Farruca Foot Tapping

Costs are rising and times are tough.
Please consider a donation to keep this
place going.

Welcome to one of the most active flamenco sites on the Internet. Guests can read most posts but if you want to participate click here to register.

This site is dedicated to the memory of Paco de Lucía, Ron Mitchell, Guy Williams, Linda Elvira, Philip John Lee, Craig Eros, Ben Woods, David Serva and Tom Blackshear who went ahead of us.

We receive 12,200 visitors a month from 200 countries and 1.7 million page impressions a year. To advertise on this site please contact us.

You are logged in as Guest

Users viewing this topic: none

Printable Version

All Forums >>Discussions >>General >>

Page: [1]

Message

<< Newer Topic Older Topic >>

srshea

Posts: 833
Joined: Oct. 29 2006
From: Olympia, WA in the Great Pacific Northwest

Farruca Foot Tapping

I’ve always just tapped a straight forward 4/4 in farruca, but I’ve been working through Chuck Keyser’s material and he taps on the first and third beats of each measure. I tried this out last night and it really threw me. The feel is totally different and was hard to adjust to. Tapping straight fours has a bouncing, forward-moving feel, while tapping every other beat creates, for me, a really odd rocking back and forth feel. I could get the hang of it during strumming, but when I tried playing falsetas I got caught up, like I was getting tangled in a jump rope.

Are either of these tapping approaches “right” or is each valid depending on the feel you’re going for?

Thanks,

Adam

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 1 2008 9:33:32

Ricardo

Posts: 14875
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC

RE: Farruca Foot Tapping (in reply to srshea) 1 votes

If you get to accompany dance, you will discover that it helps to be able to tap both ways. Because that awkward feeling needs to be...not awkward. It makes it easy to jump to a half time or double time feel with no problem...and that happens A LOT with flamenco dance accompaniment.

I prefer to do slow steady foot tapping all the time if I can. Just 1 and3 of a 4/4, or just 1,3,5 of a 6 beat rhythm, or just 1 of a 3 beat rhythm, etc.... it seems harder because you are feeling more subdivisions of the beat, and in the end, that will help your groove a lot IMO.

Ricardo

_____________________________

CD's and transcriptions available here:
www.ricardomarlow.com

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 1 2008 13:39:21

srshea

Posts: 833
Joined: Oct. 29 2006
From: Olympia, WA in the Great Pacific Northwest

RE: Farruca Foot Tapping (in reply to Ricardo)

Thanks, Ricardo. That’s all very helpful. I’ve never accompanied before, but I did just get a lead on someone who’s doing a beginning dance class here in town, so I may get a chance to do so in the near future. At any rate, learning to tap both ways sounds like a good plan.

And to clarify regarding this:

quote:

just 1 of a 3 beat rhythm

So you just tap the first beat in sevillanas?

Thanks again,

Adam

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 1 2008 15:21:50

mark indigo

Posts: 3625
Joined: Dec. 5 2007

RE: Farruca Foot Tapping (in reply to srshea)

sometimes you get an irregular half compas/bar whatever ie an "extra" or "odd" 2 beats here and there... i'm not saying in dance, but i think from what i remember there's a couple in paco's "farruca de lucia"

just though i'd throw that in....

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 2 2008 12:37:03