Taking a group class or one-on-one lessons is a great way to get started in flamenco. You’ll quickly learn, however, that there’s a lot more to flamenco guitar than just learning what your teacher shows you in class. There’s a lot of historical background, musical context, and even some basic Spanish language skills that you need in order to truly understand what you play.
It’s nearly impossible to fit that academic side of flamenco instruction into weekly music lessons. As a teacher, I find challenging enough to fit technique and repertoire into a single 45-minute class, let alone contextual and theoretical explanations. I recommend that all flamenco students make a hobby of exploring flamenco beyond their guitar and lessons. Listen, read, and watch as much as possible, and ask your teacher whenever you have doubts. It will add dimension and depth to your playing
Here are some places to start:
Listening on Youtube (or Spotify, Apple Music, etc.)
Use this list of great flamenco guitarists to get you started in the right direction, then let the algorithms take it from there as you explore and discover your tastes. I’ve arranged them loosely in order from more modern to more traditional players.
Paco de Lucia (1947 - 2014)
Rafael Riqueni (b. 1962)
Moraito Chico (1956 - 2011)
Gerardo Nuñez (b. 1961)
Tomatito (b. 1958)
Vicente Amigo (b. 1967)
Miguel Angel Cortés
Niño Miguel
Paco Peña (b. 1942)
Paco Cepero (b. 1942)
Manolo Franco
Manolo Sanlucar (b. 1943)
Sabicas (1912 - 1990)
Pepe Habichuela
Mario Escudero
Enrique de Melchor
Diego del Gastor (1908-1973)
Niño Ricardo (1904 - 1972)
Ramon Montoya
Online resources primarily in Spanish (some with limited translation options)
Knowing Spanish (even at a basic level) will be a huge help to you in flamenco. Here are some great resources if you’re up for it:
This page is awesome, explore it thoroughly. It gives detailed information on the different palos and flamenco history, and the front page features intricate flamenco palo ‘family trees’. There is an ‘English translation’ option powered by Google. The translations are awkward at best, but you can probably gain something from them even so.
https://www.horizonteflamenco.com/
This page is also great. It contains information on flamenco history, great artists, a breakdown and explanation of the different palos, and links to more flamenco resources. Unfortunately, there is no English translation, not even an awkward automatic one.
http://canteytoque.es/indexc.html (Spanish) and http://canteytoque.es/ (English)
This page features in depth analysis of flamenco cante (singing) and collections of falsetas. It gets pretty technical in its cante analysis, and the falseta collections are extensive. Some of the sites have good, human-translated English pages. One of them is this bio of flamenco guitarists, which is terrific for flamenco newcomers who aren’t sure who to listen to.
https://iniciacionalflamenco.blogspot.com/2011/03/pequena-guia-para-iniciarse-en-el.html
A good intro to the different palos with examples, even though it hasn’t been updated in a while. Use links on the right of the page (the ones at top don’t work). Like flamencopolis, there is a Google-powered translation option which is hit or miss.
Online resources in English
I have found very few good flamenco websites in English. If you have found some good ones, please share them!
The English wikipedia page on flamenco is decent, and would help you reinforce the vocabulary and information you receive in your introductory flamenco lessons. It also includes links to pages with brief descriptions of the palos. What I read has been accurate, but nowhere near comparable to the thoroughness of the websites in Spanish I cited earlier.
Here’s a recent article from Smithsonian Magazine that some might enjoy.
I’ve written some articles and forum posts at Lessonface on specific topics:
What Is Flamenco? Part One and Part Two
What is a Palo, and Why Does It Matter to Flamenco Guitarists
How to Arrange Flamenco Guitar Solos
Flamenco Guitar: Recommended Listening
Music books
Flamenco is typically taught by the teacher demonstrating and the student imitating. Video recording in lessons helps you review the material later, and referring back to the videos often keep you in touch with the nuances of technique and sound. You learn material a bit more slowly at first, because you have to memorize it at the start. But you learn much more thoroughly and your playing becomes much more flamenco.
