A Powerful First Impression
I still remember the first Flamenco show I ever saw in Spain. It was at the Cordoba Guitar Festival in 1988 and the group performing was Zambra de Sacromonte (which is pretty appropriate since I now live in Granada). I’m not sure what the average age of the performers was, but I’d bet that most of them had grandchildren. The show wasn’t about virtuosity that night, but there was plenty of power and lots of fun. That performance has stuck with me. Even as a teenager I was awed by the idea that this group of artists, who weren’t all about the technical virtuosity I was so hungry to get for myself, could make me feel so much. And that falseta!
I literally remember a falseta I heard once in that show, now over 35 years ago. The guitarist, whoever he was, could have been my grandfather. And in the middle of a Bulerias, presumably a Fin de Fiesta, he busted out this falseta. He basically just sat on this one power chord (the one from the beginning of this Quique Paredes falseta) with his thumb and played with the rhythm of it for what felt like minutes, and it was glorious. I’m not saying that the guy didn’t have chops or that a beginner could play that falseta, but it wasn’t about virtuosity. It was about fun and about power. It left me gob-smacked, and it showed me that I didn’t necessarily have to have Paco-like Picado to play flamenco.
This got me thinking about the parallels between Flamenco and Blues, and about something really important that both can teach us.
Blues is like Flamenco?
There are actually a lot of parallels between Flamenco and the Blues. Both are the Folk music of an oppressed people and both have so much power and expressiveness that they have become universally beloved. Plus, the guitar just kind of wants you to play Blues on it – I think most of us, even if we’re not Blues players, have messed around with Blues at least a little.
And there’s one aspect of both that I think is particularly important to embrace for those of us who may not be among the top handful of virtuosos in their field: Both can be powerfully expressed by an amateur with little technique or by incredible virtuosos.
The Blues Guitar Gods
If you think about B. B. King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton or Buddy Guy, to name just a few players with different styles, you probably think about their sound, their inventiveness, and their virtuosity. These guys are (or were) superstars, and you could argue that they elevated the Blues to an almost Baroque-level art form. But the power of the Blues is also there in artists who just know a few chords and maybe a couple of licks, but who can nevertheless transmit the power of the art form and the power of their emotions. The virtuosos are great, of course, but so are the everyday folks who play the Blues away from any stage. And often it’s more fulfilling to hear simpler Blues, expressed authentically.
Flamenco is essentially the same in this respect. We can be blown away by the sheer technical prowess and sophistication of players like Paco, Vicente Amigo or Antonio Rey, but we can be equally moved by the drama or the exuberance of a performance by a guitarist with just a few chords or a singer without an operatic voice.
In both cases you’ll also find those who argue that all of that virtuosity and sophistication have ruined the essence of the art form. That the “pure” form of the art requires simplicity over sophistication, power over virtuosity. We’ll leave that discussion for later…
What Is Real
My take is that what is “real” involves using what you have and what you are to express your own experience. If you plug in your electric guitar and your tone sounds like B. B. King’s, it would be a bit silly to suggest you try to sound less lush (I don’t know what the word is for B. B.’s tone, but for me it was just its own thing – instantly recognizable and gorgeous). Similarly you wouldn’t expect someone who can write like Vicente Amigo to keep it simple just to please a few purists.
But there are myriad examples in both Flamenco and the Blues of simple, direct performances that go straight to the heart.
Keep It Simple (and Strong)
My good friend Rina Orellana, who runs the Online Flamenco Studio (Like Flamenco Explained for dancers) likes to tell her students about what she calls KISS – Keep It Simple and Strong. In dance as with the guitar, performing something simple that lets you express yourself rather than struggling with technique will always make for a better performance. You’re also more likely to perform with confidence and conviction when you perform material you truly own.
I wrote another blog post about The Power of Simple Falsetas, and how not only will you sound better playing simple stuff, but it will even help you play the hard stuff better. If you’re not convinced, the Blues might help you see what I’m getting at here.
Of course I’m not here to tell you not to aspire to play better, or not to try that virtuosic falseta. That’s just part of the fun, and part of what makes us grow as players. But there’s so much value to embracing the simple, and there are times when there’s nothing more moving than simple, confident, powerful self-expression.
P.S. If you want to hear what Blues and Flamenco sound like together, check out Pata Negra. Their album Blues de la Frontera blew my mind when I first heard it. The band’s leader Raimundo Amador, is a fantastic flamenco guitarist who has been fusing Flamenco and Blues for decades now.
Excellent post Kai!
I agree wholeheartedly.
I hired a well known sax player for my Saltwater Blues once who was worlds beyond my abilities as a musician and bandleader. He put my nerves to rest by saying something like “there ain’t no end to the blues so don’t sweat it’ kinda like we are all at the foot of a great mountain and just climbing alongside each other trying to express ourselves and keep it real. From a distance we are all just beginners.
I love your insights and the paths you have opened for me through your lessons, even though I don’t really play Flamenco but I can confidently say Flamenco-ish when describing influences now.
As a recovering Jazz musician, I can say that the Blues are a healing tonic. And that bottle is never empty. Simple is beautiful…..Geeze I ramble…..