A flamenco guitar is a type of guitar, built for the purpose of playing Flamenco music. Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... For other uses, see Guitar (disambiguation). ... Flamenco is a Spanish musical genre with strong, rhythmic undertones and is often accompanied with a similarly impassioned style of dance characterized by its powerful yet graceful execution, as well as its intricate hand and footwork. ...

Flamenco guitar can also refer to toque, the guitar-playing part of the art of Flamenco. Both uses are documented on this page. Flamenco is a Spanish musical genre with strong, rhythmic undertones and is often accompanied with a similarly impassioned style of dance characterized by its powerful yet graceful execution, as well as its intricate hand and footwork. ...

Construction

The traditional flamenco guitar is made of Spanish cypress and spruce, which accounts for its characteristic body color, and is lighter in weight and a bit smaller than a classical guitar, to give the sound a "brighter" and percussive quality. Volume has traditionally been very important in flamenco construction, as guitarists needed to be heard over the sound of the dancers' nailed shoes. The flamenco guitar, in contrast to the classical, is often equipped with a tap plate called golpeador, commonly made of transparent plastic, similar to a pick guard, whose function is to protect the body of the guitar from the rhythmic finger taps, or golpes. Originally, flamenco guitars were made with wooden tuning pegs similar to a violin. Some guitarists still prefer these pegs to the classical style modern tuning gears. It is widely accepted that more weight in the headstock can improve sustain; unsurprisingly, less weight can result in quicker attack, a desirable quality in a flamenco guitar. This could explain why many flamenco players still favor the traditional pegs. The action or the height of the strings above the fingerboard is generally lower (<3mm at the 12th fret) than that of a classical guitar. This aids faster playing, especially during fast picado passages, but can lead to some fret buzz-also a frequent feature of the traditional 'flamenco' sound. Also, the lower string height greatly helps reduce fatigue of the left hand over lengthy performances. Genera Actinostrobus Athrotaxis Austrocedrus Callitris - Cypress-pine Callitropsis - Cypress * (Cupressus) Calocedrus - Incense-cedar Chamaecyparis - Cypress Cryptomeria - Sugi Cunninghamia - Cunninghamia Cupressus - Cypress Diselma - Diselma Fitzroya - Alerce Fokienia - Fujian Cypress Glyptostrobus - Chinese Swamp Cypress Juniperus - Juniper Libocedrus Metasequoia - Dawn Redwood Microbiota - Microbiota Neocallitropsis Papuacedrus * (Libocedrus) Pilgerodendron * (Libocedrus) Platycladus - Chinese Arborvitae Sequoia - Coast... Species About 35; see text. ... Spanish guitar redirects here. ... Typical guitar pickguard (Fender-style) and everything needed for installation. ... Golpe has multiple meanings, as described below: A Flamenco guitar technique where one uses the fingers to tap on the soundboard of the guitar A Coup détat This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the same title. ... Typical headstock of an electric guitar This article is about part of a stringed instrument. ... Picados -- the flamenco scales of a guitar or guitar playing technique by which the musician plays scale passages by alternating the index and middle fingers. ...

In short, flamenco guitars are better suited for flamenco music than classical guitars. Some modern flamenco guitars (flamenca negra), however, use similar materials to high-end classical guitars. These guitars hope to capture some of the sustain achieved by concert calibre classical guitars while retaining the volume and attack associated with flamenco.

Music

Main article: Flamenco

Flamenco is a genuine Spanish artform. It exists in three forms: Flamenco is a Spanish musical genre with strong, rhythmic undertones and is often accompanied with a similarly impassioned style of dance characterized by its powerful yet graceful execution, as well as its intricate hand and footwork. ... Flamenco is a Spanish musical genre with strong, rhythmic undertones and is often accompanied with a similarly impassioned style of dance characterized by its powerful yet graceful execution, as well as its intricate hand and footwork. ...

