Sanlucar (Gerardo Nunez) and other flamenco guitar courses in Spain (Full Version)

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BarkellWH -> Sanlucar (Gerardo Nunez) and other flamenco guitar courses in Spain (Nov. 15 2009 6:23:16)

I became a member of the forum about three months ago and have posted a couple of comments. For those who may have missed my introduction, I am a retired U.S. Foreign Service Officer( living in the Washington, DC area) who spent most of my career working in maritime Southeast Asia, but also had a couple of assignments in Latin America. I now do consulting gigs for the U.S. State Department and, occasionally, with a contractor. Since the age of 17, I have played simple, three-chord "folk" guitar but have always loved flamenco. For the past few years, I have been taking flamenco guitar lessons from Paco de Malaga here in Washington and would describe myself as being at the very low intermediate level (or high beginners level!). At my age, it does not come easily!!!

I have read many comments on the forum about the annual flamenco guitar course provided by Gerardo Nunez in Sanlucar. I am interested in taking a course in Spain, and wonder if that would be appropriate for me. Is it a substantial course? Judging from the comments, it sounds like a lot of fun (fine with me!), but would someone like me benefit from it? Are there other courses that anyone can suggest as well? How does one "sign up" for Gerardo Nunez's course in San Lucar? Finally, I am thinking about spending three months or so in Spain, taking guitar lessons and absorbing the local culture (I speak Spanish). Any courses designed for a longer-term student?

I would appreciate any advice and suggestions. Many thanks.

Cheers,

Bill



John O. -> RE: Sanlucar (Gerardo Nunez) and other flamenco guitar courses in Spain (Nov. 15 2009 6:44:35)

Hi!

I was there a couple years ago and remember when I told a couple of very good flamenco guitarists I was going they asked "Why?" However neither of these guitarists had done the course with Gerardo.

I don't know why it has a bad rep, I enjoyed it quite a lot. With Gerardos course you do learn falsetas - and just about every evening you get a good flamenco show or a fiesta and a juerga the whole night through. Many I talked to said you can't compare the great atmosphere there with any other course.

Here's the website for registering

On a similar subject, does anyone know about any interesting courses in the Winter??? I'll be in Sevilla in May for a week, can't wait until then [;)]



henrym3483 -> RE: Sanlucar (Gerardo Nunez) and other flamenco guitar courses in Spain (Nov. 15 2009 11:21:02)

apparently manolo sanlucars course and manolo francos course are quite good also. flamencoguru said manolo francos course on cante accomp was quite insightful.

personally id like to see what a master like manolo sanlucar would have to say about toque in general, i think my spanish has improved to understand. i also purchased a copy of his book on toque and am awaiting it in the post.



val -> [Deleted] (Nov. 15 2009 13:35:13)

Post has been moved to the Recycle Bin at Nov. 8 2010 12:27:52



BarkellWH -> RE: Sanlucar (Gerardo Nunez) and other flamenco guitar courses in Spain (Nov. 17 2009 9:01:46)

I want to thank John O., Henrym, and Val for responding to my request regarding Gerardo Nunez's flamenco guitar course, as well as other courses in Spain that would be helpful. Many thanks.

Cheers,

Bill



Manitas de Lata -> RE: Sanlucar (Gerardo Nunez) and other flamenco guitar courses in Spain (Jan. 26 2024 9:22:12)

https://www.cursoflamenco.com/courses/

XXXIV Flamenco Course
Gerardo Núñez and Carmen Cortés
15th - 19th July, 2024
Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Cádiz
Intensive flamenco course during the third week of July, with activities and concerts every night.



Manitas de Lata -> RE: Sanlucar (Gerardo Nunez) and other flamenco guitar courses in Spain (Jan. 26 2024 12:53:09)

Stu are you going?

im thinkin to be close to the Playa de las piletas, hiting the beach after classe or so .
maybe go alone to have time to myself , or going with my daughter

or you recomend other option without beach/pool ?



Stu -> RE: Sanlucar (Gerardo Nunez) and other flamenco guitar courses in Spain (Jan. 26 2024 14:36:33)

Yes I plan to go.

