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Oh my god. So many sudents. Must be har to be able to hear Gerardo no? I took many workshops in past, but now stopped it, coz its too much money for too less material. Usually the other guitarrists are learning much slower than me, so they put the speed and the mass of the material down which I could learn in such a class. So .its useless. (By the way, that was no lie. )
Yeah that was another alternative i was thinking about. Ive been there before and played for danceclasses at Amor de Dios. I like Madrid but its hard to get any sleep there
Viejin gives classes? Do u know how much they cost?
Thanks. I heard a lot of good about entris teaching from a danish friend and i took some classes from a guy in the cano roto neighborhood but he charged normally, but he didnt have as big name as any of the others.
I dont know about underrated, ive hear a lot of good about him from several people. So i think he is very respected among a lot of people, but teachers usually dont become famous in the same way as a poster name guitarist like gerardo would.
http://cursoflamenco.com/english/portada.htm It's 280 Euros to do the course. The actual classes aren't that beneficial IMO, but the overall course is well worth it. Have done the course twice and haven't done any others so my perspective is limited, but really great players go back year after year if that tells you anything. I'd much rather be studying Flamenco in Andalucia as opposed to Madrid as well. Nick
Oh yeah, there are alot of students but I asked him a specific question about technique and he brought me up front and helped me for about five minutes looking carefully and positioning my right hand. He likes to be challenged.
A lot of andalusian guitarists are in Madrid becuse of jobs and promotion and stuff and its the capital (of spain LOL). So its not completely useless for people not into cano roto.
I see Tino does repeticion and thats a extra 50 €. Does the 280 € include anything else than the main course with gerardo?
Madrid is great, all I'm saying is that if I'm in Spain I'd rather be on the coast in Andalucia especially if studying Flamenco in Spain is your vacation time from work. Spent a summer in Madrid and love it but the feeling in Andalucia is more my speed personally. Sonikete to answer your question there is some type of concert each night in different locales of Sanlucar. This past year Gerardo's performance was the best guitar playing period I have ever seen. You get to hang out at Gerardo's house and eat Paella and drink sherry for free. I don't know, the expensive part is the plane ticket for me. I see that you're from Sweden, Do you know Erik Steen. He was my roommate there and ended up being a stand up guy. Oh and the English thing is kindof a problem but if there is something important then they will translate for you. It definitley decreases the experience if you can't speak Spanish and I'm not neccesarily talking about the guitar course.
Thanks, yes i know erik and i think henrik does too, its sounds pretty nice and the trip from sweden isnt that expensive so i might make it. I wouldnt go to Madrid during the summer anyway because of the heat and traffic.
He's been there many many times and was one of the first people to go to the course. Like I said great players go year after year. He speaks Spanish very well and was able to have some good conversations with Gerardo. I didn't know what the hell they we're ever talking about and those were times when it was really frutrating not being able to speak very well, but that happens anywhere in Spain of course. I would like to hear about other courses though, but will hopefully be able to go back and the goal is to show much improvement which Gerardo and others definitely notice. I don't see why most of the members on this Forum don't use that week as kindof a FlamencoForo convention of sorts.
I speak spanish and i know erik and i wouldnt have any problem with the language more than its a bit rusty coming out of my mouth And it would be nice to meet fellow forumists in person if that wouldnt result in too much bloodshedding
Sherry and paella for free at gerardos house sounds nice!
I went ten years go and I have to say before I thought I knew what flamenco was but after I had a much better understanding rather like an iniciation. Flamenco has to be seen in context and like you say the class are quite limited and I found that the level was really high and I was pretty much a beginner then so even the beginners was very hard. But what realy made it was meeting people and the concerts were very good as they were very informal and you got a really good idea of what it was all about. I'd love to go again but I don't know if I will ever have the chance to again. Gerardo speaks very like english and most of the class were in spanish.
If your going next time 2007, it would be nice to know what flight you tock and how much it cost and from where. I would go from Gothenburg or Denmark. It would be nice to go but i have this payment on a pair of mics and a mic preamp so that eats a 1000kr each month untill April
Henrik
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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.
To be honest, starting about 2004, the class has been too big. It was easier to learn stuff when the class was small, or for me, it went faster anyway. But that is not the main reason I go. I just like to hear Gerardo play up close, every morning. Great hang over cure. Then a nap. Then a little free concert (like Nano de Jerez or Guadiana, Rafael de Utrea, etc!!!), then the JUERGA! That is where the real fun and learning about flamenco happens, if you are willing to involve yourself. On one hand it is too big of a class to get lots for yourself, if you don't ask him like Nick did for specifics, but on the other you get to meet some really great players from all over the world (sitting next to Javier Conde in class is inspiring!). Practice together, trade falsetas, get help for things you might have missed. And it is not just guitarists there. Lots of people wanting to sing and play and dance. It is a great feeling to have a juerga with so many enthusiasts around you.
There are some folks that just go to class, spend the night in the hotel practicing. You know it is up to you to get what you need from what is offered. I don't advertise it anymore because it is so big now. But a little secrete is that towards the end of the course, last 2 days, the advanced class gets really small from people too hungover to get up, burnt out, or they move to the other class (intermediate beginner). So if you stick it out to the last day, you can get more personal instruction. I like to audit the second class which is a lot of traditional cositas. Very important and fundamental material.
There has got to be some sort of limit to how big it can get, isnt there? And the advice is to pace oneself when it comes to late nights and to much drinking