HEY HEY (my my)

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HEY HEY (my my)

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jahboy

Posts: 13
Joined: Apr. 28 2017

HEY HEY (my my)

Hello, Hola, Ciao, Namaste, Salaam etc

I have been lurking around here for a few years, off and on, and thought it was about time I joined the fold.
A self taught guitar player since the age of twelve I have always had an ear for many forms and styles of music and even as a child I liked the sound of "spanish" guitar. Although I must admit that at that age I was more interested in how to be Slash, a dream never realised :( In my teens and early twenties I played guitar and sang in a succession of rock bands achieving varying degrees of fame and notoriety but never quite making the leap to superstardom. When a lot of my bandmates and peers started having kids, wives and proper jobs, I went it alone, playing folksy acoustic numbers and self releasing a few eps. In the end I made the decision to put music as a career aside and kept the song writing and playing just for fun. Around this time my mother in law got a job in Gibralter and started living on the coast in southern Spain. My wife and I would visit regularly and get whistle stop tours of beautiful towns and villages by my mother in law. I dusted off my old Ibanez electro classical and started to try and figure out some of the "spanish" guitar I was growing more and more fond of. In 2012 we saw the Flamenco Festival in Jerez advertised and decided to get tickets and spend the weekend in the area. That morning we went to the zoo where I fed a hippo and witnessed a camel give birth. After such excitement a drink was in order. So off to the Bodegas we went. Plenty of sherry later it was show time. Now, I can't for the life of me recall the name of the show, but was assured the dancer was one of the most renowned names in dance. He was incredible, but what really excited me was the Cante and guitar. The atmosphere was incredible and it was so refreshing to see the audience being free to interact and help make the show what it was. I loved it.
So like so many others I am sure, I bought an entry level guitar and I got a copy of a Juan Martin book. Not the greatest resource but a starting point. I then moved and found a local guy that plays Flamenco and received some lessons which was much more useful. He showed me basic forms and techniques, mostly focused on Soleas. For both money and time reasons, I have been unable to continue with lessons so far this year, but do play guitar every day. I consider myself to be a fairly good guitar player in general terms (not flamenco) and find it quite easy to pick things up quickly. I do prefer to learn from a person though, rather than books but that will have to wait for a while. So I'm currently trying to pick things up from youtube videos etc. Not ideal but there is some good stuff up there.
Since getting really into Flamenco I have managed to see a few shows, the best being Estrella Morente, who I adore. Ive built up quite a large selection of music and books and enjoy the modern and traditional styles. When it comes to playing I prefer the "old school" and I am currently trying to get to grips with tremolo. If anyone has any pointers there that would be terrific. Sorry to have blahed on so much.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 28 2017 13:54:23

BarkellWH

Posts: 3458
Joined: Jul. 12 2009
From: Washington, DC

RE: HEY HEY (my my) (in reply to jahboy)

quote:

When it comes to playing I prefer the "old school" and I am currently trying to get to grips with tremolo. If anyone has any pointers there that would be terrific.

I assume you are learning the flamenco tremolo, PIAMI. It has been stated often enough on the Foro, but start out slowly and develop a dead-on, steady stroke. Only increase speed when you have the steady stroke tremolo down without it turning into a "gallop."

My flamenco instructor, Paco de Malaga, taught me to play a tremolo that really projects by using a strong thumb stroke, which almost automatically causes the IAMI strokes to strengthen as well. The result is a steady, strong tremolo that projects nicely.

Bill

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 28 2017 14:59:24

Morante

Posts: 2179
Joined: Nov. 21 2010

RE: HEY HEY (my my) (in reply to jahboy)

If you are interested in "old school" why are you listening to Estrella Morente? This style of "flamenco light" popularised by Niña Pastori is the equivalent of MacDonalds hamburgers when compared to cante flamenco.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 28 2017 16:38:13

jahboy

Posts: 13
Joined: Apr. 28 2017

RE: HEY HEY (my my) (in reply to jahboy)

Yes, I am learning the flamenco style of tremolo.

