First ever dance accompaniment session. Help! (Full Version)

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Haydn -> First ever dance accompaniment session. Help! (Aug. 31 2011 19:33:45)

Next week I'll be sitting in on a dance lesson, and this terrifies me.

A little background:
I've been playing flamenco guitar for one year (to the day actually [:)]), and have played electric for 10 years before this. I practise a lot and feel like I'm making real progress, so I decided, a couple of months ago, to get myself a teacher.
Well, look as I might I could not find one within 50 miles of where I live. That was until I stumbled upon the website of a dance studio that claimed to have not one, but three, teachers! I contacted them immediately and just received a call back: it transpires that the teaching is an on the job basis. A learn as you go situation...

I've agreed to go along next Tuesday, and it seems the lady who runs it is very keen that I play.

Can anyone please give me any advice, or anything to calm me down?
I've never done anything like this and have no idea what to expect. The closest I've come to this is learning a Soleá por baile from the Ravenna flamenco website! [:o]

Thanks!
Haydn



elroby -> [Deleted] (Aug. 31 2011 20:26:58)

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Mark2 -> RE: First ever dance accompaniment session. Help! (Aug. 31 2011 20:33:03)

Practice compas patterns with a loop or a metronome. Make sure you can play compas to solea, alegrias(learn a silencio and an escobilla if possible), tangos, and hopefully you know some sevillanas. Also, hopefully you can play compas for sig and tientos.
If there is another guitarist playing for the class too, follow him, and you'll be fine. If your on your own, don't worry to much about not knowing everything -it will most likely take a few years to figure it out. Watch the teacher and try to stay in compas. She will most likely spend a lot of time doing palmas, so try to lock with that and keep an eye on her feet as she will probably mark the main accents with her feet. Try not to be too distracted by all the girls just yet..........



Haydn -> RE: First ever dance accompaniment session. Help! (Aug. 31 2011 20:33:41)

Seems like sound advice.

Any ideas as to which palos are likely to crop up? Just narrowing down what it is I'm likely to be playing might focus me a bit.

Thanks for your help [:D]



Doitsujin -> RE: First ever dance accompaniment session. Help! (Aug. 31 2011 20:38:17)

First time for dance?

Man, you can still avoid much stress and getting sucked into this world that is dominated by morons who all think to know it better and to do it better (I dont exclude myself since Im part of it.. but less than a short while ago I have to admid =).. All the annoying silly talk, the flamenco police, the noisy clomping, angrily shouting dance teachers, badly smelling dance-rooms during summer and so on...

You really want that? Dont do it man. Follow my advidce... don´t do it..... xD



Haydn -> RE: First ever dance accompaniment session. Help! (Aug. 31 2011 20:55:16)

Thanks Doit. I've never experienced blind terror before, but your post has enlightened me [;)] Seriously though, why so much suppressed rage with dance accompaniment?

It seems like I'll be required to cover quite a range of palos. Are there any sites or articles, that someone could post a link to, that have some salient information regarding typical structures, sequences, falsetas etc that might give me a little confidence boost? I'd really appreciate it [:)]

Thanks for all the help!



elroby -> [Deleted] (Aug. 31 2011 20:56:51)

Post has been moved to the Recycle Bin at May 5 2012 4:24:54



Guest -> [Deleted] (Aug. 31 2011 21:15:55)

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Florian -> RE: First ever dance accompaniment session. Help! (Aug. 31 2011 21:59:32)

quote:

a dance studio that claimed to have not one, but three, teachers! I contacted them immediately and just received a call back: it transpires that the teaching is an on the job basis. A learn as you go situation...


I am a little unclear...is there going to be a guitar teacher there for you to follow or does the dance teacher teach you ?

if theres another guitarist i wouldn't even worry...

Youl be ok, personaly i think dont even worry about a falseta this early, you will prob be too nervous to play it [:)]...but ...even if you could...depending on the class you dont really get to do that many falsetas...if any so atm i think your energy is better spent on compas, rithm variations etc..(practice using your foot so that you play at a steady speed without slowing down or speeding up)

practice your compas, rithm variations and llamada...if you haven't tackled "llamada" yet, dont worry about it ...just straight forward rithm will work for it for now...just play it louder [;)]

if you not sure whats happening and they do some tricky footwork you not sure about ...you will never be wrong if you mentain the same rithm as the compas before as straight as possible....if you stay in compas as much as possible eventually they will come back and you will eventually meet back in compas where you will be if you keep it straight..(thats when using your foot and maintaining very steady compas is especially important)



ps...this is not anything to fear, is something to enjoy ...its a good thing...thats where you wanna be..... right ?

if you do make mistakes chances are the dancers wont even notice cause they either not listening, or focusing on themselves or are beginners ...so dont worry , just enjoy



Haydn -> RE: First ever dance accompaniment session. Help! (Aug. 31 2011 22:22:01)

Sorry, I should have been more clear in my explanation. There are 3 guitarists. They all take different sessions as I understand it. Though, I believe they occasionally double up. So I won't be all alone. I'm hoping to learn as much as possible from these guys, but the thought of playing (as possibly sending an entire class into disarray) still unnerves me.

