FLAMENCO GUITAR GLOSSARY

A

Abanico

Literally means “fan” but in Flamenco Guitar abanico is the rasgueado technique you think of when you think “flamenco guitar”. You definitely want to take your time to learn it correctly but once you have it you will most definitely impress all your friends.

Abandolao

Abandolao is a rhythm that is used in many different Fandangos, like the Verdiales, Jabegotes, Rondeña (not to be confused with the solo guitar Rondeña that has the different tuning), Fandangos del Albaicín and many many more. Curiously, though many outside of flamenco might recognize the rhythmic as quintessentially flamenco, or at least Spanish, it is not one of the rhythms that is generally introduced early on to students of flamenco

Alzapua

Alzapua is a technique unique to flamenco in which the thumb is used like a guitar pick to alternately strum and play single notes, usually with melodies in the bass. We actually use both sides of our thumb. By coordinating the right and the left hand, we can actually get a lot of speed without nearly as much effort as it looks like.

Acompañamiento

Accompaniment

Alegrías

Alegrías is a Palo (style) that originated in the port city of Cadíz. It’s a mid-tempo 12-beat compás and it is played in a Major key, most commonly E Major, though it is also commonly played in A and C major, and can be played in any Major key. The danced Alegrías has more unique sections than any other dance. In addition to the standard Letras, Escobillas, Subidas, etc.. the Alegrías can have a Silencio – a slower section in the parallel minor key – and a Castellana. 

Andalucian Cadence

The chord progression at the heart of all flamenco that is played in a Phrygian key is often called the Andalusian Cadence, though the term is mainly used by those outside of flamenco. In the world of flamenco, you will rarely hear people use this term. The cadence is a bIVm7, bIII (Major triad or 7 chord), bII (Major triad or 7 chord) resolving to a Tonic that is either a Major triad or a Major triad with an added b9. The two most common examples would be Am, G, F , E and Dm, C, Bb, A. All but the tonic are generally harmonized using the Phrygian scale, and the tonic is harmonized using the Phrygian Dominant, though both the b3 and natural 3 can be used in the scale.

Apagado

Guitar technique where you dampen the strings with the right or the left hand immediately after playing a chord.

Apoyando

Playing a rest-stroke in the right hand, whether with the thumb or the fingers.

Arpeggio

Arpeggio Technique in flamenco guitar is the playing of the notes of a chord in sequence rather than simultaneously. The a, m, and i fingers of the right hand are used in various combinations to play the notes of what is usually a static chord in the left hand.

B

Bailaor / Bailaora

Dancer (male / female)

Baile

Dance

Bulerías

Bulerías is a Palo that originated in Jeréz de la Frontera. It’s the fastest of the 12-beat compases in flamenco. A Bulerías can be played/sung/danced as its own Palo, but it is also often the climax of any dance in a 12-beat compás (Soleá, Soleá por Bulerías, Alegrías, Guajiras, etc…). It is often danced Por Fiesta, which means without the kind of structure that most dances have, but rather as one might dance at a party.

Some say that it is the most difficult of the Palos due to the speed, but that’s not necessarily so. At Flamenco Explained we believe that you can start playing Bulerías early in your flamenco journey if you take your time.

C

Cafés cantantes

This refers to establishments in Spain from about 1860 to the early 1900s that were the first places one could see flamenco performed professionally. They helped bring flamenco out of the private sphere and were essential in establishing the concept of the professional flamenco performer.

Cajón

Percussion instrument to sit on

Capirote

A type of golpe to create a percussive exclamation using the top of the right index finger and the top of the guitar. You might bleed a few times learning this one, so be careful, but it’s definitely super cool and very effective.

Cantaor

A singer

Cante

Cante Flamenco, or simply Cante, is flamenco singing. Before the guitar and the dance there was the Cante. Familiarity with the Cante is a requirement for any aspiring accompanist, and extremely helpful even for players who have no intention of accompanying, as it is the very essence of what flamenco is.

