Aire and Compas

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Aire and Compas

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gounaro

Posts: 875
Joined: Sep. 28 2008
From: Athens, Hellas

Aire and Compas

I think that the most important for flamenco guitar is the... aire feeling. No matter how difficult falsetas we're playing. Maybe sometimes its more appropriate to play something easier than spending many hours of practicing to get a falseta and at last became... classical guitar players.

I realise that there is no problem to play simple things but straight in compas (the most important thing). Spending so much time (specially for beginners like me) to reach a higher level playing Tomatito, Vicente Amigo, PDL and so many others, is a waste of time, forgetting the basics.

I really want to know your opinion about that.

_____________________________

Spyros

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 7 2011 18:52:13

Harry

Posts: 390
Joined: Jun. 24 2010
From: Montreal, Canada

RE: Aire and Compas (in reply to gounaro)

I agree with you a million percent.

I started playing flamenco and listening to Montoya, Ricardo and Sabicas, then Paco, and I just thought I will learn these falsetas and stick them together in many ways, this is flamenco right? This is improvisation.

Wrong!

Then I watched the encuentro video of Merengue de Cordoba where he plays the simplest basic rhythms and then a few very simple falsetas, and I was blown away because he was so much more flamenco. Why?

Compas and Aire.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 7 2011 19:52:25

Tomrocker

Posts: 404
Joined: Apr. 18 2010
From: Italy

RE: Aire and Compas (in reply to gounaro)

Hey Gounaro,

I believe that the most important in flamenco toque is the understanding of every basic . rythem and compas. For beginners like us, the technique, is essential and speed comes with time as soon as you play a clean piece. There are things that no book can teach to a flamenco student and you just have to see and hear to get it correctly. like the thumb for example when you MUST you apoyando cuz the sound is really different if it's not, or the tremolo that should be studied slowly so as to be gotten right. Then comes to normal question that every beginner make. '' How can i play a complete whole piece with no mistakes?! to answer this question i started ask myself more questions! like:

1- How many time i'm eager to dedicate to the guitar?
2- Do i track a blog for my progress as i do at the gym?!
3- Do i focus on the difficult things i know that i do bad?
4- What did i gain this week/ moth/ or YEAR?!

Aire is something that comes with experience, i asked Ramzi about this once and he replied '' It's years of continuos playing '' Even with the simplest guitar, he can make me feel ''Flamenco Aire in anything he produce'' and not to seem dull, my teacher told me not to loose the compas '' If i loose this on stage accompanying a singer i'm the one who screwed and putting time and effort to study a piece of an ideal that i admire is not a waste of time cuz every piece will be full of things to develop '' Alzapua, tremolo, arpeggios, scales, etc

_____________________________

This is hard stuff!
Don't give up...
And don't make it a race.
Enjoy the ray of sunshine that comes with every new step in knowledge.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 7 2011 20:26:04

por medio

Posts: 289
Joined: Nov. 15 2009

RE: Aire and Compas (in reply to gounaro)

Aire is in the compas. And compas is not just keeping in time or rhythm; it's your INTENTION of what the music is doing.

Without this you could play the most complex Paco note by note in perfect timing, but it's never going to be flamenco. If you understand the compas then you could just play A-chord for ten minutes and it will be more flamenco.

In order for many of us foreigners to feel this in flamenco we really have to have some understanding of the context from where whatever palo you want to play comes.

Then when we play some tangos it really IS tangos. And when we play buleria it really is buleria.

That's what I aim for anyway.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 8 2011 3:21:18