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Ricardo -> RE: Some more Paco... (Jun. 14 2024 20:08:50)
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There is a misleading generalization he makes. That being there is no abstract theory behind the music of flamenco as there is with Jazz. The truth is this. In jazz, there is some damn sophisticated things going on by artists that can’t even read music, much less apply abstract theory. What they are doing that CAN be analyzed that way, is done through an intuition that is developed by working with others that are very advanced. You can never be sure who does or does not know music in that abstract way just from playing with them. And there are some that understand on paper, but simply can’t execute the abstract ideas in a real setting where the rubber meets the road.
Conversely, while it is true most flamenco artists don’t know how to read or discuss abstract theory concepts, when they talk about cante and understand it, even intuitively, it can get VERY cerebral. In the baile as well, many guitarist that don’t get way into it complain about the “mathematics” involved with baile, that even I admit can be a headache. That is until you develop certain intuitions, just like the jazz masters. I got excited about Mclaughlin’s instructional dvd thinking I was headed for a world of abstract theory, but on the contrary, there were many things he did that were funny to me, like innocently glossed over such as enharmonics and such that I was like “wow, this guy is playing circles around me but he doesn’t get the difference between Ab and G#???” And other little things, where the abstract deep theory you think these people have is no different than the intuition that an illiterate gitano street player has developed.
In the end there is very litttle difference between applying a “super Locrian” concept, versus knowing what to expect with “Soleá de Triana”. Both terms are loaded with concepts that one can either apply or not when it matters, but both are abstract. And both can be totally impregnated with emotion and expressions that are deep.
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