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Flamenco
Resources for Beginners
A page for beginning students by Steven Bridenbaugh
(himself still a "newbie")
[Updated by JPD]
If you don't live near a major metropolitan area, you might not be able to find a guitar teacher in your area that knows very much about flamenco, and you certainly will find it difficult to locate the materials you need to study on your own. This is a list of materials which I personally have found useful for individual study, and is not meant to be a "best of" list. However, none of these selections will be a waste of money. 

Flamenco is challenging to learn, but with even a rudimentary study of flamenco, you will notice a rapid improvement in your guitar skills. I hope these resources will help you, even if you have had an informal background in music, as I have. I should add that when you have an opportunity to take lessons in flamenco, please do so: there is no real substitute for a good teacher. I am also including materials which I hope will be useful to people who are interested in flamenco dancing, as the dancing perspective may be one of the better ways to understand the art.

Instructional Manuals:

Here's a few examples of the types of CD's that are available. Many older recordings, previously available only in antique vinyl, have been digitally remastered and are better than the originals.

Le Chant du Monde LDX 274 944
is a very good starter album, a sampler of traditional flamenco. It includes some of the finest performances of legendary flamenco singers and musicians.
Narada ND-63924 "FLAMENCO- fire and grace"
contains a fine selection of modern flamenco, without digressing into jazz-fusion, flamenco rock and other innovations which some believe threaten the future of flamenco music. This music is what you will probably hear in places where flamenco is performed on the US West Coast. Selections include artists such as Tomatito, Enrique Morente, and Rafael Riquini.

Letters from the Flamenco Mailing List

From: BrookZern@aol.com
Date: Mon, 4 Mar 1996 11:48:23 -0500
Subject: FL (long) Part 1-B to end - Luis Maravilla speaks
This is the second part of Manuel Herrera Rodas's interview with guitarist Luis Maravilla, age 76, that appeared in Sevilla Flamenca of November 1990:

"The guitar has evolved greatly, and today it's played as never before -- the precision, the pulse, the execution these kids have. Technique is at its peak. And the style has changed, too. Now, they play a lot of things with rhythm. But that's really an international current; it comes from rock and the worldwide preference for rhythm more than melody. Now you won't hear a Mozart, or a Chopin -- just stuff with a beat. And in flamenco, the groups lean toward bulerias and tangos. Things with compas. And they add bongos, or cajas...

I agree that the music is lost when the melody is lost. Of course, rhythm in music is fantastic, marvelous -- but it's not everything. Doesn't the melody count for something? Another important thing is sound quality, which affects the melody. And now, with all this exaggerated amplification that sounds so horrible, well, that has an impact on the melody.

The most melodic guitarist I've heard was Ramon Montoya. Pure velvet! His music was so harmonious, with such sound quality... others found it difficult to do. There are other good guitarists, but they sound brusque. Montoya was the most harmonious of all.

Other guitarists? Ricardo, because he was a creator. He invented lots of music, because he was a musician more than a guitarist. Others still play his music today.

You have to understand that this is a chain. No one invented the guitar and the music; we're all links in a chain which unites us and relates us.

Manolo de Huelva? Another great guitarist and creator. You can say that he created the bulerias played today, the bulerias al golpe. Because before Manolo, the bulerias were played por solea, with the rhythm of a light solea. But he drew forth the bulerias al golpe. And perhaps he created other things we don't know about; he was so reserved, he didn't want anyone to learn his works and he took many things to the grave.

It's hard to accompany well. You can't do long falsetas, because the singer will get cold and that's not good. These days, there's an unfortunate tendency to play falsetas and show off for five or six minutes between cantes; by then, the singer has lost his inspiration and is cold again. It's a delicate thing. Some singers have lots of voice while others have delicate throats... and you have to adapt to each one, and take care of the singer. On Bernardo de los Lobitos's last record, I try to care for him as if he were a little child. I don't play strong, or anything -- just let him shine, because the mission of an accompanist is not to show off, but to support the singer. If you want to shine, that's what solos and concerts are for.

