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RE: Why do you play flamenco guitar (in reply to RTC)
I dont know what i would vote.... I play guitar for flamenco dance classes most nights of the week, but I do it volunteer as a way to get experience with dancers.
I am kind of aiming towards having it as a profession, but my goal isnt to make any money... I just want to get in the same room as some great dancers and singers
RE: Why do you play flamenco guitar (in reply to Elie)
quote:
wow kudo, wish i have your passion man ... a drug !!!! you deserve a big Ole to that
well im getting bored of guitar gradually any cure to that ?
its a drug I can not live without it..... the bad part is this: it stole my life and is almost killing my life (spend too much time on it!) and is killing my real career (yes seriously, my previous Boss thought I had much more interest in flamenco than in my real career that he did not like me for that reason ) I wish I was passionate about my real career as much as I am for flamenco
I always had that cycle of being bored, but when i start something new or more challenging, the boredom goes away
RE: Why do you play flamenco guitar (in reply to RTC)
Why indeed? It seems crazy sometimes.
My wife is a flamenco dancer and scholar. So when we became re-acquainted a couple of years ago (yeah, we moved fast), her love for flamenco rubbed off on me quickly. I just had no previous exposure or I'm sure I would have fallen in love with it before.
I have played guitar for 20-25 years, mostly rock and bluegrass. Flamenco is definitely music that a guitar player can easily appreciate! There are so many rhythmic structures in flamenco that fascinate me, as well.
Kind of a shame I picked it up in my mid-40's. Not sure I'll ever be very good, but it's fun to try. Practice is like solving a puzzle to me...doing a crossword or a sudoku in some ways and it relaxes my brain.
I have accompanied my wife a couple of times, but she has an accompanyist (my teacher) who is much better than I, so I won't even be her primary accompanyist for a few more years, I'm sure. I have a day job that I love and I have no professional aspirations.
RE: Why do you play flamenco guitar (in reply to RTC)
Thats my timeline:
Started at the age of 6 coz my best friend did so.
Started to play for dance coz an alcoholic wanted me to do that. (He was an awesome dude and friend)
Got a damn lot better coz of a hot chick for whom I played for years. (All you need is inspiration, no matter which source!) Well, she eventually married a dumb ass.. lol! (Still can´t believe that it is real)
Used it since to kill time and coz I can.(Some festivals were nice, though... anyway. I keep also to use my brain. Playing guitar is actually good...even though we use the brain less and less the more we get used to guitar.. I should switch instrument I guess..)
As you see..I never really wanted to play guitar. It just happened coz I had nothing else to do that was any better. hahaha
RE: Why do you play flamenco guitar (in reply to HemeolaMan)
quote:
I don't play flamenco anymore for all of those reasons.
Not a good profession for me, does not get many women, too many rules for a hobby, and I stopped being interested.
More or less the same for me. i'm playing in a electro-jazz/groove band now with 5 other people, many instruments, less work, much impro etc. and i have more fun and other opportunities to express myself more authentically because i don't base myself on a culture that i hardly don't know... however playing a nylon-string guitar (with fingers) is still a better playing feel for me than playing a steel-string (with plectrum)
Posts: 833
Joined: Oct. 29 2006
From: Olympia, WA in the Great Pacific Northwest
RE: Why do you play flamenco guitar (in reply to RTC)
I’m a pretty crappy guitar player. Lousy chops, clumsy hands. So for me playing the guitar is really just an avenue to pursue my aficion.
Through some periods of injury related layoffs I’ve found that if I can’t actually participate is some small way my interest in flamenco wanes. Passively listening doesn’t do it for me, and unless I can actually get my hands on the guitar and try to work through my understanding of the music in a “hands on” way I just end up frustrated and alienated from the experience of listening to it.
Can’t carry a tune, can’t bust a move, and slapping a hollow box isn’t very satisfying, so for me the guitar is the means by which I poke and prod my way toward a deeper understanding and appreciation of flamenco. Plus all the chicks.