I hadn't been since 2013 until I returned last year on my own without family.

I had a great time. Was the first time I'd spent a week away from my 2 kids and wife doing anything other than work.
They all got COVID and had a terrible time. So persuading my wife that its a good idea I go solo again may be tricky.[:D]

She is a dancer and has been before. I also want to expose my children to flamenco asap. So at the moment I'm undecided whoever I'm going alone or returny the crew.

I'm not sure about recommendations of where to stay off that's what you are asking.
I've only ever stayed at Los helechos.
It's customary that many of the students stay in the hotel Los helechos. (Or used to be)
Ten years ago, the hotel would be teeming with students, playing, dancing flamenco on the terrace in between swimming and sunbathing. Last year things seemed a lot less vibrant. Which was a shame.

Maybe seemed that way for me as the many friends id made over the years we're no longer attending.

Was thinking to try and organise some kind of reunion

You may want somewhere with a pool. The beach and water aren't great. It's the mouth of the Guadalquivir river so it's a bit murky



Manitas de Lata -> RE: Sanlucar (Gerardo Nunez) and other flamenco guitar courses in Spain (Jan. 26 2024 15:24:37)

thanks that was the feedback that i was needed, im going by car so i can go to a better beach (if there is one lol)
Last time that went to Sevilla i passed by Islantilla Beach and was very nice , good quality water , very warm water but blurry like chocolate colour
pool will be great of course , she prefer pool rather than beach, and i can save the gas

I saw that the course will be at the Palacio , and the Palacio is a little more expensive than other option than i saw , but not that much..
So if not with pool the Palacio is where the course is


Just saw now Los Helechos its cheaper and have pool...., seems quite decent!
Dont need to search for more..
Sometimes we can have better rate if contact them directly instead of a 3rd party like b*****g



Manitas de Lata -> RE: Sanlucar (Gerardo Nunez) and other flamenco guitar courses in Spain (Jan. 26 2024 17:08:43)

just receive now the confirmation of the enrollment



Stu -> RE: Sanlucar (Gerardo Nunez) and other flamenco guitar courses in Spain (Jan. 26 2024 22:11:53)

Cool man. youll have a great time.

However, even Gerardos intermediate course was always pretty rough going on beginners (and even intermediates). ive seen a few players come away feeling frustrated and full of doubt. The course, while being a really wild and magical week, can be overwhelming and really humbling and sobering. (ive been humbled plenty there) its tough when you think you are improving and the 13 yr old spanish kid sitting next to you is a better player than youll ever be!
[&:]

this can all be overcome by enjoying the town, food, nightly concerts and fiestas!


Btw, there are very nice beaches a short drive away.



Manitas de Lata -> RE: Sanlucar (Gerardo Nunez) and other flamenco guitar courses in Spain (Jan. 26 2024 22:48:07)

well i saw two levels so i choose the little grasshopper level , hope that its really the little grasshopper level....lol

If the low level is medium high , i can allways save the 300...and do other things

i go for this session :

Medium - Beginner level: 12.15h - 14.15h



Ricardo -> RE: Sanlucar (Gerardo Nunez) and other flamenco guitar courses in Spain (Jan. 27 2024 16:01:04)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Manitas de Lata

well i saw two levels so i choose the little grasshopper level , hope that its really the little grasshopper level....lol

If the low level is medium high , i can allways save the 300...and do other things

i go for this session :

Medium - Beginner level: 12.15h - 14.15h


Javier Conde was in the advanced class with us in 2006. Around Wednesday he disappeared and we found him in the lower level class. He told us the advanced class was way too fast for him. [:D][:D] This is how he played already in 2004:



You can audit the class if it is too hard, but if you don’t pay for some course there (there is also cante accompaniment, etc), then you can’t attend the events and fiestas.



Manitas de Lata -> RE: Sanlucar (Gerardo Nunez) and other flamenco guitar courses in Spain (Jan. 27 2024 16:33:55)

[:D] **** are you serious? so in your opinion is the lower classe lower ?

cant understand what they gain with that..



Stu -> RE: Sanlucar (Gerardo Nunez) and other flamenco guitar courses in Spain (Jan. 27 2024 16:58:28)

I'm not sure that was the point Ricardo was making.

