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RE: Some observations and a cante question or 2.
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zata
Posts: 659
Joined: Jul. 17 2003
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 RE: Some observations and a cante qu... (in reply to Escribano)
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quote:
Are these referred to as Malagueñas, i.e., 'Malagueñas del Frasquito Yerbabuena'? Or are they referred to as Fandangos de Malaga, i.e., 'Fandangos del Frasquito Yerbabuena' ?
It seems to be linked to tradition, or perhaps the years in which a given cante became popular but yes, the malagueña de Concha Peñaranda and the malagueña de Juan Breva for example are very famous, are never called fandangos and are abandolao. But their structure, music and traditional accompaniment are essentially the same as cantes like the fandango de Lucena or fandango del Albaicín. The whole lot sounds like verdiales to an untrained ear. The hard part becomes identifying true verdiales which are separate and distinct.
At the CAF website where you can listen to historic recordings I only recently discovered that the vast majority of Chacon's famous malagueñas were accompanied abandolao! You can barely hear the guitar, but the strum is unmistakeable. So the trend was that cantes came into this world with compas, and as they grew up and took their rightful place among society, some styles lost the steady beat for reasons we can only speculate about. The all-powerful fandango era (first half of the twentieth century) cultivated the general appetite for rhythm-free cante and sped this process along for certain styles.
I'd guess that Ramon Montoya's opening-up of the guitar might have caused guitarists to want to show off their tremolos and other techniques that work well without compas, and the fandango family (which includes malagueña of course) was the perfect outlet since guitar solos were rare.
Estela 'Zata'
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Date Oct. 3 2003 8:10:57
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zata
Posts: 659
Joined: Jul. 17 2003
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RE: Some observations and a cante qu... (in reply to Guest)
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how I can distinguish a 3-line bulerias letra being sung "bulerias por solea" from a 3-line solea letra being sung in a "bulerias por solea" ?
To avoid confusion we need to distinguish between the poetic verse and the melody line, which is often called the letra. They are not linked... given words do not need to be sung to a given melody. Verses are interchangeable between nearly all the forms. Letras (melodies) are not.
Three-line bulerías (melodies) are not bulerías por soleá. Bulería por soleá is a separate form with its own melodies, or letras. And the same holds true for the occasional three-line soleá.
In other words, there's no shortcut. You need to hear the melodies (letras) enough to recognize them, just as you recognize the melody of any pop song. How do you tell caña from soleá? Different melody.
The good news is these basic forms depend on the same cadences and tend to follow the format of opening-line (which may be repeated), followed by a two-line 'cambio' portion (which may also be repeated).
Many singers mix soleá with soleá por bulería because there are only about 4 styles of the latter and sixty or so of the former. The other day I realized the importance of seeing the divisions between the lines...a seasoned guitarist who claimed to have no problem with cante made meatloaf of a singer's soleá simply because he wasn't able to follow the structure to know when a line was being repeated, when the cambio came, etc... When you recoqnize a line being repeated, that's one compás you don't need to worry about, and then you also have a good clue about what's coming next.
It's not that hard to learn to spot the number of lines. Listen to recordings that come with the verses printed out and watch how the singer makes use of the options. Once you can identify 3-line verses and 4-line verses, and know more or less how to accompany each one, then you can tackle identifying the most popular styles which helps you accompany the cante in a way that enhances it. At that point you'll never have to wonder if it was bulería, soleá por bulería or soleá...the melodies are as different as the Macarena, Happy Birthday to You, and the Birdie Song  .
Forgive me if that was too elementary...it's hard to know what people know...
Estela 'Zata'
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Date Oct. 6 2003 18:44:29
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Guest
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RE: Some observations and a cante qu... (in reply to zata)
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Well the cambio of solea and bulerias por solea does change to to major key tonality in the cambio and bulerias doesn't usually. The cambio for most bulerias that I know of is the descending cadence, although in the Jerez style decorated with secondary dominant chords. But then again there is a bulerias cambio that goes briefly to Emajor too, but the solea and bulerias always do (even if for only 2 chords).
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Date Oct. 7 2003 3:33:32
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zata
Posts: 659
Joined: Jul. 17 2003
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RE: Some observations and a cante qu... (in reply to Guest)
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But then again there is a bulerias cambio that goes briefly to Emajor too, but the solea and bulerias always do (even if for only 2 chords).