Cantaor / Cantaora

Singer (male / female)

Cante Chico

Literally Small Song, Cante Chico is the lighter, more playful side of flamenco. 

Cante grande

See Cante Jondo – they are the same thing, but Cante Jondo is more commonly used than Cante Grande.

Cantes de Ida y vuelta

Music brought back from the New World that was eventually incorporated into flamenco. Many of the Cantes de Ida y Vuelta are in 4/4 time and/or Major keys and are considered Cante Chico (light song, as opposed to Cante Jondo).

Cante jondo

Cante Jondo is the deepest, most heartfelt and solemn expression of Cante Flamenco. Seguirillas and Soleá are perhaps the most common examples of Cante Jondo.

Cantes de Levante

Cantes de Levante are the Cantes from the South Eastern part of Spain around Murcia, and include Tarantas, Mineras and Cartageneras, among others.

Claras

Light sounding palmas (hand claps)

Coletilla

A Coletilla (literally a little tail) is an extra something that can be added to the end of a Letra. They exist independently of the Letras, so the same Coletilla might be used on various Letras, just as a variety of Coletillas can be used on any given letra.

Colombianas

Colombianas is a Flamenco Palo – one of the Cantes de Ida y Vuelta (music brought to Spain from the New World). Colombianas is a 4/4 meter and played in a Major Key, most commonly A Major. It has a specific lilt to the rhythm, and melodically feels very similar to the guajiras, despite the completely different meters. 

COMPÁS Playing It

Compás has a lot of meanings. One of the meanings is one compás, which literally in Spanish just means one measure.

COMPÁS What is it?

Playing Compás as opposed to playing falsetas – one of the many meanings of Compás. A falseta is the melodic part that most of the guitarists compose for ourselves. And when we’re playing compás, we’re kind of keeping time. So, for example, if I was in Soleá again and I had finished my falseta and then I just wanted to play some compás, sort of keep time or glue together to falsetas, I would come back to a lot of this traditional material like 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12.

COMPÁS Are you In it?

Stay in compás! What it means to be in or out of compás. When we say you’re in compás or out of compás, and that just means that your compáses, the kind that we’ve already discussed, have one or more beats too many or too few. So, for example, if I’m in Soleá and I do 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, I’ve left out a beat in there. So I’m out of compás because I left out one of those beats of rest. Or I could do it too long. I could do 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14. That’s not good either. Too many beats. So to be in compás, you have to know what a compás is, and you have to play the right amount of beats. Always.

E

Escobilla

The Escobilla is the footwork section of any dance. It’s generally characterized by a strong pulse and there is no singing during an Escobilla. Many Palos have melodies that are specific to their Escobillas, and it’s quite common for guitarists to borrow from these melodies to create falsetas or compás variations even when there is no dance.

Estilo

Style. A palo can have several different estilos.

Estribillo

An Estribillo in flamenco is very much like a Chorus in pop music. An Estribillo doesn’t necessarily adhere to the same structures that a Letra would, and unlike a Letra it can be repeated either as a Coletilla or by itself. An Estribillo will generally be catchy and very melodic, in a way that Letras often are not.

F

Falseta

Falsetas are what many guitarists live for! A self-contained melodic idea, usually written by the guitarist, a falseta can be as many compáses long as the player desires. When we start out as guitarists we generally learn traditional falsetas, and as we advance we may learn falsetas written by our favorite players. Most professional guitarist will write their own falsetas, or will play variations of traditional ones.

Fandango

Fandangos are a big family of Cante that include many Libre styles such as Fandangos Naturales, Granainas, and Malagueñas as well as rhythmic styles like Fandangos de Huelva and many variations of the Abandolao rhythm.

Farrucos

Andalusian and Galician travelers.

Farruca

Farruca is a flamenco Palo that has a 4/4 meter and is played in a minor key, most commonly A minor. It’s generally characterized by lots of virtuosic footwork, and as such it was originally considered a very male dance. The amazing Carmen Amaya changed that by putting on pants and proving herself every bit as virtuosic and powerful with her feet as any man had been.

