# AI Wiki - Music - Flamenco ## Overview Flamenco is the music, song and dance of Andalusia in southern Spain, shaped by the Romani (gitano) communities of cities such as Jerez, Cádiz and Seville and by older Andalusian music. It has three parts: **cante** (song), **baile** (dance) and **toque** (guitar playing). Percussion comes from **palmas** (handclaps, often in two sounds: sharp and muffled), finger snaps, footwork, and from the 20th century the **cajón** (a box drum). What makes it tick for a guitarist: the music is built from **palos** (styles, each with a fixed rhythmic cycle called a **compás** and a typical harmony), the guitar accompanies the singer and the dancer more than it plays solos, and a handful of right-hand techniques (rasgueado, picado, alzapúa, tremolo, golpe) give it a sound that is easy to recognise. Harmony is simple (often only four chords), but the rhythm is not: you learn to feel a twelve-beat cycle with accents in odd places. ## Palos and compás A **compás** is the rhythmic cycle of a palo, and the word is also used for the skill of keeping it. Most palos are in one of three groups: - **Twelve-beat cycles**: soleá, alegrías, bulerías, peteneras, guajiras (accents on 3, 6, 8, 10 and 12) and seguiriya (accents on 12, 2, 4, 7 and 10). - **Binary** (2/4 or 4/4): tangos, tientos, rumba flamenca, tanguillos. - **Ternary** (3/4): fandangos, sevillanas. - **Free** (no fixed meter): tonás, saetas, malagueñas, tarantos. The twelve-beat cycle with accents on 3, 6, 8, 10 and 12 is the one to learn first. The accents split the twelve beats into groups of 3+3+2+2+2 (123 456 78 9 10 11 12 with a stress on the last beat of each group), and this single cycle underlies soleá, alegrías and bulerías: ``` Beat: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Accent: X X X X X ``` The three palos on this cycle differ in tempo, mood and mode: - **Soleá**: slow and serious, the "mother" palo. Phrygian mode (E Phrygian shapes), long falsetas between the sung verses. - **Alegrías**: from Cádiz, brighter, in a major mode, at medium tempo. Enrique Butrón is credited with the shape of the modern style. - **Bulerías**: fast, from the Romani community of Jerez, the palo of fiesta and improvisation, usually closing a performance. Clapping is grouped in sets of six. The same accent pattern, but the dancer and singer play with it constantly, so it is hard to hear at first. The binary palos are easier to enter: - **Tangos** (flamencos, not Argentine tango): 4/4, moderate tempo, often Phrygian. - **Rumba flamenca**: 4/4 with a lively rasgueado. This is the palo that most people know through pop (Gipsy Kings, Paco de Lucía's "Entre dos aguas", 1973). It uses the standard Am G F E cadence, with a very rhythmic right hand. ## Harmony: the Phrygian cadence Flamenco harmony sits on the **Phrygian mode** (a minor scale with a lowered 2nd), where E is the tonic and F is the lowered 2nd degree, a half step above it. The chord progression that defines the sound is the **Andalusian cadence**: **Am – G – F – E** (in A minor terms, i – ♭VII – ♭VI – V). Played in E Phrygian, it is also described as the chords built on degrees iv, III, II and I of the mode. You may recognise it from "Hit the Road Jack", "Smooth Criminal" or the middle section of "Entre dos aguas". In flamenco the last chord, E major, is the resting point (the "tonic"), not a chord that has to go somewhere else. The Wikipedia article notes that Manolo Sanlúcar treats E as the tonic and F as the dominant. See [[AI Wiki - Music - Cadences]] and [[AI Wiki - Music - Modal Harmony]]. Several palos also move between modes: - **Phrygian**: soleá, most bulerías, seguiriyas, tangos, tientos. - **Major**: alegrías and other cantiñas, guajiras, some bulerías. - **Minor**: farruca, milongas, some tangos. - **Bimodal**: fandangos (and malagueñas, tarantas, cartageneras) have a Phrygian guitar introduction with sung lines in major, returning to Phrygian at the end of each stanza. ```chords {title: Andalusian cadence (E Phrygian, "por arriba" shapes)} {time: 4/4} | [Am] / / / | [G] / / / | [F] / / / | [E] / / / | {comment: The F major chord (a half step above E) is what makes it sound Spanish. E major, with its G# leading tone, is the chord everything resolves to.