I think for now I'll stick with learning as many compás variations, for all of the aforementioned palos, as I can. If anything I've taken from this thread is: Compás Compás Compás..... and girls (thanks romerito [;)])



Florian -> RE: First ever dance accompaniment session. Help! (Aug. 31 2011 22:26:01)

quote:

but the thought of playing (as possibly sending an entire class into disarray) still unnerves me.


with other guitarists there that wont happen...so relax [:D] you will be playing softer then them or him...which is perfect for you to try and mimc what they do...and if you make mistakes it wont matter cause they will carry it...they wont leave you on your own



Yojimbo -> RE: First ever dance accompaniment session. Help! (Sep. 1 2011 0:47:35)

I would love to do this one day when I get good enough. Please keep us informed on how it goes - I'm very interested.



XXX -> RE: First ever dance accompaniment session. Help! (Sep. 1 2011 7:43:53)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Florian
its a good thing...


LoL



Haydn -> RE: First ever dance accompaniment session. Help! (Sep. 1 2011 9:06:41)

I'll let you know how it goes. I have a feeling no one is ever "good enough" until they throw themselves in, regardless of how good a soloist they are. I know I don't think I'm anywhere near ready!

When Florian said to just worry about rhythm variations, I relaxed a little. The trick will be keeping it interesting for 10 minutes. Time for some serious practise... [:D]



machopicasso -> RE: First ever dance accompaniment session. Help! (Sep. 1 2011 10:28:22)

quote:

I think for now I'll stick with learning as many compás variations, for all of the aforementioned palos, as I can.


Do you know on what palo(s) the dance class is focusing? If they're just doing sevillanas or tangos, or whatever, then you don't need to practice (and freak-out) about everything.

Also, if there are other guitarists there, then I wouldn't worry. The first time I showed up to accompany, I was the only one. [&:]



orsonw -> RE: First ever dance accompaniment session. Help! (Sep. 1 2011 11:41:50)

quote:

The trick will be keeping it interesting for 10 minutes


Don't worry about that, they probably won't be listening that much! They just want solid compás.



Schalli -> RE: First ever dance accompaniment session. Help! (Sep. 1 2011 12:13:25)

The danceteacher will repeat the same section again and again until everybody gets its right, so you will not have to learn too much stuff at the beginning.
My start was in a beginners course por solea and at the time I joined they where training the letra, so i played the letra over and over again, for almoust two month... helps to learn a lot off variations off that 1 minute of Music...
But i'm shure this is totally different with experienced dancers ;)



xirdneH_imiJ -> RE: First ever dance accompaniment session. Help! (Sep. 1 2011 13:05:48)

yeah for beginners it takes 6-12 months for a full coreography, for more advanced 1-2 months, for pros a few hours...and with the best you improvise on stage which is the best :)



burnsbyrne -> RE: First ever dance accompaniment session. Help! (Sep. 1 2011 19:14:11)

When I first played for dance class I had 25 years of classical guitar and one year of playing flamenco "pieces". My salvation was that I had rhythm pounded into me since I started playing. I made it through the first lesson somehow and they asked me back for a second time. I did a lot of practicing between those two classes. Three years into playing two nights a week for 2and a half hours per might I had a very strong and loud rasguedo and a stock of falsetas for almost every palo. I once overheard two of the dancers talking about me having a great steady compas. Playing for classes and dance performances was a fantastic education. I highly recommend it.

Alas, it wasn't destined to last because I broke my left wrist and it was never the same again, Eventually I had to give up the guitar because of chronic tendonitis and pain in the left wrist. It was a tough blow. I still pull out the guitar occasionally but 5-10 minutes is all I can manage.

So I say play for the dancers, you will learn a lot and have fun doing it...and stay off the rollerskates!



Haydn -> RE: First ever dance accompaniment session. Help! (Sep. 13 2011 22:44:15)

I'm back from my first class, and I've survived! [:D]

I thought I'd let everyone know how it went.
I was a little nervous when I turned up, but I introduced myself to the dance teacher and the guitarist I would be learning from for the next ninety minutes, and they were both very friendly. The guitarist ran through what they had been working on in previous classes as the dancers trickled in. We would be working on a tientos. I'd never played one before, but I tried not to panic as I listened to his explanation. We had a few goes just working through the chords, and before I knew it I was accompanying a class! [:D] (Not perfect, but in compás at least).
I have to say I enjoyed it immensely, learned loads, and will definitely be going back.

Thank you all for your help and encouragement! I'm off to invent/steal some tientos compás variations! [;)]



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