Festero

Festero can be a noun or an adjective, and in either case refers to the kind of flamenco that is fun and funny. Festeros (the people) are a special breed of flamenco who can turn anything into a party, and often have very entertaining letras and stories to tell. While the style is decidedly lighter, this in no ways implies that the Festeros themselves are any less talented than anyone else. 

Flamenco Cadence (Also called Andalusian Cadence)

The chord progression at the heart of all flamenco that is played in a Phrygian key is often called the Andalusian Cadence, though the term is mainly used by those outside of flamenco. In the world of flamenco, you will rarely hear people use this term. The cadence is a bIVm7, bIII (Major triad or 7 chord), bII (Major triad or 7 chord) resolving to a Tonic that is either a Major triad or a Major triad with an added b9. The two most common examples would be Am, G, F , E and Dm, C, Bb, A. All but the tonic are generally harmonized using the Phrygian scale, and the tonic is harmonized using the Phrygian Dominant, though both the b3 and natural 3 can be used in the scale.

G

Garrotín

Garrotín is a Flamenco Palo that has a 4/4 meter and is played in a Major key, most commonly in A Major. It is often danced with a hat, and let’s just say it’s not Kai’s favorite Palo.

Gitano

Spanish Gypsy/Roma people. Without Gitano culture, flamenco would certainly not exist in the form we know it.

Golpe

A Golpe is percussive strike on the body of the guitar. There are a few different kinds of Golpe, which are ways to strike the guitar with your nail or your hand for a percussive effect.

Golpeador

Plastic affixed to the soundboard of the guitar near the strings, in the right-hand (plucking) playing area.

Guajiras

Guajiras is a flamenco Palo. It’s a mid-tempo 12-beat compás and is played in a Major key, most commonly A Major. Named after Cuban Guajira/os (peasants or rural laborers), it’s one of the Cantes de Ida y Vuelta (music imported from the New World) and everything about it has what can only be described as a lilt. 

I

Ida y vuelta

Spanish people going to and coming back from South America.

Introducción

Introduction

J

Jaleo (Palo)

Jaleo is a flamenco Palo that has evolved to become a close relative to the Bulería, with perhaps more of a regular three-feel than a Bulería.

Jaleo (cheer)

Jaleos are the encouragement you might shout at a flamenco performer, either from on stage or off. Olé is the quintessential Jaleo.

L

Letra

A Letra is roughly analogous to a Verse in pop music. Each Palo has different styles of Letra, and each of these has a specific structure that the dancer or guitarist needs to be familiar with. Unlike verses in pop music, the various Letras in a dance or song are not necessarily related to one another thematically.

Legato

The opposite of Staccato, Legato means playing in a smooth way where the notes all feel connected. A great way to think of Legato is that you never hear notes end – they are simply replaced by other notes. 

Libre

Libre literally means “free” and in flamenco it refers to those Palos that don’t have meter. These Palos are generally from the Fandango family (though not all Fandangos are Libre), and include Fandangos Naturales, Granainas, Malagueñas and many many more. For guitar solos that are Libre, there will often be falsetas that are in a meter (a three fell more often than four), though this isn’t required in any way. It’s also common when accompanying Cante for resolutions and bits of the compás between Letras to sound very much “in compás,” though the Letras themselves are not.

Ligado

Slur technique in guitar, or what are otherwise known as hammer-ons and pull-offs. Not to be confused with Legato, which Kai talks about all the time. 

Llamada

Llamadas are like statements of the essence of the compás, of whatever palo you happen to be in. I think of them as punctuation. So you can use them to begin a new section or to close a section or a falseta. When you’re working with dancers and singers, a Llamada will call attention to the fact that you have just finished a section or that you’re about to start a new section, so that everyone is on the same page. Guitarists and dancers can have Llamadas, but singers do not. Auto-correct will insist on changing Llamada to Lambda.  