But I was gonna say that as a separate point.

Every year I've attended there was always the odd day where people would profess that the material taught in the lower class was more advanced/Intense than the than what was taught in the advanced. Like maybe Gerardo wasnt concentrating and forgot himself. [:D]

They're used to be a recap class later in the day, with a different tutor to go over the material Gerardo had taught. I don't think this exists any more.
Just take a good camera phone and get clear videos.



Manitas de Lata -> RE: Sanlucar (Gerardo Nunez) and other flamenco guitar courses in Spain (Jan. 27 2024 17:58:49)

Thanks

this puts things in perpective for me.
Going to see other options for the next months/summer .
I can leave ego aside for one or two classes , well its not a ego thing , its rather smart money and usufull time managment .
Theres no point to attend classes for days just to watch others in very higher level, and trow away 300...
i like fiesta and to mingle , altough the goal is classes...



Brendan -> RE: Sanlucar (Gerardo Nunez) and other flamenco guitar courses in Spain (Jan. 27 2024 22:44:46)

When I was there in 2013, with Stu, the advanced class was first, at ten (?) and the intermediate class was at noon (I think). But quite a few people who ought to have been in the advanced class came to the later, intermediate class because they’d been up all night jamming in Contratiempo (the bar). Well I’m guessing that was the reason. So the distinction between the classes got kinda smudged. Tino was doing the catch-up and consolidation class.

It was a week-long wallow in flamenco and there are a few bits I still play that I learned. But I didn’t play my guitar much that week because I didn’t have the chops to participate in the jam sessions, and in the classes, you mostly watch and film. There was quite definitely an inner circle of regulars and high-level players, and I came home knowing where I was located.

I also felt that in the final hour of his four-hour teaching stint (i.e. the second half of my class), Gerardo was visibly tired and losing concentration.

The really useful thing for me was the accompaniment class with Antonio Carrión. I would have preferred just to do that, and participate in the evening stuff.

It’s not a course. It’s a festival/conference with some demonstrations. I can see myself going again for the joy of being neck-deep in flamenco for a week, without setting any learning goals.



Manitas de Lata -> RE: Sanlucar (Gerardo Nunez) and other flamenco guitar courses in Spain (Jan. 27 2024 23:32:24)

thanks for the feed!

I also saw the the accompaniment class , i almost apllied for that , in my head that class should go as first rather the other (?) and i also was thinkin on takin the two..

so you also think that the Intro class is not intro and its more like an advanced class?

do you think the accompaniment class is more useful at first?



Brendan -> RE: Sanlucar (Gerardo Nunez) and other flamenco guitar courses in Spain (Jan. 28 2024 0:10:33)

The guy next to me in the intermediate class was a pro player from Germany who filed the cost of the course as a tax-deductible expense.

Going to the main class with Gerardo, and the catch-up with Tino and the accompaniment class with Carrión was too much combined with hanging out at night. If I went now, I’d just do one class so I’d have time to sleep and enjoy all the informal stuff. I wouldn’t worry about the level of the material in the class, just think of it as an intimate Gerardo concert. This isn’t just a point about this course. If you go for a week of classes anywhere, even if they’re really well structured and at exactly the right level, you won’t retain anything from the second half. You come home with far more video than you’ll ever work through. The fact is, you don’t learn to play music in a week. What you can do in a week is hang out, listen, make contacts, learn about the culture that goes with the playing. Soak up everything that you can’t learn at home.



Manitas de Lata -> RE: Sanlucar (Gerardo Nunez) and other flamenco guitar courses in Spain (Jan. 28 2024 0:28:12)

thanks

i saw last years programme and this year , theres no catch up session .
So you get one guitar with gerardo and or other with Antonio.

still plenty of time to think of what to do .



