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I am a beginner to flamenco and currently going through Graf-Martinez book.
My question is about Rasgueo timing. In one the practice exercises, he has the stroke pattern and rhythm as follows
3/4 time signature:
first beat: i-rasgueo rasgueo downstroke (1/8th note)
followed by a and m resgueo downstrokes (each 1/16th note)
second beat: the i-rasqueo downstroke (1/8th note) - this finishes the three finger rasqueo (a-m-i) that started between the first and second beat.
When I set the metronome to slower count, it is easy for me to make sure that each stroke is executed at the right time and each have the right duration
My concern is when I am playing at higher speeds. I can play along with his own recording, and my i-strokes all fall exactly on the right time. But I can't tell if my a and m are exactly on the right time or not.
at higher beat (above 70-80bpm) my ears cannot tell if my 3-finger rasgueo is strictly on time or not, but visually just looking at my fingers, it appears that the time interval between my a-finger and m-finger release is shorter than between the m-finger and i-finger- we are talking one note between slight less or more than 1/16th count.
So my question is how important is that? If I cannot hear the difference, and the accents sound like they are exactly at the right time, does it matter? Or would a more experienced player be able to tell the difference right away and recognize poor technique?
Posts: 15725
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC
RE: three finger rasgueo timing question (in reply to apak)
fast or slow, rhythm is a "feeling", and you could potentially be feeling it wrong at different speeds. The best thing is to record yourself and listen back objectively. You should be able to sense, as an outsider, if the rhythm is flowing correctly or not. Make sure to record playing along to the metronome. If you are still unsure of yourself, post a clip of it on hear, and you will get the feedback you need for sure.
RE: three finger rasgueo timing question (in reply to apak)
I was just about to respond to this post and Ricardo beat me to it.
quote:
So my question is how important is that?
It's very important, but it sounds to me like you're probably doing it right and just have to keep working on it. Like Ricardo said, use a metronome and/or upload a file of your playing, if possible.
You can also try counting with syllables:
1 and 2 and 3 and...
If your ring finger (a) falls on the "and" and your index (i) falls on the beat, it's probably okay.
Or you can try tapping the beat (the numbers) with your left foot and the "ands" with your right foot to see where the rasgueado strokes fall.
If you want to look at the underlying subject more closely, start by comparing "straight" and "swing" eighth-note rhythms (and dotted eighth + sixteenth). At the bottom of this page there's a chart that shows a few ways to contrast similar rhythms:
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