I never accompanied La Nina de los Peines or her brother Tomas Pavon, because when I was here it was to work with a singer who had chosen me. I appeared in the same events as Pastora, though. I remember a fiesta in the Hotel Alfonso XIII, given by King Alfonso XIII and Queen Maria Victoria. I accompanied my father, and Javier Molina accompanied Pastora. I also worked when she did in Madrid, in the Price Thaeatre, the Monumental Cinema, the Teatro Pavon...

Pastora was unmatched, the best. Among women, there was no other, or at least that's what I think.

Has flamenco evolved much? Look, I think flamenco goes in phases or fads ("rachas"). There's an epoch when the tangos predominate, or the fandangos, and everyone is dedicated to singing fandangos with more or fewer variations. Or profound songs... or they begin to lose out, and songs like the vidalitas and colombianas appear. Rachas, yes, rachas.

Pepe Marchena? Ha. He knew how to sing and knew all the cantes. Of course, he adapted them to the condition of his voice. He was also an innovator, he had an extensive repertoire ("era largo cantando"), and becasue he was aware of what the public liked, well, he tried to give it to them. He sought that effect with the public, and especially in his later years he was too concerned with effects ("era excesivamente efectista"), and I personally didn't like it. Before that, though, he knew what he was doing and I liked his singing, because I like everything that's good.

My favorite singer of all, as I've said, was Chacon. Then -- Manuel Vallejo! He created many canges, like the granaina, and above all, the modulation that he did in the cantes which stamped them with his personality. And the compas he had -- he was phenomenal in bulerias, in compas, measured, with gracia... a phenomenon! In the theatre, nobody could match him. During a private fiesta, he wasn't consistent, because a less expansive singer ("alguien mas corto") could have something special, or another kind of voice -- but in the theatre, nobody touched him.

Jose Cepero had a good voice, too, but his qualities were limited. His voice was deep, and he vocalized very well and knew many cantes. And if he mostly did fandangos, it was because there was a fad for those songs. When I recorded with him, the recording house only wanted fandangos. We recorded one solea and one granaina, and all the rest were fandangos, because that's what the houses demanded.

El Nino Gloria was a phenomenon, with a round, powerful voice. I loved his cante. I remember in Madrid's Monumental Theatre when my father was on a jury-panel of experts, and El Gloria sang accompanied by a Madrid player named Manuel Bonet. He sang well and won the contest. I was with my father, who called out to him "Sing siguiriyas". And El Gloria said "Sure, but send your son down to play for me." And I did.

Juanito Mojama was another outstanding singer. I liked him very much. I played for him in Villa Rosa often. He sang like Chacon, but in his own style. He was a very serious and complete singer. Being Gypsy, he adapted Chacon's song to his own particular qualities, but he was also phenomenal in tientos, siguiriyas, solea...

Antonio Mairena? The greatest of this epoch! Because he renovated the style again, "volvio otra vez 'la tortilla'" (?), and he brought back songs that were being forgotten after the era of the fandangos, the colombianas and the vidalitas. He did cantes that no one else sang. I accompanied him often, in fiestas and in the theatre, because he spent a season with us in the Ballet de Pilar Lopez, in Madrid's Teatro Gran Via.

Manolo Caracol? I accompanied him a lot, too, even here in Seville's Teatro Lope de Vega in Pilar Lopez's last years when Caracol was with her. His son Enriquito also joined us. And with Caracol and Luisa Ortega we toured all of Andalucia.

Caracol was very good! His "hueco" voice and way of singing -- it made me feel the cante more intensely than Mairena could. Caracol wounded with his voice ("Caracol me dolia")!

The cante today? I don't know. I don't know. Look at Camaron who -- well, he's here ("bueno, esta ahi"). There are other singers with names, but... well, remember you're talking with a 76-year-old man who has lived in other eras, and the present one doesn't say much to him. I know there's Camaron, Morente, Lebrijano... but I hope someone new arrives and remedies the situation, and raises up the art again. Because the cante can't die. You have to renovate and enrich it...