RE: Why do you play flamenco guitar (in reply to RTC)
I barely play the guitar anymore. Everytime i pick up the guitar i listen to myself and imagine how much time of practicing it would need to take me to get where i want to be... then i put the guitar pretty quickly into the bag again. All because of having weak hands which get injured quickly and never heal fully. I still feel inspired by music and guitar stuff though. And chords, i can create interesting chords very easily and it takes virtually no technique to play stuff like that.
RE: Why do you play flamenco guitar (in reply to RTC)
Sometimes it depends on How much you are attracted to it. When i first picked up the classical guitar, i was interested in the Rumba Palo.. Only some strumming to be able to play a song i like.. The spanish tunes is attractive on the guitar. Then the big discovery, THe different Palos, the Cante, the Baile, the language, the land and the culture. I simply became interested to Flamenco as a way of life, not only a guitar playing. I don't practice much and i know that to be called a FLAMENCO PLAYER it takes lots of time and efforts. Discipline, trainig, listening, spanish language development, reading, and more nicely Traveling there when possible. it is simply something that i can't explain.. When you go to sleep with a simple repeated Compas in your head to a palo you are working on. Guajiras, Milonga, Farruca, Alegrias, and SOLEA!
This afternoon i received an invitation from a local flamenco guitarist that perform this evening from 18.30 till 20.30. i simply accepted it and i was there on time. When i entered the small beautiful bar there were only two girls at the bar counter and the bartender. end of the story, the bartender told me that the local guitarist must have mistaken the date on Facebook for there will be no show this evening! i ordered beer and something to eat anyway! a minute later, another bartender shown up and started to clap his hands taking a traditional position for the Baile! I watched him for a minute, he was counting his steps, concentrated, serious as if he was performing on stage.. few minutes later he came to me asking if i'm really here for the flamenco show then we made an interesting conversation about flamenco, like where he go for the dancing classes, who is he studying with etc. I came back home later feeling anyway good cuz i met the dancer by chance and i felt i wanna pick up the guitar and practice something, anything..
One of the beautiful things to do if sometimes you loose the interest is not to be away from the flamenco community where yo are, meet up with dancers, singers, or dancing school teachers that's if flamenco is your 1st priority for sure and if not, well, then don't stop something flamenco that you like!
Ciao Wael
_____________________________
This is hard stuff! Don't give up... And don't make it a race. Enjoy the ray of sunshine that comes with every new step in knowledge.
RE: Why do you play flamenco guitar (in reply to RTC)
Flamenco allows me to be creative. No other genre allows me to do that. If you know the compas you can add falsetas from various sources, change them, create your own, mix in various techniques to get a sound you like. No matter how much I try, I never seem to play the same thing twice. It never gets old. My playing sucks but that's OK. I play for myself only. Why the music grabs my soul, I couldn't say.
Posts: 1958
Joined: Jul. 12 2004
From: San Francisco
RE: Why do you play flamenco guitar (in reply to RTC)
I don't play much guitar anymore either compared to what I used to. As far as women, my problem was too many. playing in a dance school i was presented with so many opportunities, but being married, was unable to take advantage..............As you can see from my avatar, I'm quite handsome and this led to many propositions, however, I have the unfortunate vice of being incredibly loyal, which resulted in frustration so great I had to give up playing for dancers........... no matter, tomorrow I'm off to costa rica to surf for a week with my daughter. i'll be bringing my yamaha and dr compas for when I'm too tired to paddle. Shaka!
RE: Why do you play flamenco guitar (in reply to RTC)
Started playing at aged 13, dropped it as my guitar was so poor it was almost unplayable. Bought a better (Fylde Falstaff) guitar at 22 practiced hard played folk then jazz until 30 then dropped it as I emigrated from the UK. Bought another guitar around 35 started learning to play JS Bach - so wonderful - played classical style until 2 years ago I found I wasn't progressing. Kept hearing flamenco here and there, then visited Madrid for work, went to a tablao, wow, came back determined to learn something more, invested in a serious box 12 months ago then bought another - el Greco's Conde - 3 months later - wow x2. Take regular lessons, my playing sucks but I'm 60 in a few months so my present to myself is to make full use of the time I can squeeze out of my day - if only I didn't have to work for a living.
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any cure to that ? 
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