As I said in my introduction, I enjoy both modern and old style flamenco. It's the old style that I prefer when playing flamenco. I listen to estrella morente because I like her. I don't hear her sounding that much like Nina to be honest. The first two estrella albums are very interesting in what they achieve within the context and history of the music. Her third album was fantastic in the way the artist clearly wanted to push her creativity and see what was possible outside of the shackles of her own story and background whilst remaining true to the "flavour" and authenticity of her heritage. I personally think she has been very successful in doing so. Playing with style and form is a refreshing thing that should be embraced. Nobody would ever deny the importance of retaining the roots and heart of a particular style of music, but to do so blindly because that's the way it's always been is when things become stagnant and oppressive. Just because some one likes NWA doesn't mean they can't like Kendrick Lamar, just because some one likes Robert Johnson doesn't mean there's no value in Led zeppelin etc

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 28 2017 17:01:31

rombsix

Posts: 7808
Joined: Jan. 11 2006
From: Beirut, Lebanon

RE: HEY HEY (my my) (in reply to Morante)

quote:

If you are interested in "old school" why are you listening to Estrella Morente? This style of "flamenco light" popularised by Niña Pastori is the equivalent of MacDonalds hamburgers when compared to cante flamenco.

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http://www.youtube.com/rombsix

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 28 2017 17:16:57

Piwin

Posts: 3559
Joined: Feb. 9 2016

RE: HEY HEY (my my) (in reply to jahboy)

Welcome to the foro!

I'm a big fan of Estrella Morente as well. Unique style, you just need one note and you know it's her. Her cante was good enough both for Juan and Pepe Habichuela so it's good enough for me. Before her, Enrique also went off the most trodden path, to great effect.
The only thing I hold against her is for trashing Jacques Brel's "ne me quitte pas". But admittedly I'm a fanatic when it comes to him. I've never heard anyone manage to put as much feeling into a song, and so whenever someone tries to take on one of his songs, it always falls flat.

There are a few free tremolo études here: https://www.manuelgranados.net/estudios-descargas/
Maybe not the best if you're just starting (probably better to focus on playing on open strings for starters) but it's good stuff.

See you in the threads.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 28 2017 17:37:01

Erik van Goch

Posts: 1787
Joined: Jul. 17 2012
From: Netherlands

RE: HEY HEY (my my) (in reply to jahboy)

Welcome to the foro. As far as tremolo is concerned make sure the thump is not played any louder as the fingers. Try to make sure your hand is free of tension and that there is no tension in the thump when you play the iami part. A good (pre) exercise is to place all 3 fingers on the same string and plug the iami part with all 3 fingers simultaneously for a couple of rounds rather then using a diferent finger each time. It will learn you how to level the length difference of your fingers, each finger will end up having it's own space to move, it helps getting an even energy input and on top it helps spotting mismatching nail lengt because if with equal input 1 nail slips of earlier or later as the others it most probably is shorter or longer as the others and to get equal output you first of all need equal conditions. On top it most probably improves your ability to string walk (it did for me). If you were not such a fan of the "old school" i would suggest to learn a pimami tremolo as well because that might very well be the next generations standard tremolo :-).

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 28 2017 17:38:08

Cloth Ears

Posts: 152
Joined: Apr. 26 2005

RE: HEY HEY (my my) (in reply to jahboy)

quote:

HEY HEY (my my)

Neil Young fan? My favourite singer songwriter.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 28 2017 18:08:01

jahboy

Posts: 13
Joined: Apr. 28 2017

RE: HEY HEY (my my) (in reply to Piwin)

Thanks to those links. I'll be sure to check them out.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 28 2017 20:35:54

jahboy

Posts: 13
Joined: Apr. 28 2017

RE: HEY HEY (my my) (in reply to Erik van Goch)

Thanks for those tips. I love the sound of the technique. I wonder how many weeks it will take for me to sound like Sabicas.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 28 2017 20:38:28

jahboy

Posts: 13
Joined: Apr. 28 2017

RE: HEY HEY (my my) (in reply to Cloth Ears)

I am a bit of a fan of Neil. Great song writer.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 28 2017 20:41:55

Paul Magnussen

Posts: 1805
Joined: Nov. 8 2010
From: London (living in the Bay Area)

RE: HEY HEY (my my) (in reply to Piwin)

quote:

But admittedly I'm a fanatic when it comes to [Brel]. I've never heard anyone manage to put as much feeling into a song, and so whenever someone tries to take on one of his songs, it always falls flat.

Judy Collins’s version of La chanson des vieux amants?

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 29 2017 3:34:42

Piwin

Posts: 3559
Joined: Feb. 9 2016

RE: HEY HEY (my my) (in reply to Paul Magnussen)

No, still doesn't do it for me. To be fair to both of them, singing in a foreign language is difficult, even more so when the lyrics could stand as an excellent piece of poetry on their own right, even without the music.

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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."

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 29 2017 16:39:51