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came across this fascinating snippet of info about pdl on wikipedia:
"It is said that he is able to play 16th note triplets at 180 BPM (that is, 18 notes per second)"
well it might be fascinating if i could understand it - can any music theorists explain what this means?? okay it says '18 notes per second' but what is a '16th note triplet'?
In common time there are four beats to the bar. Tap your foot One, TWO, THREE, FOUR.
If a note or clap fell on each beat the value of each note would be a quarter of the bar, hence 'quarter note'.
Now if you tap your foot on each beat but clap twice to each beat, you are clapping in eighths, because there are eight in bar.
Clap your hand 4 times to each beat and you are clapping in sixteenths.
With me so far? Straightforward fractions and subdivision.
Now comes the tricky bit which makes more sense if you read music...
Clap your hands three times to each beat - those are notated like eighths but with a bar joining them with a 3 above it indicating a triplet - hence 'eighth note triplets'. Clap six times to a beat and you have sixteenth note triplets.
The maths:
180 beats per minute X 6 notes per beat = 1080 notes per minute
= 18 notes per second
PS this uses the American terminology for naming note values. In the UK we have a far more logical and easy to understand system where we call them crotchets, quavers, semi-quavers, demi-semi-quavers, hemi-demi-semi-quavers and so on
It is said that he is able to play 16th note triplets at 180 BPM (that is, 18 notes per second)
Well that would be with rasgueado of course! And honestly he could probably go a bit faster than that with Abanico. (three stroke wrist action strum). And maybe some legatos he can do that fast too. But really there are plenty of average flamenco guitarists that can do those techniques equally fast.
The true amazingness of his speed is his general sense of timing, and his sound. His picado is really the fast thing everyone is amazed at, but no way can he do 18 nps. The fastest I have heard is on "Solo quiero Caminar", some of the rumbas on there like "Chanela" where he does 32nd notes at 115 bpm with picado alternating index and middle finger. That is more like 15.3 nps.
Perhaps Paco's true limit for this type of thing is a little above that speed. AT 120bpm 32nd notes would be 16nps. Usually Paco rips the fast runs around 107bpm very comfortably (14.27 nps). Not a coincidence the speed record for straight sticking drums is around 16nps. Doing rolls (bouncing sticks) can go much faster, and that is the same for doing rasgueados and legato on flamenco guitar, or for electric guitarists, doing flutter picking or sweep picking.
Ok a demo? Here is Paco doing a miriad of techniques at 180-190 bpm. Picado and alzapua at 190 (the fastest it gets on this tune) are a mere 12.67 nps. But the abanico rasgueado (with the wrist moving, brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!) would be sextuplets, or close to 19 nps!
Ricardo PS, 16th note triplets are also known as sextuplets, sixes, and 24th notes.
whhhaaaa? when its put in terms of notes per second it seems laughably ridiculously amazingly fast.
quote:
The true amazingness of his speed is his general sense of timing, and his sound
this is the thing innit, its as if his brain is thinking purposefully behind every note to make it strong. you also see this clarity in tomatito and gerardo (among others)- undescribable yet at the same time so definable...
p.s i like the way you put the tag for la barossa as 'shred' aswell ricardo, imagine all the hardcore metal guitarists you're converting!
p.ps romanza i hear you went to lewes to see pablo, i did last weekend, what guitars eh?!
Indeed. i had a go one one of the luthier models although i was too nervous to attempt to play it properly, but the difference is just so amazing. they seem to make playing effortless!
that said i am very happy with the guitar i bought from him - the cashimira 87. it is a student guitar but also has a great sound.
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And honestly he could probably go a bit faster than that with Abanico. (three stroke wrist action strum). And maybe some legatos he can do that fast too. But really there are plenty of average flamenco guitarists that can do those techniques equally fast. 
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