You have to care for the cante, nurture it. Look, I know that Pepe Marchena was criticized because he went beyond the established limits of flamenco, but I think that now they're committing the same errors. I don't want to speak ill of anyone, but the danger is there.

A cantaora? Carmen Linares. I think she's the most complete cantaora today.

The guitar has evolved greatly, and today it's played as never before -- the precision, the pulse, the execution these kids have. Technique is at its peak. And the style has changed, too. Now, they play a lot of things with rhythm. But that's really an international current; it comes from rock and the worldwide preference for rhythm more than melody. Now you won't hear a Mozart, or a Chopin -- just stuff with a beat. And in flamenco, the groups lean toward bulerias and tangos. Thins with compas. And they add bongos, or cajas...

I agree that the music is lost when the melody is lost. Of course, rhythm in music is fantastic, marvelous -- but it's not everything. Doesn't the melody count for something? Another important thing is sound quality, which affects the melody. And now, with all this exaggerated amplification that sounds so horrible, well, that has an impact on the melody.

The most melodic guitarist I've heard was Ramon Montoya. Pure velvet! His music was so harmonious, with such sound quality... others found it difficult to do. There are other good guitarists, but they sound brusque. Montoya was the most harmonious of all.

Other guitarists? Ricardo, because he was a creator. He invented lots of music, because he was a musician more than a guitarist. Others still play his music today.

You have to understand that this is a chain. No one invented the guitar and the music; we're all links in a chain which unites us and relates us.

Manolo de Huelva? Another great guitarist and creator. You can say that he created the bulerias played today, the bulerias al golpe. Because before Manolo, the bulerias were played por solea, with the rhythm of a light solea. But he drew forth the bulerias al golpe. And perhaps he created other things we don't know about; he was so reserved, he didn't want anyone to learn his works and he took many things to the grave.

Estaban de Sanlucar? Oof! Another great player, very valiente. A great player, and also a creator, eh? I spent lots of time with him, and we appeared together often, always playing guitar solos. You know, this solo guitar thing isn't anything new! Sabicas, Esteban and I -- we were doing solos in the thirties. Esteban and I also were in Gracia de Triana's company. I did it two years alone, and then two years with Esteban.

Sabicas? He executed everything well. Very clean and secure. His domination of the instrument was fabulous.

But you ask if I think his last recording, where he accompanies Morente, was a great demonstration of that art -- and I don't think so. To be honest, I don't think Sabicas should have made that record, with all due respect, eh? To me, the pitch of the guitar seems low. And this makes me think that he couldn't deal with the normal pitch and string tension, so he lowered the strings. And he does nothing, he limits himself to whatever is strictly necessary -- but I think it's because he couldn't do more, not because he was giving a lesson in restrained accompaniment.

Manolo de Badajoz? An upbeat player, alegre, with a joyful approach, but not a player to compare with the others. I also recall a little-known player, Teodoro Castro, who wasn't all that good but who knew more than anyone I've ever seen. His playing was dirty, but he sure knew flamenco guitar -- an enormous repertoire, and I learned many things from him. I think he was from Cadiz.

Who is there today? Not many.

Yes, as you say, Manolo Sanlucar and Paco de Lucia are at the head. From them, all flamenco music comes. The proof is that every young guitarist today dedicates himself to imitating them.

Paco? His execution is great, he has marvelous power, and a lot of talent as he has demonstrated with the creations he's done. And although there are other approaches, Paco from his first records started changing the toque. The fact that the guitar is more concerned with rhythm these days is due to Paco, as is the addition of percussion. He's the father of the present-day guitar.

Manolo Sanlucar? He's more classical, more concentrated. I think he has a more tranquil and relaxed aire.

Serranito? Also a good musician, a good player, with speed.

And the younger ones -- well, everything they do is based on Paco and, what's more, a lot of them are seeking new ways to mix their music with other instruments. It's a quest for novelty that perhaps is nothing more than a necessity for survival.