That said, I understand that some students are very visually oriented and need a visual reference when they’re learning a new piece. Other students are pre-conditioned to using tab or notation from many years of learning another style of music. Changing the way they learn music is just too daunting for them. Learning flamenco guitar from sheet music is infinitely better than not learning flamenco at all. So in these cases I don’t mind teaching from a method book.
Books also can be a great supplement to learning from a teacher. Transcriptions can be very useful if you want to learn a particular artist’s flamenco guitar solo. And method books are helpful if you want to dabble and explore different palos in addition to your private lessons.
Here are some method books and books of solos that I recommend:
-
Play Solo Guitar with Juan Martin, Volumes 1 and 2. Short solos arranged progressively by level, with Level 0 being appropriate for students who are new to flamenco with minimal guitar experience. There
-
Dennis Koster’s The Keys to Flamenco Guitar. I believe there are two or three volumes of this. It presents traditional flamenco repertoire in the four or five fundamental palos. Last I checked it was a bit hard to find, but worth searching around for!
-
Paco Peña Toques Flamencos. Transcriptions of solos from this album. Traditional sound and good transcriptions. This is a good book for students who want to explore full-length solos in different palos
-
Oscar Herrero Studies. There are two volumes to this, and they have a more modern flavor to them, for those who like that.
-
Transcriptions at Affedis.com. My favorite source for transcriptions of guitar solos. The availability is extensive, and includes works by all the greatest flamenco guitarists. They are all for sale and a bit on the pricey side (but fair enough for the amount of work that transcription is!). Unlike many free tabs you can find online, I’ve found the Affedis transcriptions are accurate and reliable. Just do your listening research and figure out what you like before you buy a book of transcriptions of an entire solo album.
Informational Books on Flamenco (in English)
These are some recommendations by flamenco students of mine. I haven’t gotten to check them out yet.
Flamenco: All You Wanted to Know
Flamenco by Claus Schreiner
Flamenco Nation, The Construction of Spanish National Identity by Sandie Holguín - a recently published book that looks worth checking out.
I know there are more than this out there! I just haven’t explored much since I’ve had access to flamenco resources in Spanish.
Students, please share if you’ve found and read more books, or if you have thoughts on any of the above books.
In general, please share any resources that you've found helpful, and let us know what you think if you've read any of these books or used any of these sources of sheet music.
I noticed Ben Woods is not on the list, is it because he constantly goes against tradition? He is amazing but I notice even when he plays traditional pieces he has a metal edge to his style. Amazing player though.
Thank much for staring this thread, Leah. How about a collection of interesting videos?
Here's one where Paco De Lucia, Al Di Meola and John McLaughlin play "Mediterranean Sundance" Live. Paco De Lucia's blinding fast picado runs are amazing to watch. There are several close ups of this right hand as he play. On some of the run one can barely see his fingers move! Truly inspiring to watch this preternaturally gifted man play. I first came across this in the album "Friday Night in San Francisco when I was 17 or 18. The piece has haunted me ever since!
Youtube Video
Cheers!
Here's another video of the Maestro playing with this septet including this brother Ramon. The composition is "Rio Ancho" on which I believe "Meditarrannean Sundance" was based. Interesting to see the saxophone in this version. I've seen a version where the saxophone was replaced by a flute. Equally haunting!
Youtube Video
Rasguedo technique demonstration by Ukraininan Flamenco artist Sledge Azem. Interesting to see the various patterns he demonstrates. He uses the Pinky (c) finger quite extensively. I like this video because the angle and close of his right hand are very nicely done. Makes the vdeo very instructive to a beginner like me.
Youtube Video
Cheers!
I came across this documentary called "Light and Shade" by German filmmaker Micheal Meert. It is on PacoDe Lucia. It is in 4 parts.
As a huge fan of the Maestro, I'm enjoying this!
Light and Shade on Youtube
Cheers!
Hi Lonnie and Raaj, thanks so much for contributing! Great videos to share, Raaj : )
Lonnie, I included flamenco's most widely-known and historic 'greats' in my list. Several of them, including Paco de Lucia, have also dabbled in fusion and 'non-traditional', flamenco-inspired playing as well (that's certainly not a strike against!), but all made significant contributions to the way flamenco is today.