} ``` ```fretboard title: E Phrygian vs E natural minor (2nd is F) scale: E phrygian compare: natural minor frets: 0-5 labels: intervals ``` On the piano, E Phrygian uses only white keys (E to E), which is a quick way to hear it: ```keyboard E phrygian range: C4-B5 labels: degrees ``` The core chord shapes in open position (the F is a small chord with the open E and B strings added, which is the flamenco way to play it): ```chord symbol: Am frets: x-0-2-2-1-0 fingers: x-0-2-3-1-0 title: Am --- symbol: G frets: 3-2-0-0-0-3 fingers: 2-1-0-0-0-3 title: G --- symbol: Fmaj7 frets: x-x-3-2-1-0 fingers: x-x-3-2-1-0 title: Fmaj7 (the usual F in open position) --- symbol: E frets: 0-2-2-1-0-0 fingers: 0-2-3-1-0-0 title: E ``` Guitarists use two basic open tonic shapes (E and A) and move them with a **capo** (the *cejilla*) to fit the singer. The shapes stay the same, and the frets count from the capo. With the cejilla at the 2nd fret, the E and Am shapes sound F♯ and Bm: ```chord capo: 2 sounds: yes --- E 022100 023100 --- Am x02210 x02310 ``` Ramón Montoya added tonic chords in other keys (F♯ for tarantas, B for granaínas, A♭ for the minera) and wrote the rondeña in an altered tuning (C♯). See [[AI Wiki - Music - Capo and Transposition]] and [[AI Wiki - Music - Alternate Tunings]]. Compare with the minor-key chords of [[AI Wiki - Music - Folk Music]], where a similar Am – G – F – E pattern appears. ## Right-hand techniques Nearly all the character of flamenco guitar comes from the right hand. - **Rasgueado**: strumming with a fast roll of the fingers. Players use five, four or three fingers (the three-finger version was invented by Sabicas). A basic roll goes little finger, ring, middle, index, then the index sweeping down. Each finger flicks out from the palm in turn, so you hear a rapid burst of strokes on one chord. - **Picado**: fast single-note runs, played with alternating index and middle fingers, each finger resting on the next string after the stroke (a rest stroke, as in classical guitar). It gives the clean, ringing, forceful notes of flamenco scales. - **Alzapúa**: a thumb technique: the thumb plays down and up across several strings (or one string, then a chord) in a fast rhythmic pattern, mixing bass notes, melody and strums. - **Tremolo**: one note repeated rapidly by several fingers, with a bass note by the thumb, so that the melody sounds sustained. Flamenco tremolo uses a four-finger pattern (p-i-a-m-i), the classical one a three-finger pattern (p-a-m-i). See [[AI Wiki - Music - Classical Guitar Technique]]. - **Golpe**: a tap on the soundboard (usually just above the strings at the high-E side) with the fingertips or nails of the ring or middle finger, played in rhythm with chords. A transparent plastic plate (the *golpeador*) protects the wood. - **Thumb work**: a strong thumb plays the bass notes, often with rest strokes, to give the bass drum role of the palo. A **falseta** is a melodic phrase inserted between the chord sequences that accompany a verse: the closest thing to a guitar solo within a palo. Some songs are sung *a palo seco*, with no guitar. A basic rumba rasgueado pattern, one bar of 4/4 in eighth notes (`D` = downstroke, `U` = upstroke, `-` = silent but the hand keeps moving). It is simplified, so check it against a recording: ```strum [Am]D - D U - U D U | D - D U - U D U | [G]D - D U - U D U | D - D U - U D U | [Fmaj7]D - D U - U D U | D - D U - U D U | [E]D - D U - U D U | D - D U - U D U tempo: 100 title: Rumba strum on the Am – G – F – E cadence ``` The block runs it on the Am – G – F – E cadence, two bars per chord (with the Fmaj7 shape as the F). Add a golpe on beat 1 once the strum is steady. Put a [[AI Wiki - Music - Metronome and Speed Building|metronome]] on every beat. For the twelve-beat cycle, clap the accents on 3, 6, 8, 10 and 12 while counting out loud, and only then add the guitar. ## Flamenco guitar and classical guitar Both are nylon-string guitars, and both use free strokes and rest strokes, but they differ: - **Instrument**: flamenco guitars are lighter, with thinner tops and less bracing, and usually have cypress, sycamore maple or rosewood back and sides under a spruce top. The action is lower (string buzz is accepted as an expressive effect) and a plastic tap plate (*golpeador*) protects the top. The sound is brighter, drier and more percussive, with a quicker response and less sustain than a classical guitar. - **Right hand**: in flamenco the thumb is placed on the soundboard, and the index and middle fingers pluck the string above the one being played, which gives more power than the classical way. The middle finger rests on the tap plate for precision. - **Role**: classical guitar is a solo, written-down repertoire; flamenco is accompaniment to cante and baile, improvised within the compás, and passed on by ear. Falsetas are learned from teachers and records, not read from a score (though scores exist). - **Tuning**: standard, with a capo as needed. See [[AI Wiki - Music - Classical Guitar]] and [[AI Wiki - Music - Steel-String Acoustic Guitar]] for the comparison