• Cante: the song (this is the heart of flamenco)
• Baile: the dance
• Toque: guitar playing

Strictly, flamenco guitar is an accompaniment to singing and dancing in the traditional Flamenco forms. Those in English-speaking countries outside the Flamenco community often use it to mean vaguely Spanish-sounding guitar playing which utilises some of the techniques listed below, especially rasgueado. To gain some understanding of the stricter definition of flamenco, read the main article. Flamenco is a Spanish musical genre with strong, rhythmic undertones and is often accompanied with a similarly impassioned style of dance characterized by its powerful yet graceful execution, as well as its intricate hand and footwork. ... Flamenco is a Spanish musical genre with strong, rhythmic undertones and is often accompanied with a similarly impassioned style of dance characterized by its powerful yet graceful execution, as well as its intricate hand and footwork. ... Visit the Guitar Portal Rasgueado (also called Rajeo or Rasgeo in Flamenco) is a guitar technique employed in classical and flamenco styles of guitar playing, allowing rhythmically precise, and often rapid, strumming patterns to be created. ... Flamenco is a Spanish musical genre with strong, rhythmic undertones and is often accompanied with a similarly impassioned style of dance characterized by its powerful yet graceful execution, as well as its intricate hand and footwork. ... Flamenco is a Spanish musical genre with strong, rhythmic undertones and is often accompanied with a similarly impassioned style of dance characterized by its powerful yet graceful execution, as well as its intricate hand and footwork. ...

Techniques

Flamenco is played somewhat differently from the classical guitar, utilizing different strumming patterns and techniques. Flamenco is commonly played using a cejilla (capo) which somewhat causes the guitar to sound more brilliant and percussive. However, the main purpose in using a cejilla is to change the key of the guitar in order to suit the singer's vocal range. For other uses, see Capo (disambiguation). ...

In addition to the techniques common to classical guitar, flamenco guitar technique is uniquely characterised by the following:

• Golpe: Percussive finger tapping on the soundboard at the area above or below the strings. This requires a golpeador (tap-plate) in order to protect the surface of the guitar.
• Picado: Single-line scale passages performed apoyando but with more attack and articulation.
• Rasgueado: Strumming done with outward flicks of the right hand fingers, done in a huge variety of ways. A nice rhythmic roll is obtained, supposedly reminicent of the bailaor's (flamenco dancer) feet and the roll of castanets.
• Alzapua: A thumb technique which has roots in oud plectrum technique. The right hand thumb is used for both single-line notes and strummed across a number of strings. Both are combined in quick succession to give it a unique sound.
• Tremolo: Done somewhat differently from the conventional classical guitar tremolo, it is very commonly played with the right hand pattern p-i-a-m-i.

Visit the Guitar Portal Golpe is mostly used in Flamenco guitar. ... Picados -- the flamenco scales of a guitar or guitar playing technique by which the musician plays scale passages by alternating the index and middle fingers. ... Visit the Guitar Portal Rasgueado (also called Rajeo or Rasgeo in Flamenco) is a guitar technique employed in classical and flamenco styles of guitar playing, allowing rhythmically precise, and often rapid, strumming patterns to be created. ... Front and rear views of an oud. ... Tremolo is a musical term with two meanings: A rapid repetition of the same note, a rapid variation in the amplitude of a single note, or an alternation between two or more notes. ...

See also

• List of guitarists by genre#Flamenco
• Luthiers
  • José Ramírez
  • Domingo Esteso (1882-1937)
  • Conde Hermanos
  • Ioannis Anastassakis

This is a list of notable guitarists, organized by genre. ... A luthier is someone who builds or repairs stringed instruments, ranging from guitars to violins. ... José I Ramírez was the founder of the Spanish luthier dynasty. ... Domingo Esteso (1882-1937), a luthier who trained under Manuel Ramírez. ... Conde Hermanos (Conde Brothers) is a world famous luthier of flamenco guitars. ... Ioannis Anastassakis Ioannis Anastassakis is one of the most recognizable greek guitarists internationally, with rich artistic, compositional, educational, and written work. ...

External links

• Tutorials
  • Online flamenco guitar lessons in the form of streaming video
  • Introduction to Flamenco
  • Miguel Bengoa Flamenco, including Technique
• Community
  • Brilliant flamenco forum
  • Flamenco Community
• Other
  • Flamenco Guitarist at Guitarist.com; includes Flamenco FAQ For Classical Guitarists
  • All about the instrument (no shop)
  • Guitarists Glossary