There are tons of great contemporary players active currently - way too many to name (or even to have heard of!). Some may focus only on flamenco, others on flamenco + other styles + fusion of those other styles with flamenco. I'd actually only barely heard of Ben Woods, so I just looked him up to remind me. He looks like an excellent flamenco player who also pursue other interests, but as far as I know he's not especially well-known in the Spanish flamenco world.
Thank you for this comprehensive list of resources!
Here's a Buleria by the Maestro, Live in Sevilla:
Paco De Lucia - Gitanos Andaluces / Buleria
While researching ways to address issues from the edge of the guitar digging into my right arm, I found this video, with Maestro Pepe Romero demonstrating Rasguedo - https://youtu.be/o-ajgiwfCng. Found it very useful.
BTW, on the edge cutting into the right arm, looks like Mr. Romero used to drape some sort of cover over the edge of the guitar. I read somewhere else that he also changed the angle of the neck.
Cheers!
Hi Raaj, thanks for sharing the Bulerias video - great choice!
Regarding the Pepe Romero video, it's true that the guitar edge can be a source of right forearm discomfort for some players, hence the existence products like that leather protector you found, and custom-made guitars with smoothed edges.
However, I actually doubt that's the purpose of the cloth in the case of Pepe Romero's video. It's pretty common to drape a cloth over a prized guitar you may want to protect from shirt buttons, belt buckles, inconvenient chair arms, etc. There are even elastic 'guitar sweaters' (at least that's how I think of them!) that you can keep on the guitar while playing. I have a few colleagues with really nice guitars, and nearly any time they play those guitars (besides on stage) they keep the covering on to protect the finish.
Another thing you might notice - more so in classical guitar, but I've seen it in flamenco too - is players wearing short sleeves using a covering over the right arm. They can be purchased, but some players literally cut the toe out of a spare stocking and put it on their arm. a sock with the toe cut out. These serve two purposes:
(1) let your arm move freely over the bout of the guitar, and not get sticky if you sweat. This is particularly important in classical guitar, because we often want to slide our right hand towards the bridge or sound hole to change the sound color.
(2) Protect the finish of the guitar from skin oils and sweat. Guitars can get a little gross in the summer if you play in short sleeves! If you don't opt for the right arm sleeve, I recommend keeping a polishing cloth on hand and wiping your guitar down after each session. This is a nice way to treat your guitar any time of year really : )
Going back to the topic of the edge of the lower bout - it's fairly common for students to be bugged by that edge at some point. For most, it's a passing phase that can be addressed with slight position changes and a more relaxed right arm technique. But for some, if it seems to be the sole underlying source of discomfort, it's worth looking into other solutions. Have other students had issues with this? How did you solve them?
Hi all! Today in 'The Flamenco Palos' class, this article came up. 'What is Flamenco' Part One and Part Two.
It discusses what is flamenco (though with plenty of gray area and room for debate!) and how it differs from other easily-confused genres.
Curious to hear your thougths!
When I hear Flamenco, I experience a sort of genetic musical memory that hearkens back to my familial origins. It almost seems that the music can garrote me by the shirt collar and hold me down on the "lozas" as long as it cares to. Then, at its whim, it changes from dark and ominous, to light, and ethereal; letting me soar unrestrained.
I only wish I would have started earlier....
That's great, I love your description of what hearing flamenco does to you Tom. Very colorful : ) Thank you for sharing.
Hi all! A few topics relevant to this forum topic:
1. You might be interested in this post I just wrote explaining more about what to do with the accented beats in compás. This question came up a few times in the course, and I go into a lot of detail here.
2. I'll be teaching two group classes this fall, starting in a few weeks:
(1) Fall flamenco workshop in Alegrias. We'll be exploring the palo Alegrias in depth, along with the fundamental flamenco techniques.
(2) Music theory for guitarists. A group course in music theory, specifically as it applies to the guitar. You'll learn to build chords and scales and make sense of keys and chord progressions, all with guitar in hand. No music notation involved.
3. Do any of you have experience (good or bad) purchasing a guitar online? I've had a lot of students ask me for recommendations, and I'd love to be able to advise better. If you have any thoughts, I'd be grateful for any contributions in this forum thread.