But I don't think the guitar is in danger. It has reached immense heights, though perhpas it would be good to get back to the established canons a bit. These same players who work marvels with their fingers might consider doing something a bit more "settled" (asentaito), less frenetic...

And if I could only name one player -- it would be Ramon Montoya, without any doubt!

My recording career started in 1930 with Cepero, and goes right to the present. I worked for all the houses -- Odeon, Regal, La Voz de su Amo, Hispavox, Parlophon... more than 40 records. And yes, one did get the Cross Academy prize in Paris. I think it was my best, too; first, because it was made at the peak of my career, and second becasue it was the first LP I made, using new methods and getting marvelous sound. I did eight toques that sounded very good, and they've been played around the world.

My recorded method, now out of print, was a big success. The idea of recording lessons hadn't occurred to anyone, and I thought of it. Hispavox printed it in heaps, and sold it for more then ten years. It had English, German and French translations with printed music of everything I played, in cifra so it would be easy. And now many students come and play my things without having known me, simply through the methods -- mostly abroad, in Japan and in the U.S....

Another record I consider important is the "Antologia de la Guitarra Flamenca", also sold around the world with great success. Each guitarist playes two pieces: Serranito, Manolo Cano, Sabicas, and four of us from Seville -- Melchor de Marchena, Nino Ricardo, Pepe Martinez and me.

Why does a person play the guitar? For feeling, for sentiment. You only play because you feel it, otherwise you can't give the guitar what it demands. It's very difficult, and you have to be dedicated and have the vocation to keep playing and even make a living from it.

What is flamenco? It's the best in the world. And it's a shame that people don't undertstand his, but in fact flamenco is just for a minority."

End of interview

********************************************** 

The following was recently posted to the Flamenco Mailing List:

Excerpts from Federico Garcia Lorca: A Life by Ian Gibson, 1989

"Lorca well knew by the spring of 1922, moreover, that he too, like the
'cantaor' in a moment of particularly intense inspiration, often possessed
the mysterious communicative power known as 'duende,' although it seems that
he became fully aware of the implications of the expression 'to have duende'
only after he had written his lecture on 'cante jondo,' where he does not
mention it. The insight may well have come during the June competition.

But what is 'duende?' In his famous lecture on the subject, first delivered
in 1933, the poet attributed to the great Gypsy singer Manuel Torre, present
at the 1922 competition, a penetrating observation made while listening to
Manuel de Falla play 'Nights in the Gardens of Spain.'

'Whatever has black sounds has 'duende' Torre had said. For Lorca, 'duende'
(which in normal usage means a poltergeist-like spirit) came to denote a
form of Dionysian inspiration always related to anguish, mystery and death,
and which animates particularly the artist who performs in public - the
musician, the dancer, or the poet who recites his work to a live audience,
as was so often his own case. 

While 'duende' may appear anywhere, Lorca was convinced that Spain is the
country it prefers: Spain, where the national 'fiesta' (not to be confused
by a sport) is the sacrificial ceremony of the bull-fight. Without 'duende,'
as Lorca explained, the singing of the 'cantaor,' while it may be
technically perfect, will lack edge, and fail to send shivers down the
listener's spine."


"...And then it was June. The Cante Jondo Festival was just around the
corner and the excitement in Granada mounted day by day. At the beginning of
the month Lorca took part in the concert that concluded the events leading
up to the great event. It was given in the little pseudo-Moorish theatre of
the famous Alhambra Palace Hotel, just up the steep street from Falla's
'carmen,' and comprised the reading, by Antonio Gallego Burin, of the
maestro's anonymous pamphlet on 'cante jondo;' a recital by the Granada
flamenco guitarist Manuel Jofre; Lorca's recitation of several compositions
from his 'Poem of Cante Jondo;' and, to round off the evening, Andres
Segovia doing something unheard of - showing that, when he felt in the mood,
he too was capable of playing flamenco, a genre for which he had little real
affection."

**********************************************

If you encounter any links that are no longer current, let me know about it. Un million de gracias!


Steven Bridenbaugh

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