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Posts: 211
Joined: Mar. 19 2024
From: Hunan, China
Feeling difficult to catch llamada
Hi guys! How are you? I have lived in Sydney for about two months. And I have found a good dance workshop to accompany. The dancing teacher is Manuel Cano's niece, and she knows how to work with guitar players.
Recently, we have been preparing for a performance at a community festival, and I find it difficult to catch llamada of the dancers. I know that llamada is a branch of special feetwork to call guitar players, but how can I notice that every time?
In addition, I would like to know some flamenco guitar fans in Sydney
Posts: 15943
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC
RE: Feeling difficult to catch llamada (in reply to hxwhf72752003)
There are "secret code" feet and arm signals that clue you in, and if there is singing, it might go with that as well, depending on context. I would have to see it to explain. Anyway, I was learning this stuff and scratching my head in dance class back in 1997, and then later I was watching a boot leg video of Paco de Lucia's group and notice both Manolo Soler and Grillo doing the llamada and paco responding and it suddenly clicked for me.
Here at 3:16 is a short one compas llamada, then at 3:47 the double compas "desplante", I think it refers to when the compas sort changes to the "1,2,3 etc" of Solea feeling despite the fast tempo. Again a one compas llamada stops it at 4:01 notice the arm movement and three stomps, very typical thing here. At 7:19 the arms come up to do a llamada for the cante (buleria de Cadiz). Final llamada or "cierre" at 7:51
RE: Feeling difficult to catch llamada (in reply to hxwhf72752003)
quote:
I find it difficult to catch llamada of the dancers.
Do mean noticing the llamada when it starts? Or being able to accompany it well when you hear it? Which palo are you working on?
These days often the llamada is 3-4 compas long with accents in unusual places e.g divisions between beats, or on 4,7, 9 etc..
Sometimes it's good to mark exactly what they're doing, and sometimes play straight, so their syncopations work against your rhythm. Of course a strong ending or accent needs to be with them. I suggest start by learning the exact llamadas in the class. Over time you'll notice common patterns in different llamadas that you encounter, and you'll have an accompaniment vocabulary to use.
Posts: 211
Joined: Mar. 19 2024
From: Hunan, China
RE: Feeling difficult to catch llamada (in reply to orsonw)
Hi orsonw. I am working on Bulerias and Alegrias. For Alegrias, I know how to deal with llamada. But it is difficult for me to find it before. I can find llamada in Bulerias easily but I don't know how to accompany it. Do I need to play some special strumming in there？
Posts: 15943
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC
RE: Feeling difficult to catch llamada (in reply to hxwhf72752003)
Technically the bulería llamadas are in fact what is happening in that performance I posted. Rather, they are being used to bridge between the slower escobilla (using soleá compás), and establish the conclusion of the "subida" or tempo increase/build up, sort of like saying, "ok we have reached the threshold, it is now bulerías", and you keep going with the new tempo. There was the one that was used as a cierre or closing of the bulería so that a brand new tempo could be started over (4 minute mark). So think of them as "bookends" or transition points. Ironically, they are phrased like a super fast soleá (1-10 phrase) in the middle of the otherwise normal bulería feeling, and the playing needs to reflect that even if what you actually play is very subtle. And of course a cierre has to stop on 10, so even if you miss the llamada start, you need to stop the rhythm.
So, they are very important as transitions within a larger dance structure that are connecting "seemingly" unrelated cantes (we have a family tree actually), like Soleá and Alegrías, but when you are doing just a pure bulería from the start to end (like fin de fiesta style), there are llamada movements that often go with the letra (the cambio and conclusion for example), and although they "fit like a glove" in those moments with the singing, the guitar does not play anything different than what you play for normal cante (like C-F, Bb-A over two compáses in normal rhythm that you would do). After that the letra might shift to relative major, and this could be called in again with llamada by the dancer. In all honesty when all this is going on the guitar can basically "ignore" the signals etc., and just play as normal for the cante. If there is no cante going on, the guitar is free to express them as you would per the examples given, but it is not really functioning to do anything because the fiesta just keeps going. Perhaps try to recognize the movements in Farruco's arm work in the following. The big clues are again, the arms, and the "1,2,3" stomping or marking of the soleá beat. Hint: there are three, and a 4th to exit.