Ricardo -> RE: Sanlucar (Gerardo Nunez) and other flamenco guitar courses in Spain (Jan. 28 2024 16:21:42)

Amigo, you go there and learn. Learn what? It is up to YOU what you need to learn. Most important for me was the first time I went, I had some chops already, but there were guys in class next to me that I could maybe out play, yet they were learning much much faster than me. This is what happened to Javier Conde. What we learn there is not just falsetas and compas, we learn HOW TO LEARN flamenco. It is a discipline and if you have not ever studied this art form in spain, it is something to get used to. After Gerardo’s accident, (loss of index finger control), the super advanced guitar technique thing was no longer part of the course as it had been. So why did I continue going? To be honest it is this same thing about learning flamenco, not just techniques. The inspiration is the main thing for me. I can’t get that in any other environment honestly. Gerardo opens that door to this exclusive, elite world of art and you are free to participate to whatever capacity you are able or desire. I am the one who started the Contratiempo thing, because I personal needed more than just the evening juerga. People started following me over to Raquel’s bar and we would continue the LEARNING process (and sharing or teaching to others). People who go to spain without a guitar, or don’t open their guitar case when the opportunity arises, are just afraid to learn the way I see it.

The truth is, it does get exhausting. So even myself, who wants every last drop of the lemon that Gerardo has to offer at such a low price, I try to go to every class, hungover or not, but there might be one day I miss, sleeping in. It is still worth it. In fact it is SO inspiring to me, that I used to go to both classes. He stopped allowing me to have a guitar in the second class because he does not like if some people learn too quick and push the class. That is what he wants only in the advanced class….fast learning. So he can teach his own pieces. The lower level class is traditional fundamental material. Ironically, I realized from that class that I had MUCH MORE to learn about fundamental material of the tradition, than advanced stuff. So I sit in that class and learn with out my guitar (mental air guitar if you want) and go back to my hotel and practice that stuff. 90% of that material I have found useful in practical applications back home. Of course there are students that are not yet ready for even that basic stuff yet, and that is OK too. Again, learning HOW to learn flamenco is the main point. If there is no repetition class from Tino anymore, there are people there that will have it and you can learn it and practice it with them. It is not a game to try and make your 300 bucks count the most. Everybody has something to gain.



Manitas de Lata -> RE: Sanlucar (Gerardo Nunez) and other flamenco guitar courses in Spain (Jan. 28 2024 20:14:57)

Thanks Ricardo , nice overview .

need to meet new people there and try to learn from them in "dull" hours.
Im serious thinkin also on the acomp. classes with Antonio

they should have a pack with one or two classes in all disciplines and therefore the classe(S) that we want to attend , i think that should give us a nice overview in how the other side works thinks and expects from the others.
just saying



Stu -> RE: Sanlucar (Gerardo Nunez) and other flamenco guitar courses in Spain (Jan. 29 2024 11:51:56)

I always found I learned more from all the other activities, fiestas and culture going on around the actual lessons than from the lessons themselves.

Which is hugely valuable. I still have all the videos and recordings from the classes and go back to them as and when I feel I need to. But the other stuff is inside of me.

I managed to turn up at contratiempo one afternoon and played for the dance classes Raquel was running every day for that week. I felt utterly inadequate but learned a lot and got over my fear of failing and looking lame... At least for a while. I still have that fear when faced with proper flamencos.
[:D]

But yeah manitas, there's a lot going on and you can soak it all up in whichever way you want.



Manitas de Lata -> RE: Sanlucar (Gerardo Nunez) and other flamenco guitar courses in Spain (Mar. 6 2024 16:51:35)

Lost the enrollment email confirmation , so i enroll again but also with Antonio Carrion, so it will be Gerardo by lunch and Antonio for late lunch :)



Stu -> RE: Sanlucar (Gerardo Nunez) and other flamenco guitar courses in Spain (Mar. 7 2024 18:39:50)

Don't lose the enrollment email too many more times... Or you'll end up doing the dance classes with Carmen too! [:D]



Manitas de Lata -> RE: Sanlucar (Gerardo Nunez) and other flamenco guitar courses in Spain (Mar. 7 2024 19:15:45)

[:D][:D]

well, i was thinkin to ask them to let me join an intro class to see the perspective of a dancer so i would understand them and of course the guys who will play for them (if anyone) and of course meet the girls.
Also thinkin do the same for the cajon (without meet the guys [:D] )



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