Farruca for Dance Class!

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Stu

Posts: 2536
Joined: Jan. 30 2007
From: London (the South of it), England

Farruca for Dance Class!

Hi folks!

I've been invited to sit in on a dance class on Thursday and they are working on beginners level Farruca.

The teacher said I can just watch or join in and play...(which I'll probably want to do)

I know a few bits of Farruca and was just wondering if anyone can shed some light on how much material Id need to accompany a beginners farrucas class??

How fast does a beginners class move? will I just be playing a classic farruca compas over and over??

I guess some of these question may seem vague and things may differ from class to class, but I think I'm just looking for some reassuring hints/advice prior to the class!

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 26 2009 4:18:42

xirdneH_imiJ

Posts: 1892
Joined: Dec. 2 2006
From: Budapest, now in Southampton

RE: Farruca for Dance Class! (in reply to Stu)

you'll be most likely playing the same thing over and over, but it's good because it forces you to vary it...the teacher will most likely be telling you where to play a falseta if needed...it'll need to be a basic simple thing...
beginners move very slowly, so you'll have plenty of time to think what fits where, and sometimes if you do this often, you'll be bored to death :)
so don't worry you'll have no problems, maybe you want to look at some paco pena farruca or other simple stuff so you'll feel prepared...but you really can't go wrong if you know the basic stuff...

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 26 2009 5:39:14

val

Posts: 800
Joined: Apr. 4 2007

[Deleted]

Post has been moved to the Recycle Bin at Nov. 8 2010 12:30:05

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 26 2009 11:32:46

Chiste de Gales

Posts: 298
Joined: Jan. 13 2009

RE: Farruca for Dance Class! (in reply to Stu)

a slight variation in your rasgeos is probably ok, but Id expect the teacher
will probably not want you to play falsetas while accompanying beginners.
It can be distracting for them.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 26 2009 13:02:40

burnsbyrne

Posts: 44
Joined: Sep. 17 2005
From: NE Ohio, USA

RE: Farruca for Dance Class! (in reply to Chiste de Gales)

I played for biginner and intermediate dance classes for several years and about the only time I played falsetas was during warm ups at the beginning of the classes. Beginners need a slow, steady and prominant rhythm. As they begin to get comfortable with the steps you can vary your strum pattern a bit but don't lose or disguise the big beats. It is good practice for you to refine your rhythmic skills and build strength in your right hand. Plus, the teacher doesn't have to fuss with tapes or CDs. She'll tell you if she wants you to slow down or speed up. Whatever you do, make sure you watch their feet!
Mike

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 27 2009 11:21:49

at_leo_87

Posts: 3055
Joined: Aug. 30 2008
From: Boston, MA, U.S.A

RE: Farruca for Dance Class! (in reply to Stu)

this is what is great about dance class. it forces you to learn new material and learn it well.

just learn everything about farrucas including escobillas, if they even have that in farrucas. they really don't need fancy stuff. just keep your compas super tight! tap your feet. dont slow down or speed up.

all i hear from both dance teachers was that all they ever wanted was a guitarist who had good compas. so don't worry, you'll be fine. have fun. i bet you're excited! do a good job and you'll feel like a rockstar at the end of class.

let us know how it goes.

_____________________________

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 27 2009 21:59:27

minordjango

Posts: 918
Joined: Feb. 26 2005

RE: Farruca for Dance Class! (in reply to Stu)

maybe if time permits a few folks can upload some basic compas ideas that work well in the dance class situation ?

would be great for some of us who have no oppotnity to play in that sitation and would like to learn about it

most books focus on falsettas and not the Rhyhmic parts.

mind you looking at the M.Cordoba method its seems like the material is good for dance classes

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 27 2009 22:33:05

Stu

Posts: 2536
Joined: Jan. 30 2007
From: London (the South of it), England

RE: Farruca for Dance Class! (in reply to minordjango)

Thanks guys! thanks for tips and encouragement.

I'm pretty sure I'll be able to cope especially as there will be the regular guitarist at this class and he's amplified apparently so illbe able to strum along quietly..

Yeah leo I am excited! This is a long overdue step for me so I can't wait.
Spoke to teacher yesterday and she said they are doing Farruca first then Choreographing and Alegrias in the afternoon class which is my favourite so great!!

