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.
Its been asked fo before by many but as hard as I try I can;t seem to find a PDF of lucias El Tempul thats in the right key could someone please e mail it me Thanks
I just finished learning El Tempul from Fauchers trans. IThe compass is quite syncopated in parts so I mark on the page were the acented beats are, and the odd beats that are acented but which dont correspond to the compass. Also as I dont have a computer at the mo so I have modified a standard pyramid metronome, by removing a few notches on the 3 beat setting so it chymes the bell every 6th beat rather than 3rd. A lot of the falsetas end or change path on the six beat and as we all know begin on 12. So with the bell chiming every 6th beat you know roughly where in the compass you are. It might seem daft but if you rarley play along side someone on palmas then suddenly get the chance el tempul unless your sense of compass is rock solid. It might will drift out of compass.
I recommend tap the foot and work this to a medium slow groove. Here I am tapping the foot 12,2,4,6,8,10 ....toward the end I slow down and isolate some very tricky spots.
Even though I move the tempo around a lot (paco does too on his version with no palmas), the fact you can play with your foot really helps because when you do have metronome or palmas it is easier to lock into the groove with your foot going. Paco taps faster then me (1,2,4,5,7,8,10,11) and you can almost hear it a bit on the recording, and doing these synchopated things it really makes a difference. There are some other ways to tap the foot that will work as well, so long as your playing and tapping are coordinated it is very helpful.
Thanks Ricardo. I do tap on those beats. but during a long falseta I still forget were Iam somtimes. I remember meating an English Flamenco guitarist called Philip John Lee a few yeaes ago and he can count out loud as he is playing Buleria. As much as I try I find this impossable, I keep speeding up or slowing down the counts as I play. Is there anyone else out there, who can count and play at the same time. Thanks
Thanks Ricardo. I do tap on those beats. but during a long falseta I still forget were Iam somtimes. I remember meating an English Flamenco guitarist called Philip John Lee a few yeaes ago and he can count out loud as he is playing Buleria. As much as I try I find this impossable, I keep speeding up or slowing down the counts as I play. Is there anyone else out there, who can count and play at the same time. Thanks
You don't need to know where you are if you are locked into The groove solid. In fact that is what throughs people off is worrying About where an accent falls.... Don't worry simply know you are locked In and don't try to make up new notes and you will always be in.
About counting and playing... Not as important as foot tap but it is a skill that takes coordination. It is akin to singing in compas and playing a complex accomp or doing palmas and singing. It is helpful but not a requirement as flamenco history shows.
Thanks Ricardo I tend to tap with both feet alternative but with the right knee bobbing up and down it makes it difficult to play. At first listning to your youtube I thought you had a metronome, didnt realise it was you foot. I live in a well carpeted house and have my socks when i practice so anyone with a good idea as to how make an audable tap with the foot I would appreciate it. Ricardo your cooking with gas on that piece, its far the best Ive seen it played on the net. Just 2 more questions, what other foot tapping rythems do you use with Bulerias? and that triplet rasg at the beginng sounds so good, would you leave out the other taps all the time, like you have done, or should I try and put them in. Its a hell of a lot of work to put them in. and I didnt realise you had left them out untill you mentione you had. Cheers Paco
I didnt realise he PJL died of cancer. Its very sad. A few years ago I travelled to London specially to have a lesson with him. His second LP was what got me interested in flamenco in the beginning. He had some original rasguado techniques. A very powerfull one was a triplet the trad style p ,m, p but with a golpe with the back of the thumb nail on the way up, so he could golpe on the accented beats and do a loud powerfull triplet at the same time, something I cant do, but he had a very long thumb. Also a four finger one which went e a m i then a m i upward which made ver staccato sound
I would suggest a piece of ply (4mm) on the floor, perhaps big enough to catch under the seat so it doesn't go wondering as you tap. Of course, a pair of shoes will help the sound. I use a foot rest and find myself tapping on that. I use a footrest because of back problems - I can't put one leg over the other to get that Paco De Lucia position. Bit of a pain, but after watching a girl play piano with no finger on her right hand, I think we all can adapt and just do our best. My wife used to practice tap dance on plywood.
_____________________________
Rhythm, grace & passion. El ritmo, gracia & la pasión Be the change you want to see in this world - Gandhi
Here's something to think about - a Stomp-Box cheaper than you could make one for. They can be bought as stereo, brand new, made in beautiful beach. Just plug into your sound amplifier and adjust the eq's. From £20 to £45 British made
You just plug it into an amplifier (1 quarter inch jack) and set the tone to what you want. It's like a Bass Drum. You tap it with your feet (or hands if you want) and it sounds like a bass drum (when amplified)
If you wish, you can make one of these using a Piezoelectric buzzer as the pick-up. You can get instruction on YouTube.
I'm working on this piece now - finding this link was gold - Ricardo's recording and notes are a big help. This piece is almost a required foundation for learning to play PDL pieces - many people use many falsetas from here.
When I can finally put my fingers on this piece, I plan to make an implied chord chart, and see if I can come up with an accompaniment the complements but does not take away from the solo. It is clearly a stand-alone kind of piece.
I often download as many great recordings as I can - I think atrafana also does a great job. Here is his version:
Printable Version
New Messages
No New Messages
Hot Topic w/ New Messages
Hot Topic w/o New Messages
Locked w/ New Messages
Locked w/o New Messages
Post New Thread