M

Macho

My working definition for a Macho is that it’s the (optional) bit towards the end of a piece in any Palo that wants to change. Often this change is a modulation to the Parallel Major key (e.g. E Phrygian to E Major), or a change in tempo. When it’s a change in tempo, it’s often a 12-beat compás turning into a Bulería or a 4/4 Palo turning into a Rumba. Some Machos are more subtle changes in the Cante that change neither key nor tempo, but just the structure of the Cante.

Malageńa

A flamenco Palo, the Malgueña is a Libre member of the Fandango family, almost always played in E Phrygian. The Malgueña is sung much more often than it is played as a solo pieced these days. The Macho of the malagueña is the Verdiales, which is an Abandolao rhythm also form the Fandango family.

N

Nudillos

Nudillos are knuckles, and in a flamenco context it means using your knuckles and a flicked finger to make percussive sounds on a table, a cajon, or really any wooden surface.

O

Olé

The quintessential cheer to shout at flamenco performers or at a bullfight. One of the nice things about flamenco is that it’s not as buttoned up as classical music or even jazz, so you can shout all kinds of encouragement at the performers. 

P

Palmas

Palmas is basically the rhythmic underpinning of everything in flamenco. It’s the hand claps that we do to keep time, or whoever’s not playing the guitar does. There’s two different kinds of sounds that we do with the palmas. One is called sordas, with a cupped hand, and the other called claras, where we really hit the palm of our left hand if we’re right handed with the fingers of the right hand. You’ll want to practice your palmas as much as possible!

Palo

A Palo or Palos are the styles or forms in flamenco, such as Soleá, Buleria or Fandango. So if someone says, what Palo are you playing? You would say, I’m playing Seguirilla or Guajira or whatever it happens to be. It literally means stick or branch, so the idea is that they are all branches of the tree of flamenco.

Palo seco

A palo seco or tapado are the same thing, and all it means is that we’re muting the guitar with our left hand as we use the right hand patterns that we would do for whatever we happen to be playing.

Patata

A Patada or Pataita is a short burst of dance, often por Bulerías, that shows off one’s personal style. Generally one dances one Letra por Bulerias and closes it with a flourish. It’s not a structured dance or a footwork section. It’s more like a moment to show who you are as a dancer or just have a bit of fun. Patadas are danced Por Fiesta, which means like at a party, where many people are involved dancing, singing and playing rather than a solo performance by anyone in particular.

Picado

Picado is just another word for playing scales in flamenco. Rest stroke scales in the right hand. Almost always we’re talking about using the middle and the index, the M and I fingers, to play our scale. So it’s just this technique. 

Pitos

Finger snaps.

Por Arriba

Por Arriba means playing in E Phrygian or, if you’re using a capo, playing with the chord shapes that would be E Phrygian if you didn’t have a capo. So while the capo on the third fret would make it so you’re really playing G Phrygian, the chord shapes you use make it look like E Phrygian (and we generally would talk about the chords as if we were playing without a capo, which would be super confusing to a piano or horn player). Solea, Malagueñas and Fandangos de Huelva are some Palos traditionally played Por Arriba.

Por fiesta

Por fiesta has two meanings. One is a style of dancing where a lot of different people will dance just a little bit, rather than constructing a huge solo. However, as a guitarist, por fiesta can also simply mean playing por medio.

Por Medio

Por Medio means playing in A Phrygian or, if you’re using a capo, playing with the chord shapes that would be A Phrygian if you didn’t have a capo. Tangos, Bulerias, Seguirillas and Soleá Por Bulería are some Palos traditionally played Por Medio. 

R

Rasgueado

Rasgueado is the most distinctive technique in flamenco. And most rasgueados are done with the fingers. So whether we’re doing four fingers, three fingers, two fingers, or even 1, I consider this a rasgueado? There are also the open-hand rasgueados, sometimes called Abanico or Molinillo, that are generally phrased in triplets.

Remate

A Remate is basically a closing phrase in flamenco, and can be the close of a big section, or just of one compás. 

