One of the most unique and beautiful genres of guitar playing is Spanish flamenco guitar. This ancient style of music is intriguing and mysterious to players, and its beauty entices everyone who hears it played. Many guitarists express interest in the style, but many will agree that it appears “intimidating” and it does not seem welcoming to beginners. You may be asking yourself “Should I take Spanish guitar lessons? Do I need to be a professional guitar player to study it? What benefits are there to learning this style?”.
The first thing to know is that you do not need to be a virtuoso to learn Spanish guitar. You actually don’t need to have any prior experience on the guitar to learn! All it takes is some desire, determination, and practice. Here are 4 reasons to convince you to start your journey learning Spanish flamenco guitar…
Reason #1: Flamenco is Historically and Culturally Significant
Flamenco is a genre that dates back to the year 711 when the Moors from Morocco conquered the south of Spain. This region, known as Andalusia, is the heart of flamenco’s origins and it is still a dominating factor in their culture today. Flamenco has an interesting mix of both eastern and western influences due to the cultural mixing of the Moors, Gypsies, and Spaniards.
This is what gives flamenco its characteristic tones and why it sounds so unique when compared to other categories of music. When you become a flamenco guitarist, you are joining a group of musicians (which also includes dancers, singers, and percussionists) and a culture that dates back centuries. You are keeping the tradition alive!
Reason #2: Flamenco has emotional storytelling unlike any other genre.
Flamenco guitarist Juan Martín always says to his students, “flamenco should reflect the poetry and emotions of life”. This quote has always stuck with me from his lessons. There are dozens of palos, or playing styles, in flamenco, and each one has different rhythms and emotions. Each style has a different airé (literally means air, but here it means feelings). Each palo was developed by Gypsies of different regions of Spain.
For example, Soleá is one of the most ancient palos of flamenco and the music reflects melancholic stories. The word Soleá comes from the Spanish word “Soledad” which means “solitude”. Here is an example of lyrics of a sung Soleá to help paint a picture of this concept…
“En mis cortas oraciones le pido a dios llorando que me quite la salud y a ti te la vaya dando”
“In my short prayers crying, I ask God to deprive me of my health and to give it back to you”
As you can see, Soleá is very forlorn and tragic. However, we also have palos that are uplifting and festive such as Alegrías. The word Alegrías literally means “joy” and it tells stories of love, humor, and all-around happiness! Here is an example of lyrics from an Alegrías by the famous flamenco singer Camarón de la Isla…
“Y a los Titirimundis que yo te pago la entrada y si tu madre no quiere, ay ¿qué dirá, qué dirá? ¿Qué dirá, qué dirá? y ¿Qué tendrá que decir? Que te quiero y te adoro y no puedo vivir sin ti.”
“To the Puppet World show I’ll buy your ticket and if your mother doesn’t approve, what can she say? What can she say? What will have to be said? That I love and adore you and can’t live without you.”
As you can see, both of these palos are completely different in tone and each tells a different story. It’s very similar to poetry, but the guitarist is the key to conveying these emotions! All of the palos allow us to play many sentiments and tell a variety of stories, which means you will not get bored very easily! Below is an example of a Soleá and Alegrías for solo guitar.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9ubOk998sw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZEt4eVdBtE
Reason #3: Learning Spanish flamenco guitar will help you learn other styles of music.
Yes, it is true that flamenco can be a difficult art form at its highest levels of proficiency. Because of the different techniques required to play flamenco, many of my students have found success with other styles of music after learning flamenco!
You can also mix your knowledge of flamenco techniques with other styles you choose to pursue (even heavy metal!) to add a special flare and spice to your music. Flamenco techniques are beneficial to both hands, and you will find that you will be generating immense power in your hands like never before! For example, the technique called Rasgueado (a strum played by flicking fingers out from the hand), works muscles in your hand that would not be developed in any other style of music! Because of this, other skills will develop quickly since your hands have become fully developed through flamenco!
Many of the common chords in guitar music are also used in flamenco, but flamenco will also introduce you to a variety of exotic sounding chord voicings which can be used in other types of music.
Reason #4: It’s Fun!
The variety of techniques, styles, and rhythms make playing flamenco a blast! If you ever get an opportunity to watch a flamenco performance, you will always see the performers smiling at each other and having a great time.
When playing flamenco, we let the emotions and music take over our personas. Once you are bitten by the flamenco bug, you will never walk away from it completely! If you want to add some flavor to your musical background, then Spanish guitar is for you! All it takes to start your journey is to dip your toes into the waters of flamenco and feel the passion and fire within you! ¡Olé!
TakeLessonsTV Intro to Flamenco Guitar: https://youtu.be/yIpW5wUt7kM
Zach Deyo