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.
|
|
|
Just starting out...!!
|
You are logged in as Guest
|
|
Users viewing this topic: none
|
|
Login  | |
|
   
Miguel de Maria
Posts: 3532
Joined: Oct. 20 2003
From: Phoenix, AZ
|
 RE: Just starting out...!! (in reply to MARTINH)
|
|
|
Martin,
my advice puts a bit more pressure on you, especially if you are shy. But the best way to learn this or any music is by osmosis. I suggest getting to know some flamenco guitarists, and dancers, finding out where they regularly perform, and hang out with them. I started playing being a bartender in a Spanish restaurant. When they would do rumbas, I would grab a conga and mastered a single conga pattern. Long story short, eventually, I joined a band because of it.
Some guitarists will let you sit in on their practice sessions with dancers, mute your guitar with a sock or foam, and just kind of play along. Dancers are always looking for new guitarists because it increases their options. You can "roadie", coming to guys' gigs and helping them set up their equipment. Each part teaches you vital information you will need.
Books and DVDs are okay, and listening to CDs is important, but nothing is more important than exposure to other musicians and becoming part of the "scene".
|
|
|
|
REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |
Date Oct. 28 2005 16:04:31
 |
|
|
Guest
|
|
RE: Just starting out...!! (in reply to MARTINH)
|
|
|
quote:
Finally I have learnt that 30 minutes a day is better than 6 hours every saturday.
That is so true.
_____________________________
|
|
|
|
REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |
Date Oct. 29 2005 8:19:19
|
|
Jon Boyes
Posts: 1377
Joined: Jul. 10 2003
|
|
RE: Just starting out...!! (in reply to MARTINH)
|
|
|
quote:
ORIGINAL: MARTINH
My teacher has given me some chords to work on and I was just wondering
if it's just me but I find that it's a bit of a struggle to keep my fingers in the
correct position ( left hand). Is it just a case of building up strength in the
fingers of the left hand, would I be right in thinking that this is normal, I find
that to get correct finger positioning that my left arm and fingers get quite tense.
Its quite normal and yes it feels like a struggle at first. Beginners (and many players who've been playing along time) view this as a lack of strength, but strength actually has very little to do with it. As you have already spotted, advanced players seem to play effortlessly, and advanced players will exert far, far less pressure than beginners, so where does that leave strength?
It all comes down to technique. It is a matter of your fingers becoming accustomed to doing something strange, it is about learning the right place for them all to land in a particular chord, it is about fingering close to the fret wire, it is about dexterity and control.
All these things will come in time - practice for short periods often and don't be afraid to question your teacher if you are having trouble with anything. After a few minutes grueling chord practice, shake out the tension and stretch your fingers.
I like to teach chords and L/h fingering from the student's perspective - ie I sit next to them and show them a bird's eye view of how my fingers are arranged on the neck - or finger the chord on the neck of their guitar. Some teachers sit opposite the student and expect them to copy from a 'mirror view' perspective which I think is unhelpful.
HTH.
_____________________________
Spanish Guitarist in Devon, Cornwall and Somerset
|
|
|
|
REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |
Date Nov. 1 2005 14:00:09
|
|
Ricardo
Posts: 14848
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC
|
|
RE: Just starting out...!! (in reply to MARTINH)
|
|
|
Moving chords fast enough to play a song, is a major hurtle to overcome for beginner guitarists, and teachers too. I require my stuents to at least know some chords before the first lesson, because you can spend forever learning how to change chords and never get to focus on rhythm and right hand techniques. But I HAVE taught people that did not know anychords, but it is tedious and takes a lot of patience.
As far as finger pressure, you should not be gripping so tight that someone could not slap your hand gently off the neck. I had a student who's fingers were like iron grips. I could not even lift and move one of his fingers to the correct postion with out telling him to let go. In Pumping Nylon, he shows how to gradually apply pressure whlie plucking a string so you go from a muted "thunk" to a clear "bing". As soon as the note is clear, that is ALL the pressure you need to exert. But it takes time to feel this naturally, as you need to focus on ALL your fingers changing chords.
What usually works for most techniques is to work on timing with the metronome. So let's say you just learned C,F, and G chords and need to work on changing them. Put the metronome on 60, play the C chord on the first click, then start to arrange your fingers for the F chord. Hopefully you will get it after 3 clicks have gone by and you strum on the next click, then get ready for G. You keep doing that until your fingers get used to the postitions and can make the jump faster. So you are strumming the chord on beat ONE, and use the time it takes to finger the next chord, during beats 2,3,4. When you find your self waiting for the next "one" click, you can try changing the chords every THREE clicks. C 2,3, F, 2,3, G, 2,3, etc. Then you can try every 2 clicks. When you are fast enough to change chords once every second (right on each click), go back to changing chords every 4 beats, but HOLD the chord (let it ring) until the last beat before you change. That is starting to get to what it feels like to change chords in rhythm to a song. When you cand do this, then you are ready to focus on right hand strumming techniques, the real fun of flamenco.
Ricardo
|
|
|
|
REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |
Date Dec. 12 2005 17:07:54
|
|
 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
Reply to Message
Post New Poll
Submit Vote
Delete My Own Post
Delete My Own Thread
Rate Posts
|
|
|
Forum Software powered by ASP Playground Advanced Edition 2.0.5
Copyright © 2000 - 2003 ASPPlayground.NET |
0.078125 secs.
|
Printable Version
I would have initially had a few more lessons. The materials by Juan Martin, Herrero, etc.. give the impression that you must learn 47 techniques before you can get off first base and that is rubbish. 
