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Hi all - I wonder if you can help me. My husband will turn 40 in the new year and his dream is to learn flamenco guitar in Spain. He has played from 5 yrs old and is classically trained. I want to find him a really great flamenco teacher ideally in Seville/Granada but failing that in London for a 3-5 day intensive course. Please could anyone help me? My googling so far is not helping! Thanks,Roshana
Hi all - I wonder if you can help me. My husband will turn 40 in the new year and his dream is to learn flamenco guitar in Spain. He has played from 5 yrs old and is classically trained. I want to find him a really great flamenco teacher ideally in Seville/Granada but failing that in London for a 3-5 day intensive course. Please could anyone help me? My googling so far is not helping! Thanks,Roshana
Cursoflamenco with Gerardo nuñez in Sanlucar de barrameda mid July.
Obviously he's promoting his teacher's curso. I would ask Mr. Nunez for private lessons instead. His pulgar technique gives me goosbumps at 1:32:10-1:33:10.
You make it sound a bit cynical...'promoting his teacher' I think he's promoting an amazing flamenco experience. And it's not just Gerardo teaching. there's a whole week+ of various classes and parties.
Its a defo do. Yeah 35 years of classical he'll probably be ok. I just hear various accounts from reasonably experienced players over the years saying how daunting it can be.
I mean there's so much the eat up and work on.
Even if he only picks up one or two falsetas and new techniques in the actual classes. He'll still have an amazing, inspirational experience. Might see him there. been threatening to go back for last few years but ****ing family and pandemics!! 😄 Screw it.Might go book my flights now
The Gerardo Nuñez course would be definite first choice. He’ll never fit more flamenco into one week. But it is a festival with late night jam sessions and high-level demonstrations rather than a structured course. As a birthday gift, it would be brilliant.
If July isn’t convenient, or if he’d like something more like tuition, I’ve had good experiences with the Taller Flamenco in Seville.
Second Taller flamenco. Their building is in a good spot and I'd recommend trying to reserve a room for him above their school. A little 'rustic', but you can hear the teachers warming up in the morning, hear what the dancers are learning etc - and is a good way to meet a lot of other students.
They speak some English but not so much as to be painfully touristy.
They also do guitar rental (although it will be a low end plank with dead strings, OK for learning) There is a nice roof terrace you can practice overlooking the very 'flamenco' area.
Is your husband a member of this forum? If not, I doubt his dream is to learn to play flamenco guitar. Otherwise he'd have already made it to the foro somehow. I think your husband should stick with his classical guitar and play Recuerdos de la Alhambra or something.
Is your husband a member of this forum? If not, I doubt his dream is to learn to play flamenco guitar. Otherwise he'd have already made it to the foro somehow. I think your husband should stick with his classical guitar and play Recuerdos de la Alhambra or something.
The arrogance of devilhand's above-cited quote is exceeded only by his ignorance. That devilhand thinks he knows what the husband "really" wants and doesn't want, his recommendation not to pursue flamenco guitar based on nothing but ignorance, and his self-absorbed condescension toward RMehdian's attempt to give her husband a fantastic experience demonstrate an obnoxious attitude that does not do justice to the majority of Foro members. This is shameful.
Bill
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And the end of the fight is a tombstone white, With the name of the late deceased, And the epitaph drear, "A fool lies here, Who tried to hustle the East."
The arrogance of devilhand's above-cited quote is exceeded only by his ignorance. That devilhand thinks he knows what the husband "really" wants and doesn't want, his recommendation not to pursue flamenco guitar based on nothing but ignorance, and his self-absorbed condescension toward RMehdian's attempt to give her husband a fantastic experience demonstrate an obnoxious attitude that does not do justice to the majority of Foro members. This is shameful.
Glad to see you put your shoe on the other foot today.
Ok guys calm down. There's a difference between having a dream and making a dream come true. The guy has a dream only. For some reason he hasn't made it come true yet. His wife is a nice person wanting to organize something special for him and to start the ball rolling.
Say something utterly ridiculous and inflammatory and then when folk get annoyed you start with the 'hey chill out' like they are in the wrong!? Priceless
Just when I was starting to think that maybe you were chilling out a bit.
quote:
The guy has a dream only. For some reason he hasn't made it come true yet. His wife is a nice person wanting to organize something special for him and to start the ball rolling.
Yeah everyone already gets the whole point of this post. 2 posts back your taking a pop at him and now suddenly you're his representative? Explaining it like everyone is confused?! 😄
Dear me. I had a dream about flamenco and it took me to Andalucia for three years. How about you?
Living in Andalucia for a longer period of time is a dream. But nothing is impossible in the future. I'll go on a trip to Andalucia for two to three weeks every year after pandemic is over.
Say something utterly ridiculous and inflammatory and then when folk get annoyed you start with the 'hey chill out' like they are in the wrong!? Priceless
Just when I was starting to think that maybe you were chilling out a bit.
quote:
The guy has a dream only. For some reason he hasn't made it come true yet. His wife is a nice person wanting to organize something special for him and to start the ball rolling.
Yeah everyone already gets the whole point of this post. 2 posts back your taking a pop at him and now suddenly you're his representative? Explaining it like everyone is confused?! 😄
You are a silly sausage
Love how the British can turn a phrase Stu! Sausage indeed ;)
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I prefer my flamenco guitar spicy, doesn't have to be fast, should have some meat on the bones, can be raw or well done, as long as it doesn't sound like it's turning green on an elevator floor.
