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Posts: 56
Joined: Sep. 27 2009
From: Long Island NY
Accompanying baile help
Hi all
This past Saturday I played for a dance class here on Long Island for the first time...it was awesome!! Tons of fun and very eye opening too. Anyone have any helpful videos or anything to help me learn typical accompaniment? Obviously, playing in the class is probably the best way to learn, but the dancer is going away for six weeks and this really gives me the opportunity to get as prepared as possible before she returns and we start hitting it hard. I'm the only guitarist in the area so this is a great opportunity for me, she even said she wants to pay me! I feel really blessed; I'm sure there are some dudes out there without anyone else to play with etc. Thanks guys
Lots of metronome work to get your compas rock-steady. They forgive all else if your compas is reliable.
How to use a flamenco metronome: don't play to it. Check your compas against it. So, set it going, not very loud, start playing along with it, then direct your attention to your playing, focus on your inner rhythm, let the metronome fall into the background of your aural consciousness. Play your chunk of material, then as you finish it focus on the metronome and see if you're still in synch. If not, repeat the exercise with ever smaller chunks until you find the point where you're going off.
OR record yourself playing and then try tapping your foot along with the playback as if you were a dancer trying to find the compas in this guy's playing.
Practice your material at lots of different tempos. It's more useful to have one piece for a palo that you can play at all speeds than to have lots of bits that you can only play at some given tempo.
Watch videos of this dance teacher, if there are any and get the feel for her choreography. Look out especially for the way she prepares for changes, ends of section, llamadas, etc..