mrMagenta -> RE: Flamenco cante e-lessons (Feb. 1 2010 13:54:30)
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Even as a beginner/intermediate guitarist I'm feeling more and more that I need to learn spanish properly, in particular the language used in cante - which means studying the culture. I feel I want to know the words and what's behind them, even if I'm just accompaniment. I don't think you have to be born a cantaor/cantaora. I would say it is possible to find your voice within flamenco and even do it with authenticity. I think you need to approach it differently than those born into the culture though. It's definitely not easy - It's a LONG path no matter how trained you might be as a singer. There's a lot of technique involved, but that's just part of it. I think the artistic process can be quite extensive, at least before you reach a point where people who know about flamenco will be convinced by your singing. My opinion is based on the non-spanish singers I've come in contact with, of which one is my friend. Ricardo might be more sensitive than me (he's definitely more experienced), and perhaps I'm biased because I'm working with a 'foreign singer'. I still think it's possible. But even I have to say that statistically most 'foreign cantaors' leave me unconvinced. You need to find conviction and meaning, the music and lyrics have to make sense to you. In my opinion all this goes for flamenco guitar playing as well. I would guess most of us here wrestle with these questions of authenticity at some point or other. It takes A LOT of dedication and artistic sense, so you really need to be properly hooked. As Ricardo points out. You'll need to become a good aficionado. I would add: while keeping your integrity I think David Sorroche is working on a method for cante, you might want to check him out. There's a DVD series by Merenguito called Cante Flamenco - Paso a paso, no clue how useful it is though.
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