Otherwise he'd have already made it to the foro somehow
I discovered the foro in 2015/2016. I've been studying flamenco since around 2008-2009, and if you piece up the various trips I had made to Spain by then, I had already spent maybe about 2 years in Spain before ever hearing about the foro. I love this place, but not all roads pass through here, nor even through the internet for that matter...
@Rmedhian Welcome to the forum! That sounds like a wonderful gift. He's a lucky man. Just in case you don't share your husband's interest in this genre of music, I just thought I'd explain that Gerardo Nuñez (from the course Ricardo recommended) is one of the top flamenco players alive. He's greatly admired and respected by many practitioners of the genre. Meaning that you wouldn't just be getting him a chance to learn from a great teacher, but also to spend some time with one of the best pro players out there. I haven't been myself, but from the comments others have made here over the years, I gather that the social aspect is also a big part of it, and he'll probably come home having made a few friends to share his passion with.
On a more down-to-earth note, I'd imagine that Gerardo's recognition might translate in the price tag, meaning that the other options recommended here might be cheaper, but you'd have to check.
Of the other options mentioned, the only one I've tried is Taller Flamenco in Seville. The teachers there don't have the kind of name recognition that Gerardo Nuñez has, but they're all solid professional players and great teachers, more than capable to get a beginner to the genre inspired and on the right track. When I was there, I think they only gave one-on-one classes for guitar, but I might be wrong (meaning that you kind of had to go out of your way a bit to meet the other students).
Also in Seville, I've heard good things about the summer programs at Fundación Cristina Heeren and at Artes Escénicas Rebollar. I think they may be longer courses though, like a month long, but you'd have to check. They should both have English websites if you put those names in your search engine.
In Granada you could try Carmen de las Cuevas. Not sure I'd recommend it for him though. Well, I'd recommend a trip to Granada just for the city itself (which is just drop-dead gorgeous, but I'm biased :) ), but as far as courses go, well, if he's a proficient classical player already, he might feel like he's being held back because he'd end up in a beginner group class with students who will likely need a lot more time to get things down than he will. Especially during the summer months.
Transportation-wise, I don't know what the connections are like from the UK, but from France (where I'm from) the easiest would be Seville, which has direct flights with a lot of places. Sanlucar and Granada would require local connections (e.g. for Granada most flights go to Malaga and you have to catch a bus from there).
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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."
P, Thanx for dropping in and taking the time to clear the air so unceremoniously fouled by our DH.
I did have an interesting thought, what if the husband of the OP is already a member of the Foro or at least a regular lurker?
Seems Rob is already traipsing around Andalusia and if it wouldn’t cause my lady friend some trauma if I left I too would be bound for the south of Spain!
HR
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I prefer my flamenco guitar spicy, doesn't have to be fast, should have some meat on the bones, can be raw or well done, as long as it doesn't sound like it's turning green on an elevator floor.
what if the husband of the OP is already a member of the Foro or at least a regular lurker?
Maybe the OP is ahead of us and has fed us false information to cover the tracks. Roshana with a soon-to-be 40yo husband? Maybe it's actually Alexander with a soon-to-be 60yo husband. Clever spy work (cue James Bond 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."
Speaking of spy tradecraft, I checked Roshana's (RMedhian) profile and stats, and she last logged into the Foro on October 6, two days after her initial query on October 4. Thus, she had the recommendations of Ricardo, Johnnefastis, and Simon to consider.
Fortunately, DH's attempt to throw a wet blanket on her fantastic gift to her husband was posted on October 12, long after her last log-in on October 6, so she didn't have to read that soul-crushing post. If her husband does join the Foro, I hope it will be long after this little episode is forgotten and he will not have to question his decision to join.
Bill
_____________________________
And the end of the fight is a tombstone white, With the name of the late deceased, And the epitaph drear, "A fool lies here, Who tried to hustle the East."
Is your husband a member of this forum? If not, I doubt his dream is to learn to play flamenco guitar. Otherwise he'd have already made it to the foro somehow. I think your husband should stick with his classical guitar and play Recuerdos de la Alhambra or something.
I was first exposed to flamenco in person at Manolo Caracol's tablao in Mexico City, 64 years ago. I traveled to Spain the first time that same year and spent several evenings at Zambra listening to Rafael Romero "El Gallina" and Perico El del Lunar. At the end of that year I traveled to Paracho and bought my first guitar. I've been playing both classical and flamenco ever since.
While I was stationed on the East Coast in the U.S. Army 59 years ago I made it to New York City on weekends to the club Zambra, where I heard and saw many flamenco artists, including Sabicas and Escudero. I saw Carmen Amaya's last performance in NYC at the Village Gate.
I didn't stumble across the Foro until 42 years later. But since buying my first guitat I learned some flamenco and some classical. I will admit it wasn't my dream to learn to play flamenco. It was an obsession. Traveling a lot on business in the 1970s my technique began to suffer from lack of practice. Out of frustration I decided to quit, but found I couldn't, so I bought a flight case and started taking a guitar with me.
But I guess it's OK that it wasn't my dream, since I still play Recuerdos, Sor, Bach, Dowland, Mudarra etc., as well as Ramon Montoya, Sabicas, Niño Ricardo, Manolo Sanlucar, and a few others.
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