Rumba

Rumba is a Flamenco Palo that’s considered a Cante de Ida y Vuelta (music brought from the New World). It’s in 4/4 meter and can be in any key, any mode, any tempo. The distinctive feature is an accent on the 2-and, and there are many many ways of expressing Rumbas. Rumbas are as close to pop music as flamenco generally comes.

S

Salida

A Salida is like an introduction by either a singer or a dancer (Salida de baile or Salida de Cante). It’s the singer or dancer sort of preparing to begin, though it is also part of the actual performance and as such is stylized and not a warmup or anything like this.

Seguirillas

Flamenco Palo, also spelled Siguirillas, Seguiriya and Seguidilla, is a Flamenco Palo that many consider the essence of Cante Jondo. Though in a sense it can be viewed as a 12-beat compás, it is counted in 5 accents, with the space between the accents not uniform. You can also think of it as a sort of “backwards” Soleá, but really it’s better to learn it as its own thing and to count it in 5 the way everyone in flamenco does.

Silencío

The slow, minor-key section an Alegrías. The traditional Silencio is 6 compases long and played in the parallel minor to. the Major key that the Alegrías is in. It isn’t danced every Alegriás, so if you meet a new dancer and they tell you they’re going to dance an Alegrías, it’s always wise to ask if they plan on dancing a Silencio.

Soleá

Often called the Mother of Flamenco, Soleá, or Soleares, is one of the essential Palos in flamenco. It’s the slowest of the 12-beat compases, and is played in a Phrygian key, most commonly Por Arriba. The Cante of Soleá is considered Cante Jondo, but a danced Soleá will start as a Soleá, may include a faster Soleá Por Bulería section, and will typically end Por Bulerías.

Solo de pie

Literally means a foot solo. A section of any dance that features mainly footwork, often without any accompaniment. Distinct from an Escobilla.

Soniquete

Soniquete is to flamenco what swing is to jazz – that extra something that takes you from “in compás” to actually grooving.

Sordas

Muted sounding Palmas (hand claps)

Subida

A subida is a gradual speeding up of tempo, and generally refers to when a dancer brings up the tempo through footwork.

T

Tablao

A tablao is a club where you can see flamenco performed, as opposed to a more formal performance space. Because the performances in Tablaos are often improvised, the word is also used to describe a style of dancing and playing that is more improvised, rather than the more choreographed style you might see in a concert hall.

Tangos

Tangos is a Flamenco Palo played in 4/4 time and in a Phrygian key, most commonly Por Medio. 

Tapado

Playing the guitar as a percussion instrument by muting the strings with the left hand.

Tarantas

Tarantas is a Flamenco Palo that is one of the Cantes de Levante. It’s a Libre Palo, and the guitarist typically plays in F# Phrygian (or the chord shapes that would be F# Phrygian without a capo).

Tarantos

Closely related to Tarantas, Tarantos is a Flamenco Palo that is one of the Cantes de Levante. It can be sung or played and also danced, and like Tarantas it is traditionally played in F# Phrygian.

Tientos

The slowest Palo in the Tientos-Tangos-Rumba continuum, Tientos is a Flamenco Palo in a slow, stately 4/4 meter that is played in a Phrygian key, most commonly por Medio.Flamenco Palo in 4/4 time.

Tirando

Playing free-strokes in the right hand, whether with the thumb or fingers. 

Tonic

The tonic is the main note or chord of the key that you happen to be in. So in normal Western music, if we were in the key of C, that note/chord that feels like home is the tonic. Without getting into any music theory, in a Bulería, for example, that A is the tonic – it’s the root of the chord that you keep coming back to, that you resolve to. Very often it’s referred to as home, which in most music makes perfect sense.

Toque

Guitar playing

Tresilo

Triplet

Z

Zapateado

Zapateado means footwork, but it’s also one of the Flamenco Palos. As a Palo it is one of the very few (actually the only one I can think of) that has no Cante, and as such is danced with only guitar to accompany it. It’s played in a Major key, often in C Major, and the meter is a sort of polyrhythm of 6/8 and 2/4.