chord splayed out so the notes follow one another rapidly: not quite an arpeggio, but definitely not a smooth harmonic chord. Rasgueado gives the guitar a sound that makes listeners think "ahhh, Flamenco". The guitarist is usually found following the cues of the dancer or singer. The songs are either light and cheerful (cante chico) or profound and dark (cante jondo). This tonality comes from the scale mode used, much like a minor key sounding mournful or lonely in the Blues style of North America.
That about covers the technology of Flamenco, but its not the sum of these parts that makes one say "ahhh, Flamenco".
It is the final ingredient that really makes the music come alive. It is the spirit of Duende, coming into the circle and binding the audience, dancer and guitarist into a ritual that speaks the message of the gypsies travels far from a nearly forgotten home.Let us hear this explained by some guitarists that play the style well
Jerzy Skoryna 2says "When one plays solo or acompaining a dancer and singer, flamenco
reaches a status of a ritual. Flamenco dancing, even though it is mostly improvisation, follows strict rules on what is being exposed.
The dancer takes control over the situation and she/he in "code" asks the guitar player what she wants, what she is about to do and then, following the strict compas rules, the guitar has to be played as
well. "Duende", that magical spirit comes out, it posseses one and takes
over. One's playing goes where it conciously never would have thought it could go, takes one out of any boundary, one is then out of the rim and has no limits.
Flamenco comes from the hurt feelings from the spanish
gipsys, but more than that, it synthesizes the hundreds of years of their journeys from india. At the end, universally, one could say that mankind's feelings; sorrow and happines, are synthesized in flamenco. The compas are the spirit trying to order the soul, the expression is the will to live. Playing it, wow its hard to say, but this guitarist wouldn't change it for anything on this world, it sublimes the soul and spirit at the moment when one picks those 6 flamenco guitar strings and play a fandango or buleria. Is like the beginning and the end put all together."
Very well said. Another guitar player, Jim Graham3, with some skill in this style who does not live in Spain to be soaked in the tradition explains it this way. " It's hard to explain what it feels like to present one of these pieces to an audience at a time when the artist knows they are honoring a tradition that is not their own but doing it honestly. The music almost, repeat, almost, becomes secondary to the event, audience response and the people who come to speak afterward confirm this. The applause when this happens doesn't make one think "boy that really was played good", it makes one feel a kinship with the people that are there with the artist for this experience. Out of all the styles this guitarist plays, which include classical and Celtic among others, this only happens with flamenco. Another aside is that for a couple of years
everything this artist composed displayed some flamenco influence, it is a
powerful force."
There, that is the thing that makes one say "ahhh, Flamenco".
It is not the paintings on the ancient caves of Lascaux that amaze, it is the footprints in the muddy floor preserved for ages. Showing us that people very different from ourselves yet still human danced. They danced around fires in caves and did the one thing in their lives that was not there just for meeting physical needs, they made art into ritual and worship. And the audience, the musicians and the dancers became one thing. A small voice in a great Universe saying "We are human and this is what it feels like". Passionate loves, hot tempered hates and joy at being here now. That is what comes into the circle and makes one say "Jaleo, that is Flamenco."Some further references:
http://www.flamenco.org/http://www.flamenco-world.com/flamenco.htm
