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I am a self-confessed, lapsed flamenco player trying to get my mojo back. Was never really good at it so it was always a struggle to learn and retain let alone commit to the required practice levels. Thinking of giving it another go but hitting hard with a couple of weeks worth in one hit. Possibly a residential course in Spain suitable for beginners. Any ideas?
Any lessons from a good teacher will help, but I think your approach is not realistic. I have been learning Flamenco for about a year and consider myself not a gifted guitar player. Progress comes very slowly and with dedication over a long period of time. Your mind, hands and fingers can only absorb so much in a given time. I find motivation when I notice that I have improved if only a tiny bit over a few weeks.
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Ah well, there was a fantastic passion there, in my case anyway. I discovered flamenco very early on. It grips you in a way that you can't get away - Paco Pena
Being in a similar situation as you, I found them really helpful, and have returned there every year for the last four years for a week's "refresher course". In particular Manuel Berraquero is fantastic for people like me, who want tabs and need lots of patience. Everybody I know who's taken lessons with him was very satisfied. So if you go for the taller, be adamant about Manuel.
Seville's a great town with lots of flamenco, Jerez is (relatively) near and even the coast is reachable by car or train.
Fair comment Cervantes but I am looking for a bit of a "kick start" and a holiday too!!
Ok then, I would go too if I could. I am in California so its a very long trip and can't really afford it. Maybe someday. Would love to do some bicycling there too.
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Ah well, there was a fantastic passion there, in my case anyway. I discovered flamenco very early on. It grips you in a way that you can't get away - Paco Pena
That looks great! Am I right in thinking the Spanish lessons are offered because all the flamenco lessons are in Spanish (what a great idea, if true)? I'm wondering how many lessons it would take to get from very basic conversational Spanish to good enough to understand everything in a guitar lesson - were you fluent already? cheers
Yeah, I was fluent from the start (language wise, not on the guitar ) But everybody's so kind and helpful: "no hay problema". If you're not good at picking up guitar stuff just from watching and listening, I'd definitely go with Manuel, otherwise you'd be fine with the other teachers.
The first time I went for flamenco courses in Andalucia I went here. http://www.carmencuevas.com/en/ in Granada. They also give Spanish lessons. I later went to Sevilla and did at some point go by Taller Flamenco. Between the two, the school in Granada has an amazing setting compared to the one in Sevilla. However, classes were mainly group classes and if I remember correctly Taller Flamenco had more one-on-one classes. Both have good teachers. Granada is smaller than Sevilla, so less of everything, which includes less flamenco options. And depending on how heat and crowd-resistant you are, you may want to avoid the middle of the summer (just speaking for myself here )
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Good pointers - thanks! I have been to Granada a couple of times so a trip to Seville would be my preference anyway. Might just hop on the Plymouth to Santander ferry and drive down.
Oh man I'm jealous! If you take that route, Salamanca is a great city to visit. It's small so you could probably see all the sights in a day but it's got a lot of history, a lot of old buildings and monuments, the only cathedral in the world with an astronaut carved in it (go figure...), top-notch local jamon iberico and their very own musical traditions:
not flamenco but still fun! Cheers,
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"Anything you do can be fixed. What you cannot fix is the perfection of a blank page. What you cannot fix is that pristine, unsullied whiteness of a screen or a page with nothing on it—because there’s nothing there to fix."
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