Bear in mind that when we say bulerías, we usually mean the *rhythm* of bulerías, and are not referring to any specific cante...unlike nearly all the other forms where a given rhythm is associated with given cantes.
Before Camarón, bulerías was perhaps 90% standard, traditional styles with only a small portion of cuple or the singer's original material. Now that ratio is reversed and only a small portion of bulería cante is traditional styles. There are fewer than a dozen different melodies of what many singers call "bulería corta", meaning *not* cuplé. And it's these styles that follow the same musical pattern as soleá or soleá por bulería. Different tempos might allow for different possibilities in the accompaniment, but musically they are the same and can be accompanied in the same way. In fact, the only significant musical difference I've noticed in bulería, and no one at flamencodisc picked up on this, is the melodic path that resolves the first line in Gm (por medio). In the nineteen-sixties it was exceedingly rare for guitarists to play Gm, even in solos. Then it became fashionable and singers (taking Camarón and Paco's lead), quickly came up with melodies that contained that haunting descent to Gm in the first line, which had long been traditional in tientos. There is no traditional soleá or siguiriya that goes to Gm...you can't even force it. And no traditional bulería contains it either.
Estela 'Zata'
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Date Oct. 7 2003 6:28:24
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zata
Posts: 659
Joined: Jul. 17 2003
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RE: Some observations and a cante qu... (in reply to Guest)
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quote:
I'm not familiar with a Gm in bulerias cante except a quick passing chord in the final resolution : Gm7 -> Gm7/Ab -> A
Can you give some examples?
There are no examples in traditional bulerías for the same reason (whatever that may be) the chord does not exist in soleá and siguiriyas. Non-traditional bulería, which includes cuple and personal creations, can literally go to any tone at all. It was in the 70's singers became enamoured of the Gm (that's a full Gm, not Gm7), and around 1965 Mario Escudero taught it to me as a "the latest thing from Spain" (even though it had occasionally popped up in solos prior to that. Traditional tientos and tangos melodies go to Gm but guitarists used to waffle through with other chords.). I'm trying to think of bulerías everyone has heard...Pansequito perhaps? He popularized a short coletilla he often tacks on the end of his bulería set:
Vete de mi ver que no quiero verte (resolves in Gm)
cuando te veo me da la muerte (resolves in A)
There's a very old traditional folk tune, not a standard bulería, which is sung in Jerez to bulerías. On older recordings the Gm moment is covered by Bb, but guitarists under 50 or so give the Gm. Romerito has it recorded and again, it's a short coletilla:
Ay mi amor (Gm) ay mi amor, ay mi amante (A)
ay mi amor (Gm) olvidarte no puedo (A)
Then there's a Caracol song Paquera did por bulería which glides cleanly into Gm on the second line, as follows:
La rosa de mi alegría (A)
se la llevó un marinero (Gm)
[song continues for many lines]
Sometimes Gm is a mere alternative to Bb...the novelty was the appearance of a sung cadence that forced the Gm and made Bb sound wrong. I couldn't explain the precise mechanism.
You can't overlook the fact that a nice full Gm barred on the third fret is a beautiful sound on the guitar, unlike the wimpy standard position for Dm.
Estela 'Zata'
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Date Oct. 7 2003 19:40:40
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Guest
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RE: Some observations and a cante qu... (in reply to Miguel de Maria)
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does that mean that a guitarist who wants to accompany bulerias only has to learn 12 melodies, and could then theoretically accompany most old school bulerias cante?
Michael, it's simpler than having to learn "12 melodies". Singers use well-worn paths to travel to certain chords, and those paths are instinctively 'broadcast' in advance of the actual resolution. Just listening to cante puts those things into your head, and there aren't that many chords or possibilities in traditional cante. The problems come with cuple and other creations.
The same holds true for tangos, but there's much more variety in the melodies because of regional variations: tangos de Cádiz, de Triana, de Málaga, de Granada, Extremadura... But really, once you learn to recognize the singer's 'paths', it's not that complicated.
Don't make the mistake of thinking all you need is a good ear...when there are alternative chords, often only one of the choices is the customary sound and anything else will make the singer unhappy. 
Estela 'Zata'
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Date Oct. 7 2003 20:48:51
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Guest
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RE: Some observations and a cante qu... (in reply to Guest)
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quote:
so it (Gm) is not used in the bulerias letra itself, right?
