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How are you taught flamenco?
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Ramon Amira
Posts: 1025
Joined: Oct. 14 2009
From: New York City
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RE: How are you taught flamenco? (in reply to VietFlamenco)
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The lack of theory is not the problem – the problem is putting the cart before the horse. I don't think it's a good idea to be learning a new piece each week. The first thing I do with a beginner student is to start teaching him basic technique. You can't play any piece at all if you don't have the technique to play it properly. To try to learn technique by learning a piece makes no sense – it will retard the learning of both the piece and your technique. Imagine someone trying to paint a picture without first learning perspective, composition, shading, the effect of color, mixing paint colors, and even how to hold a brush and properly execute a brushstroke. Art students are always first taught to do studies, exercises, sketches, etc., before they attempt a full painting. It seems obvious on the face of it. It's the same thing. In my opinion you should first do basic technical exercises – scales to learn picado, arpeggios, thumb exercises, how to play bass and treble notes simultaneously, chords. You needn't spend forever at this, just a reasonable time to learn the basics. Then when you start learning a piece you will be able to play it without having to struggle due to inadequate technique, and at that point the playing of a piece will reinforce your technique.
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Classical and flamenco guitars from Spain Ramon Amira Guitars
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Date Oct. 24 2010 17:31:52
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Rob MacKillop
Posts: 65
Joined: Oct. 18 2010
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RE: How are you taught flamenco? (in reply to VietFlamenco)
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Is my response too obvious? Ask your teacher... I make my living by teaching guitar. All my students - no matter what style they are learning - learn theory, history, studies, exercises, pieces, in no particular order. To take your teacher's side for a moment: maybe there is a reason he is holding back with the theory. Maybe you have technical issues he is trying to address. Maybe there is another reason. To take your side: you want more than your teacher is giving you at the moment. You scan discussion groups on the net and find you don't understand what everyone is talking about, and feel you are missing out. So you blame your teacher. Well, maybe there is a poor teacher, and maybe there is a poor student...Or not... Really, just talk to your teacher about your concerns. If he won't address your issues without giving a good reason, then leave. But before doing that, ask him why he is teaching what he does, in the way he does it. You might learn something. But please remember one thing, none of the professional players learned by scanning news groups. That's not to say you can't learn things here or elsewhere, but no one here knows your playing as well as your teacher. Talk to him...
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Date Oct. 24 2010 18:31:56
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Guest
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RE: How are you taught flamenco? (in reply to VietFlamenco)
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hi have been playing for 40 years but my journey into flamenco is fairly recent...though have been a paco fan since the age of 14 so knew the 'sounds' of flamenco, just never ventured to far in to it until later in life... saying this my mum sent me of to classical guitar lessons at the age of 8 so learnt to read music from an early age [ reading music has'nt really been of any help with learning flamenco except the under standing of rhythmic notation has been beneficial when working with tabs etc] the classical experience made me understand the mechanics of the left and more importantly the right hand which helped with my flamenco studies to a certain degree though the two have different techniques, just some things cross over ie arpeggio's/ scales etc in my teens ventured mainly into jazz, brazilian and tango music and stayed there for decades with some psuedo-flamenco-rhumba along the way so i awoke from this half a decade ago and thought ' i love flamenco guitar...this is the final frontier for me as a player..have no fear..lets start again!! i am fortunate enough as i have three awesome flamenco players in the small city i live in australia... i have one teacher who i see most weeks to work on technique, compas and falseta's..my teacher is a good friend and very encouraging, positive and throws challenges at me all the time..This is important!! i also play in the dance class after our lesson...This is Vital!!! My main teacher has journeyed to spain frequently and continues to do so... on other nights i connect up with one of the other players and just sit in the dance classes through the course of an evening..this is enjoyable, educational and always put's me on the spot.. as a result of all this i am able to provide a second guitar part as well as hold my own on occasions...so i score a few gigs while learning this art other than that i read here at foro, you tube...source recordings and transcriptions and have had a couple of skype sessions with ricardo [guilt! wish i had more...!!] this is how i'm learning as i really am trying to grasp the essence of flamenco, both in dance, song and the guitar as opposed to just learning techniques etc
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Date Oct. 25 2010 0:58:30
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HolyEvil
Posts: 1240
Joined: Nov. 6 2008
From: Sydney, Australia
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RE: How are you taught flamenco? (in reply to VietFlamenco)
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Ok, my experience with my teacher. Eg In the beginning, he would show me some arppegio excercises because I have never done fingerstyle before. Then showed me the compas for solea. Then I'll go home practice that etc. Then next time, he would show me and extension of the compas of solea with a simple arppegio falseta. then I'll go learn that for that week/fortnight/month (my lessons are not fixed) Next time I'll see him, he'll teach me eg compas of tangos, then maybe eg alzapua, then an excercise for alzapua. then next week I'll get an falseta for tangos using alzapua and some appregiated falseta for tangos. always if I'm shown a technique, he'll show me small excercise for it and then show me a simple falseta using it in the rhythm that I happen to be in. He hasn't taught me any music theory, only in my last lesson he was telling me about finding eg G maj arppegio patterns then G maj7th etc.. just told me if i do this, it'll be helpful in my own creation of music in the future.. I still don't understand how it'll work, so I'll just sit on it for a bit. As long as your teacher is giving you stuff for your level, and giving you music that helps that technique, then it's great. so that's my experience.
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Date Oct. 25 2010 1:30:15
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fevictor
Posts: 377
Joined: Nov. 22 2005
From: Quepos / Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica
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RE: How are you taught flamenco? (in reply to VietFlamenco)
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I have learned, am learning, utilizing Youtube, this foro, a couple of books (Juan Martin and Oscar Herrero), Jason's website, Google, and my own ears. My greatest tools are my ears and my microphone. I have also had some lessons from some good teachers, but I think that they served more for technique critique than anything else. I really wish I could live in a flamenco environment, but the internet is my only resource right now.
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Date Oct. 25 2010 17:49:23
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