with other acoustic guitars. Accompaniment blends modal and tonal harmony, with chords that may contain open strings as drones (e.g., the open E and B strings in the F chord above). ## What to listen to - **Paco de Lucía**: "Entre dos aguas" (1973, a rumba flamenca on the album *Fuente y Caudal*) and *Friday Night in San Francisco* (1981, with John McLaughlin and Al Di Meola). He brought Brazilian, Arabic and jazz elements into flamenco. - **Camarón de la Isla** (singer), with Paco de Lucía on guitar: *La Leyenda del Tiempo* (1979). - **Sabicas**: the 20th-century virtuoso who invented the three-finger rasgueo. - **Ramón Montoya**: the early 20th-century figure who made the guitar a solo instrument and added new keys. - **Paco Peña**, **Tomatito**, **Vicente Amigo**, **Manolo Sanlúcar**: later virtuosos. - **Gipsy Kings**: "Bamboleo" (1987), flamenco-pop rumba. Listen for the compás first: clap the accents along with the record and find where the singer and guitarist land. ## Entry path 1. Learn the Am – G – F – E cadence and strum it in 4/4 as a rumba, with muted strokes between chords. 2. Learn the basic rasgueado (a four-finger roll), first on one open chord, slowly. 3. Learn the twelve-beat cycle by clapping, then count it while you play the cadence, one chord per group of beats. 4. Learn picado on one string (index–middle alternating with rest strokes), then on the E Phrygian scale. 5. Learn a thumb-based alzapúa pattern on a single chord. 6. Learn a short falseta by ear from a slowed-down recording (see [[AI Wiki - Music - Transcription and Playing by Ear]]). 7. Add tremolo only after the others are comfortable, since it needs finger independence. If you want to start from a different path, the muting and hand coordination skills from [[AI Wiki - Music - Percussive Fingerstyle]] and [[AI Wiki - Music - Muting Techniques]] help. Nails matter a lot for rasgueado and picado: see [[AI Wiki - Music - Nails, Fingerpicks and Thumbpicks]]. On piano, the cadence works with a left-hand E drone and right-hand chords above, though the piano plays little role in traditional flamenco. ## Key Points - Flamenco has three parts: cante, baile, toque. The guitar mostly accompanies. - Palos are styles with a fixed compás: soleá, alegrías and bulerías use a twelve-beat cycle (accents 3, 6, 8, 10, 12); seguiriya uses 12, 2, 4, 7, 10; tangos and rumba are binary. - Harmony: Phrygian mode, Andalusian cadence Am – G – F – E; many palos mix Phrygian, major and minor. - Right hand: rasgueado, picado, alzapúa, tremolo, golpe; thumb on the soundboard, falsetas between verses. - Capo (cejilla) and two open tonic shapes (E and A) cover most keys. ## Open Questions - What are the exact finger sequences of the five basic rasgueados, in a source with video? The description here is generic. - How do luthiers' flamenco "blanca" (cypress) and "negra" (rosewood) guitars compare in sound? Only the generic woods are given here. - How do beginners learn to hear the twelve-beat cycle in bulerías, where the singer and dancer move off the accents? - Which falsetas from soleá and alegrías are the best first ones to learn by ear? - There is no bass notation block, and the rumba pattern above is simplified. ## References - Wikipedia, "Flamenco": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flamenco - Wikipedia, "Andalusian cadence": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andalusian_cadence - Wikipedia, "Flamenco guitar": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flamenco_guitar ## Related - [[AI Wiki - Music - Classical Guitar]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Classical Guitar Technique]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Modes]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Modal Harmony]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Cadences]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Minor Scales]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Capo and Transposition]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Alternate Tunings]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Folk Music]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Percussive Fingerstyle]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Muting Techniques]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Nails, Fingerpicks and Thumbpicks]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Steel-String Acoustic Guitar]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Transcription and Playing by Ear]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Metronome and Speed Building]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Bossa Nova and Latin Music]]