(I don't know why I keep coming up as a Guest )
Traditional bulerías, like soleá and siguiriya, contains no Gm, so those coletillas are not part of the body of traditional bulería cante. I posted two coletillas and one beginning of a song...there are many dozens of examples, but they're all songs and cuplé. Thing is, nowadays, hardly anyone bothers to distinguish between the traditional repertoire of bulería cante, and 'derivatives'
Estela 'Zata'
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Date Oct. 7 2003 21:09:58
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zata
Posts: 659
Joined: Jul. 17 2003
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RE: Some observations and a cante qu... (in reply to Guest)
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quote:
Hmmm. I did a quick survey and that's not what I see. Perhaps it depends on who you listen to.
No, not at all Andy. The vast majority of solea por buleria verses are 3 lines. In fact, I’ve only come across one 4-line spb. And you’re thinking “Is she nuts?” The problem is in identifying a verse of spb ‘in the wild’. For one thing, as I warned, many singers mix solea with solea por buleria. Spb is not just another rhythm for solea, it’s an actual style of cante with specific melodies attributed to historic singers. Another pitfall is the interjections I mentioned in another message. A verse of spb has three lines, but it’s traditional, almost obligatory, to add interjections such as “mare de mi alma”, “compan~era mia” or anything else the singer feels like sticking in. It’s a bit like the old vaudevillians who in the middle of a song would interject “and I really mean it” or “one more time”. These insertions are *not* part of the verse, are not standardized, and are at the whim of the singer.
Here’s a rundown of the styles of solea por buleria (buleria por solea). The names are of historic singers who are credited with the styles, probably more than you wanted to know, but it’s the only way to put this in perspective:
MARIA LA MORENO: This style accounts for perhaps 80% of spb. A common and traditional verse begins “Al de la puerta real”. It has a 3-line melodic framework and corresponding verse which is often expanded with the above-mentioned interjections.
ANTONIO LAPEN~A: Needless to say, if the previous style is so common, these others are far less often heard. A common verse is “Dejo la puerta entorna”. Three-line melodic framework and corresponding verse, may or may not incorporate above-mentioned interjections.
EL GLORIA 1: (The numbers ‘one’ and ‘two’ are arbitrary, simply to distinguish between the two styles El Gloria popularized). This one is sometimes used to close out a set of spb. Three-line melodic framework and corresponding verse. Offhand I don’t recall hearing this style with the characteristic interjections.
EL GLORIA 2: This style is very popular in Jerez, (where El Gloria was from), and the Sorderas work it up and flesh out the melody almost into a “flamenco aria”, a real work of art and incredibly dramatic. *This* is the only four-line style I know and the interjection which is always inserted (notice how it throws the rhyming pattern out of kilter) brings it up to five lines when you hear it sung. This is a very special case because the interjection (shown in parentheses) “pero yo culpita no tengo” has the rare quality of relating to the verse as opposed to being a universal line which could be inserted into any spb. It’s a masterpiece of cante:
Y dios te va a mandar un castigo
porque tu te lo mereces
y tu me vienes culpando
(pero yo culpita no tengo)
de que de ti hable la gente.
The following is a loose translation of the above verse, intended to pin down the intent and meaning and show how the interjection packs a whollop:
You’re gonna get yours baby
‘cause you got it coming,
you wanna pin the blame on me
(I didn’t do nothing!)
‘cause everyone’s talking about you.
A quick look at the examples you gave... “Por alli viene mi bata” is 3-lines, but it’s a classic verse of solea, attributed to Juaniqui de Lebrija. It’s not spb. “Te tengo en mi pensamiento” is a Juan Villar modification of the Maria la Moreno style...I say “Juan Villar modification” because I never heard any other singer copy it. He sings the third line with the classic melody of an interjection, and yet that line of poetry does not break the rhyming pattern. In other words, an odd exception which proves the rule and hasn’t been repeated as far as I know:
Te tengo en mi pensamiento
y tu no me quieres a mi
(la vida sera un tomento)
tengo que vivir sin ti
Don’t overlook the fact that there’s a fair amount of 3-line solea verses and they may surface mixed with spb.
Estela ‘Zata’
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Date Oct. 19 2003 20:29:36
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