RE: Feeling difficult to catch llamada (in reply to hxwhf72752003)
quote:
Do I need to play some special strumming in there？
Yes but what you play depends on the dancer and the moment. As Ricardo points out often starts with foot marking 1,2,3, but there can be all kind of variations.
If you're playing for a class they'll be doing the same llamada every time, study the footwork and mark it. Don't know what level the class is and how straight forward the baile? Does it start on 1 or off the prior 10, or 12? Does it break on 3, or 4 or 4&, on 7& etc.. does it end on 9 or 9&, 10 or 12?
There's not some standard blueprint strumming to learn. Though good to have a decent abanico and also up/down rasg.
I suggest learn specifically what works for the llamada in the class. You can expand from there. It's like cante accompaniment- best to focus on learning specific performance of specific palo/estilo rather than try to learn everything at once. You can look at youtube of dancers and baile accompanists you like, see what they do for inspiration.
Posts: 211
Joined: Mar. 19 2024
From: Hunan, China
RE: Feeling difficult to catch llamada (in reply to hxwhf72752003)
An interesting thing. I was told that dancers usually do 4 compas as one group. When they do marcaje and footwork, they will do 4 compas work as one part and then change it.
But I find that some guitarists' falseta don't follow this system. One of Chicuelo's alegrias falseta is 10 compas, but he uses it in tablao or theater. If academic-style dancers prepare their show with guitar players in advance, they will fit the music in the theater. But how can a tablao dancer adapt to it if they work with this music, which doesn't follow the 4 compas system for the first time?
RE: Feeling difficult to catch llamada (in reply to hxwhf72752003)
quote:
I was told that dancers usually do 4 compas as one group. When they do marcaje and footwork, they will do 4 compas work as one part and then change it.
Maybe this is the case with your dance teacher's choreography but in general there are no rules. Marcaje should be responding to the cante, of course in classes they box the cante. Though if you are doing alegrias cante will be an odd number 5, 7, 9 ,11 depending on if there's coletilla, repeats. Maybe a respiro or contestación after first sung line makes it even, but the footwork there will be specific to that compas. In professional settings the cante is also usually boxed in, though I notice a new trend of allowing the cante some freedom. The dancer wouldn't accept their foot work section being an exact pre-determined number of compas.
Tablao is what's happening in the moment e.g. this is why llamadas exist. Although they might have a chat before to give each other an idea of what might be coming e.g. dancers says I want silencio to be X compas.
Short answer- accompanying baile by counting number of compas may help you to start, but you will get stuck/lost if you cannot follow what is happening without counting compas.
Posts: 15943
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC
RE: Feeling difficult to catch llamada (in reply to hxwhf72752003)
quote:
An interesting thing. I was told that dancers usually do 4 compas as one group. When they do marcaje and footwork, they will do 4 compas work as one part and then change it.
Cuadrao on top of cuadrao on top of cuadrao. Often this results from dance academy training where the teacher wants the group to have it all together by drilling starting on the right foot, then start the same sequence on the left etc. It is technique training (watch the film Carmen by saura that has Paco de Lucia acting in it has himself ). These students often cant discern training technique from choreography creation, and bring that baggage to the stage. One lady I worked with was so predictable doing these long phrases on one foot then I was like, “ok here we go now left foot another 8 compases“. These skills are important but should be used in an improvised and concise manner to build intensity etc. As musicians we call it “phrasing”.
There can be an opposite situation where a dancer sets their routine to some guitarist’s unusual phrasing and then upon working with a new guitarist, it doesn’t jive until the math gets figured out. Use what you learn as a “blue print structure” subject to change as needed.
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