Welcome to one of the most active flamenco sites on the Internet. Guests can read most posts but if you want to participate click here to register.
This site is dedicated to the memory of Paco de Lucía, Ron Mitchell, Guy Williams, Linda Elvira, Philip John Lee, Craig Eros, Ben Woods, David Serva and Tom Blackshear who went ahead of us.
We receive 12,200 visitors a month from 200 countries and 1.7 million page impressions a year. To advertise on this site please contact us.
Hello, I just got my Yamaha CG172 flamenco guitar one week ago, so I am very green. I have been practicing basic finger picking and want to know if the flamenco tremolo is played where the fingers come to rest on the lower string, or is it free form? I seem to like the p-m-a-m-i .....The web site is great! I have been reading various posts-
Yes, you have to rest your thumb on the string below. Of course you can make exeptions, for example if you want to get a different sound or play a chord a little bit louder instead of a single note. But if you are starting I would recommend to practice it resting your thumb.
where the fingers come to rest on the lower string
do you mean by lower the below ? or the lower as a music note ? I take it as you're saying you want to rest the ima on the lower strings .. right ? no don't do that .... that would make it picado with three fingers not tremelo
just rest the thump using the sequence piami->piami->piami with almost no breaks in between and keep the iami played free stroke
OOhh tremolo ..... some people have a really hard time trying to get this right ... That would be me ....,, famous for not playing tremolo in more than one country.... Some people (even the best ones ) do not play it as even as you may think , Some people kind of start off by falling into it ..I mean instead of ..piami. you might start by trying iamiP...iamiP...iamiP...as if the first iami were grace notes leading to a P . Find some exercises or just invent some to stop you from getting bored. Eventually you will have to also get down to the seconed and third string...
there is a lot of stuff about on this site ..( not from Me though ) .. but have a look at this explanation.....
thanks for the help guys. Yes it sounded like the the tremolo I heard on albums were free stroke, but I wasn't sure. I worked on the p-i-a-m-i this morning. Not sure if I find it as comfortable as the p-m-a-m-i. Seems like most people use the traditional p-i-a-m-i....
Yeah as mentioned fingers are free, but thumb rests as often as it can. Sometimes you can't rest the thumb. Sometimes the free stroke fingers can hit more than one string at once. Also I agree, depending on the tempo: iamiP....iamiP....is a good way to start, especially with slower palos. Good luck
Interesting. I surprisingly found P-i-a-m-i to be easier than the i-a-m-iP ... you might also want to start with the 'classical' tremolo which is P-a-m-i .. some people find it easier in the beginning but it still sounds very cool :)
Another thing I learned from my teacher, Paco de Malaga, is for a strong tremolo, it helps to have a strong thumb stroke. The strong thumb stroke seems to automatically cause your iami to be stronger as well. It's probably not automatic, but it works.
Cheers,
Bill
_____________________________
And the end of the fight is a tombstone white, With the name of the late deceased, And the epitaph drear, "A fool lies here, Who tried to hustle the East."
Another thing I learned from my teacher, Paco de Malaga, is for a strong tremolo, it helps to have a strong thumb stroke. The strong thumb stroke seems to automatically cause your iami to be stronger as well. It's probably not automatic, but it works.
Cheers,
Bill
This is so true. It is also why I find that starting with P is much easier than the iamiP combo that is often (usually?) learned first
Another thing I learned from my teacher, Paco de Malaga, is for a strong tremolo, it helps to have a strong thumb stroke. The strong thumb stroke seems to automatically cause your iami to be stronger as well. It's probably not automatic, but it works.
Cheers,
Bill
This is so true. It is also why I find that starting with P is much easier than the iamiP combo that is often (usually?) learned first
Easier, but the hard thing is landing the thumb strokes so hence, doing it in reverse as the exercise. Also for learning a new trem slow it is done this way so the finger notes don't get in the way. The left hand needs to make it easy to switch so you don't have breaks between final i stroke and the next bass. Yet it is ok musically to sometimes pause on the thumb stroke. Hope that makes sense.
Printable Version
some people have a really hard time trying to get this right ... 
New Messages
No New Messages
Hot Topic w/ New Messages
Hot Topic w/o New Messages
Locked w/ New Messages
Locked w/o New Messages
Post New Thread