Will let ya know how it goes!!

stu

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 28 2009 1:31:48

orsonw

Posts: 1934
Joined: Jul. 4 2009
From: London

RE: Farruca for Dance Class! (in reply to Stu)

I feel the best way is just to dive in at the deep end. It's good to learn how to listen to what dancers or singers are doing and then play in response to that. Picking up on dynamics and rhythmic phrases and then either reinforce or syncopate. I develop so much from having to come up with compas that suits dancers contratiempo or particular choreography. This way one also begins developing one's own style
Of course knowing some basics and already having a few ideas of what you could do is helpful. I highly recommend Jason's flamenco-lessons.com it's a bargain and the best resource I've seen for learning accompaniment. Farruca is not the best represented palo but he does have a good lesson, which I think would suit you. It has various compas phrases, rasgeo and appergio. It would be enough to get you going. Enjoy yourself!

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 28 2009 14:59:10

Stu

Posts: 2536
Joined: Jan. 30 2007
From: London (the South of it), England

RE: Farruca for Dance Class! (in reply to orsonw)

Hey guys,

Class went really well!

Beginners class was fun, and we started playing a little improvised rumba so the dancers could just warm up, stretch etc.

Then they started practicing Farruca steps/moves and I just strummed along with the other guitarist who was amped up. the compas strumming was all good and we ended up playing fairly quickly in some places...

The class was a bit weird in the sense that alot of the students didn't seem interested......The class is run at an adult learning college, so it felt like there were a few folk in the class that didnt see any long term future in flamenco dancing but simply wanted to try something different and some of them didn't seem interested at points.

The second class was inmtermediate and hence was a bit more serious.

We played fandangos de huelva (which was cool cos I'd just done a workshop on it a few days before)

Then we played some Alegrias for the stuff they'd already choreographed. which was good.

I spoke to the teacher at the end and she said I'd done great and the other guitarist thought I was nice etc and hed be happy to have me join him whenever...

She also invited me to play for her other classes which she doesnt have a guitarist for, which is fantastic. Its tientos and and more farruca!

So on the whole it was a great first experience in a dance class and reassuring that all my practice and slog hasnt been a waste.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 30 2009 2:42:31

at_leo_87

Posts: 3055
Joined: Aug. 30 2008
From: Boston, MA, U.S.A

RE: Farruca for Dance Class! (in reply to Stu)

quote:

I spoke to the teacher at the end and she said I'd done great and the other guitarist thought I was nice etc and hed be happy to have me join him whenever...

She also invited me to play for her other classes which she doesnt have a guitarist for, which is fantastic. Its tientos and and more farruca!

nice, good for you! does she teach two classes? having two guitarists is fun in a way but working on your own gives you much more freedom.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 30 2009 12:36:39

xirdneH_imiJ

Posts: 1892
Joined: Dec. 2 2006
From: Budapest, now in Southampton

RE: Farruca for Dance Class! (in reply to Stu)

it's great, it's a chance for you to learn a lot if you can sit in alone in classes...trust me on this one, i did the same thing and it helped my playing enormously, hand stamina gets much better and understanding little variations the dancers do is invaluable...

it's like that, many of the dancers are not very interested in flamenco, no disrespect meant towards them of course, but in my experience more than half of them haven't a clue and really just go there to try something else, they see the nice dresses, they've seen a sevillana at a show...and that's all fine...but few of them go onto intermediate level and you'll meet very few of them in advanced classes later on...but i guess it's like that with most art forms...

btw you're going to do this frequently, you might want to put something on your nails...

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 30 2009 14:16:02

gshaviv

Posts: 272
Joined: Mar. 22 2005
From: Israel

RE: Farruca for Dance Class! (in reply to minordjango)

quote:

maybe if time permits a few folks can upload some basic compas ideas that work well in the dance class situation ?

Yes, that would be nice.

quote:

most books focus on falsettas and not the Rhyhmic parts.

It seems that finding material for dance is much harder then finding solo stuff. When I started playing for dance I found I can't use most of the stuff I know. Most of the time in dance class the teacher just wants you playing compas and you need to find ways to bring some variety and fun to that.

quote:

mind you looking at the M.Cordoba method its seems like the material is good for dance classes

quote:

I had his book for a while and didn't start looking at it until I started playing for dance. But you very quickly exhaust that book and keep looking for more ways to play the basic compas. Seems like the only way now to learn it is to play with someone experienced. I'm also looking for easy falsetas that have a strong rhythmic feeling.

_____________________________

Guy

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 30 2009 22:09:01