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Someone keeps posting this on another website about guitar making. I’m less than enthusiastic on any of it. Is anything about this working for you? Why or why not? I’m tired of seeing/ hearing it.
Posts: 15857
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC
RE: Opinions- does this stuff work o... (in reply to estebanana)
He has decent intermediate level rhythm skills. At around 2:47 he expresses the correct thing. Of course, I would recommend he study in spain or buckle down on his technique but he is not like Rosalia’s guitarist at a least.
RE: Opinions- does this stuff work o... (in reply to Ricardo)
I found the faux oud very annoying, but maybe that’s Rosalia’s thing 😂. Plus it feels like the compas is rushed or he’s compressing too many notes into a small space, which results in people hating flamenco….
Posts: 3511
Joined: Jan. 20 2004
From: Austin, Texas USA
RE: Opinions- does this stuff work o... (in reply to estebanana)
Yes, he plays a lot of notes. No he never just loses the compas, that is, when he stops just noodling around and starts playing in compas. But he gets delayed a little fairly often, just trying to get all those notes in.
Melodically and harmonically he’s not as adventurous as say, Riqueni, certainly not as adventurous as Paco in his latter days. But he just doesn’t sound particularly flamenco to me—a subjective response, of course.
RE: Opinions- does this stuff work o... (in reply to estebanana)
Amused by the opening thumb part. What the **** was that? Totally unnecessary. From that on I knew that was not real flamenco. More like spanish guitar music with a few flamenco elements.
RE: Opinions- does this stuff work o... (in reply to orsonw)
Re: Jeronimo- I’ve seen other good players with that thumb picking. Chusales can do it. But there is a huge difference between a few of those thumb pickings like an oud risha with your thumb and what that first video dude is doing. There’s no comparison between them.
Posts: 15857
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC
RE: Opinions- does this stuff work o... (in reply to devilhand)
quote:
ORIGINAL: devilhand
At 2:42. Paco shows here again how it's done. The back of the nail is not involved to avoid thin metallic sound.
In the previous Taranta he was doing ami basic arpegio (with a finger apoyando at times). In the above video he is doing rasgueado i-a-i, where it is in fact back of the nails and one i up stroke.
Posts: 15857
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC
RE: Opinions- does this stuff work o... (in reply to estebanana)
“Yawn” and “doesn’t do it for me”, are not very helpful critiques…we can leave it at “he sucks” or “its not flamenco”, equally non constructive. “Doesn’t have cajones”, is a bit better, as in it points to a real problem, which is dynamic expression which could possibly be addressed by technique as in “play stronger” or “play harder”. There are of course some students of guitar that don’t understand what that means exactly, because they think that THEY are in fact playing as hard as necessary or they are capable of. This is frustrating for instructors who usually believe this a “feeling” of expression that one either has or doesn’t have, or refuses to tap into. I have found, as an instructor, that people are capable of taping into the feeling subjectively by addressing technical aspects directly. For example, the way to strum, the stiffness of the finger, or the degree of plant is done on an apoyando stroke. Sometimes mechanics that drive the sound, etc. When guitarists reach an intermediate level, especially in flamenco, they often feel like things will work themselves out overtime, because they have conquered important obstacles and eventually they will sound more like Moraito or whichever ballsy guitarist. This won’t happen if they rest on their laurels and don’t address fundamental issues directly.
RE: Opinions- does this stuff work o... (in reply to Ricardo)
quote:
ORIGINAL: Ricardo
In the previous Taranta he was doing ami basic arpegio (with a finger apoyando at times). In the above video he is doing rasgueado i-a-i, where it is in fact back of the nails and one i up stroke.
Posts: 3499
Joined: Jul. 12 2009
From: Washington, DC
RE: Opinions- does this stuff work o... (in reply to JasonM)
quote:
Yawn. Playing needs more cajones but he does have a good sound here and there
Unclear what is meant here. Do you mean he needs musicians playing cajones, i.e., the Peruvian percussion instrument known as the cajon?
Or do you mean he must display more cojones, i.e., Spanish for "balls," which is spelled cojones, not cajones?
Bill
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RE: Opinions- does this stuff work o... (in reply to Ricardo)
He needs to listen to cante’ plus have his rear end kicked inside by professional dancers for a few years. And stop that stupid oud intro stuff because it sounds terrible. The whole solo could be edited to 5 minutes, the tempo brought down by 5 bpm and the compas massaged into something resembling Aire. Plus wipe that smirk off his face.
I don’t see that more force is needed, what’s needed here is more fundamental marking to anchor the whole thing against the sections where the compas feels rushed. Whether or not it’s in compas isn’t what I mean, but there are places I don’t think dancers would find satisfactory for solos with a falseta. I also don’t feel that there’s a sense of how to handle closes and corte with a cuadro. While that’s not strictly necessary to convince your audience while playing a solo, it’s very good to allude in some way that you have a grasp on that because it helps the solo with aire, if you’re an intermediate player.
It doesn’t sound Flamenco, meaning I know porn when I see it, and I know you can’t be half pregnant or that whales don’t drink cappuccinos in San Francisco at fisherman’s wharf.
These are my perceptions. Does any of that make sense? I’m not breaking it down like a guitar teacher, but as an audience member speaking in non technical terms regarding guitar playing. Ricardo can break it down technically.
RE: Opinions- does this stuff work o... (in reply to BarkellWH)
quote:
Unclear what is meant here. Do you mean he needs musicians playing cajones, i.e., the Peruvian percussion instrument known as the cajon?
Ahh ya got me! I meant “cojones”, of course. Or did I? But as Ricardo stated more eloquently, Dynamic Expression. It just lacks drama or tension. And some nuance too as Stephan says.
Clearly this person has put a lot of time in playing. But I might guess that he also has one of those limp handshakes. Would he know where to add those extra dynamics? Thats something you pick up from listening to flamenco. Unless as Ricardo says, he already thinks he is doing so.
Now I feel like we are critiquing a pice of art for a class and teacher just told us to be more specific!
RE: Opinions- does this stuff work o... (in reply to JasonM)
Can you define what you mean with ‘limp handshake’?
Limp like a dead fish that’s passed out of the state of rigour mortise or limp like the hand is injured like a smashed toe on a foot that causes the person to lope along like a lame priest in a fairytale village?
RE: Opinions- does this stuff work o... (in reply to estebanana)
Limp as in, after an evening at a juerga, you’ve been slapping the cojones all night because the gitanos say your guitar playing doesn’t have enough Cajones!
Posts: 15857
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC
RE: Opinions- does this stuff work o... (in reply to estebanana)
quote:
ORIGINAL: estebanana
Can you define what you mean with ‘limp handshake’?
Limp like a dead fish that’s passed out of the state of rigour mortise or limp like the hand is injured like a smashed toe on a foot that causes the person to lope along like a lame priest in a fairytale village?
You must be specific or Ricardo will lecture you.
Yes, sorry man, I was in a bad mood (got some bad news). Didn’t mean to lecture anybody, you guys are right anyway.
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