Flamenco Guitar Lessons

Flamenco is a contemporary form of musical expression with origins in Southern Spain.

Solea, Bulerias, Alegrias, Fandango, Guajiras are some of the popular styles in flamenco. Each style is categorised by specific harmonic progressions and consequent melodic embellishments.

Left and right hand technique is only one of the tools needed to be an efficient player. Students must also master the rhythm and variations needed to create intensity. Students must understand the principles of harmonic progression and how to embellish or modify them in accordance to a specific style. Students must demonstrate fluency in melodic and harmonic transcription skills.

Flamenco guitar is a discipline that requires patience in the learning process. It is great fun and an extremely satisfying social experience when played with others.

Prices Flamenco Guitar Lessons

Prices for flamenco courses differ from the generic price structure. All other conditions remain the same.

• Private lessons: $95 per hour
• 10 week course ( 10 hours private): $595 per level

Requirements

Students are required to have a practical understanding of scales, chords and harmony to be effective in the course objectives. All students are required to pass an entrance exam or have completed level 3 in the Creative Guitar School general program. Please email us for details.

Levels

Flamenco guitar is taught in three levels where students will learn:

• The styles of : Solea, Bulerias, Alegrias, Fandango, Guajiras, Tangos. Siguiriya
• Characteristic harmonic structures, melodies and variations needed to make the songs flow.
• They will master each style as solo instruments or creating accompaniments.

Each level consist of 10 lessons

Flamenco Guitar Lessons Level 1

1. What makes the flamenco sound , how to identify the styles
2. Basic harmonic structures in bulerias
3. Basic harmonic structures in tangos
4. Basic harmonic structures in alegrias
5. Basic harmonic structures in solea
6. How chords are defined in bulerias, tangos, alegrias and solea
7. Left and right hand techniques required
8. The flamenco time signature in tangos, bulerias, solea and guajiras what you nee to know to understand it and flow in the groove

Flamenco Guitar Lessons Level 2

1. How to develop a solid binary and tertiary rhythmic phrasing subdivision in flamenco styles
2. Impact vertical intensity versus horizontal
3. Learn to play a full buleria, tangos, solea and alegria, guajira, solea pro bulerias as a solo instrument or as rhythm
4. Chord scale relationships in alegrias, bulerias, tangos ect
5. How to compose in modal harmony
6. How create you own falsetas or solo improvisation

Flamenco Guitar Lessons Level 3

1. Advanced harmonic structures in bulerias ( full songs with and without vocals)
2. Advanced harmonic structures in tangos full songs with and without vocals)
3. Advanced harmonic structures in solea /full songs with and without vocals)
4. Advanced harmonic structures in alegrias (full songs with and without vocals)
5. Advanced harmonic structures in malagueñas, farrucas, solea por bulerias ( full songs with and without vocals)

What makes the flamenco sound?

The flamenco sound primarily defines a major key that is modal in character. The flamenco mode must constantly be reminded to the listener by the guitarist. If the mode is not constantly reminded to the listener then our subjective perception will quickly drift to the Ionian sound (pop-music sound).

Contrast between major and minor

The constant release of tension I outline below towards the major home sound. Home is defined by the first chord we play on the guitar to define the key. The mode will be defined by adding the b9 but resolving it swiftly to the root of the tonic. No major third is required. However all other chordal structures we use, will happily welcome the major third of the key as a passing tone to remind us of the flamenco sound.

We will learn in our flamenco guitar lessons that chords other than the tonic, the home sound, are generally short in duration and selected more by the root movements they create than by the resulting vertical chordal structures.

Flamenco =  Modal music

In all modal music vertical structures are created to produce tension in relation to the home chord we are moving towards to, or away from. As guitar players, we need not to think of chords as structures of consecutive thirds but rather as clusters of notes we select to create degrees of tension when we move to and away from the home sound.

We will learn in our flamenco guitar lessons that the use of chordal vertical structures or harmonic movements that relate to our major sound must be played wisely to maintain the flamenco environment and not to have our perception drift away from the modal sound to its relative major .

How to create the flamenco sound

In order to start familiarising yourself with the flamenco sound, play the tonic on the Spanish guitar with out the third and add the following passing tones: tensions 7- b9 – # 5- sus 4 . Keep them short and make sure you resolve quickly to the corresponding note of major tonic with the third.

Now its time in our flamenco guitar lessons to move away for a beat or two to a subdominant type of sound. One which creates contrast by creating structures from these root notes:

• b11
• bV11m
• and V diminished .

Experiment with them on weak beats and make sure they are short in duration. Do not only play block chords, arpeggiate them to achieve further contrast with the tonic sound.

Try adding, on the guitar, a passing tone on each of them. For example, add the g# if in the key of E.

More melodic flamenco passing tones

We will learn in our flamenco guitar lessons to also experiment as melodic passing tones with the following tensions:

• bII: Tensions b7- 7- b5- #11- 9- b9-13
• bV11m: Tensions 7- b5- 9-11- 13
• V diminished : Tensions 7- 9- 11- #11

Now let´s create vertical structures with a lesser degree of tension between the home sound (the tonic) and the above chords. Please note that the following chordal structures have some similar notes to the tonic chord.

• IVm: Tensions 7-9-sus4-6-9-11- 13
• VI : Tensions 7- Maj7- #5- 9- 11- 13
• III: Tensions 7- 9- sus4- #5 – 6-11-#11-13

Try creating melodic ideas by arpeggiating them and resolving either on the tonic chord or on the following:

• b11
• bV11m
• and V diminished

Flamenco Styles

Flamenco encompasses over 100 different styles classified by time signature, geographical origin, folk music origin and the structure of the lyrics.

Here are a list of 35 common styles classifies in alphabetical order:

1. Alboreá
2. Alegrías
3. Bulerás
4. Cabales
5. Caracoles
6. Colombiana
7. Copla andaluza
8. Corríos
9. Fandango
10. Farruca
11. Garrotín
12. Granaína
13. Guajira
14. Jota flamenca
15. Malagueña
16. Martinete
17. Media Granaína
18. Mineras
19. Petenera
20. Rondeña
21. Rumba
22. Saeta
23. Seguiriya o Siguiriya
24. Serranas
25. Sevillana
26. Soleá
27. Tango
28. Tanguillo
29. Taranta o Taranto
30. Tientos
31. Toná
32. Trillera
33. Verdiales
34. Vidalita
35. Zambra

Use your flamenco guitar technique for other styles of music

In flamenco we use our fingers as resonators ( pluck strum)  andnoty pick. Hence we develop extreme left and right hand technique beyond any other musical style.

AMEB Classical Guitar Examinations

Students at the Creative Guitar School may follow the Australian Music Examinations Board (AMEB ) syllabus for  Levels 1 to 3.

Syllabus structure:

1. Level 1 – Preliminary to Grade 4
2. Level 2 – Grade 5 to Certificate of Performance
3. Level 3 – Associate Diploma (AMusA) and Licentiate Diploma
   (LMusA)

More resources for flamenco

If you would like to hear a variety of flamenco style please go to my you tube and select recommenced listening in flamenco to enjoy a variety targeted selection of flamenco artists in guitar music.