Dreadgod wrote:Do you have any particular practice tips posted? They would be much appreciated.

I have thought for some time that it would be useful to start a flamenco-practice-tips thread where members can share things that have helped them learn to play, dance or sing flamenco. If we accumulate some good ideas here, this can be made into a sticky-tread to make it easier to find.

It isn't necessary that the tips be original. There will be no harm in reminding any of us of things that are generally known to be effective. However, unique ideas will be especially interesting and potentially valuable to others. I will start the thread off with a couple things I have found to be especially useful.

Listen to flamenco as much as possible, but especially just before or while practicing.
Neither standard music notation nor tabs are rich-enough languages to accurately communicate flamenco music. That can be demonstrated easily by playing printed flamenco music with a computer program such Guitar Pro or Sibelius. Those programs play printed music precisely as it is written and the music they play sounds very little like flamenco. A beginner who learns to play perfectly what is written will not be playing flamenco. Until such time as someone may invent a more robust printed music language it will continue to be essential to learn from listening with printed music serving only as a rough and inaccurate guide.

Start with a cejilla on a high fret to learn long left-hand finger reaches.
Most beginners have difficulty being able to span enough frets with the fingers of their left-hand to play certain falsetas and chords. They generally also have a related problem with not having enough little-finger strength to be able to hold down strings at distant frets even where they can reach them. Both those problems can be overcome by clamping a cejilla just below a high fret and learning to play the music up there at first where frets are much closer together. After you are able to play well in that high position, move the cejilla lower one fret and practice playing there for a few days. When playing in that position becomes easy, move another fret lower and continue in that way down the guitar neck. Over time you find that you will be able to play things in open position without a cejilla that were initially impossible to play several frets higher.

-Bob

Bob is correct with the number one rule being to listen to the flamenco that interest you. A good time to listen is before going to sleep and before practicing.

Palmas: Try to clap along with the recording. for instance a Solea, use a basic clap for every beat and a little harder on the accents.

Compas: Try to get compas automatic in your head. Takes a lot of listening and clapping, but also playing along with the recordings. Choose simple basic stuff to start. Juan Martin and Juan Serrano have great beginners books with CD's out. Learn a basic Solea for instance and learn to play along with the recording before you attempt using a METRONOME. Most will disagree with me here, but the metronome is the cause of many beginners playing very mechanical, lacking the feeling that makes up compas. It is the reason that many modern accomplished players don't sound flamenco. They are perfectionist in timing and counting and technique, but lack the feeling and emotion necessary to convey compas. The metronome is a classical approach and necessary in learning sight reading classical guitar music and playing it on time. One playing solo flamenco guitar needs to establish compas, not follow it. Playing with a metronome is following. A good aid at times, but can become a crutch very easy.

Technique: Don't get obsessed with learning difficult technique like tremolo. You can play every flamenco palo on compas without ever learning tremolo or difficult rasqueados. Most of all have fun!!!

It is important to memorize new music being learned from cifra or standard music notation as soon as possible, so attention can be focused on playing rather than reading music. Generally after practicing something new for a while much of it can be played from memory while it is still necessary to read some portions that are less similar to previously learned music or that are especially complicated. A considerable amount of additional practice time often is required to advance from that point to where everything has been fully memorized.

I think one reason it often takes so long to fully memorize new music is that printed music tends to be used too long as a crutch. I have found in most cases that it actually isn't necessary to be able to clearly see every detail in portions I can't fully remember and that all I actually need is a hint or two about those parts to refresh my memory. I have found that the memorization process can be accelerated by moving printed music further and further away so it is more difficult to see as I progressively learn it. Because it becomes increasingly difficult to read as I move it further away over time, I start relying more on memory and less on reading and I am able to play the music in a shorter time without reading.

-Bob

Here are some of my tips : from a beginner

Before even touching the guitar :

Get your hands warm! It is crucial if you play in a room that is badly heated (like mine). Put on gloves and move your hands to warm them up. Otherwise : pain will appear on the side of the left hand palm quickly...
Stretch fingers thoroughly. I stretch both hands but in a different way since the left hand and right won't have to work the same way. I emphasize stretching inter finger spaces of the left hand (exercise described by Oscar Herrero in his DVD method) either using the right hand or the guitar neck. For the right hand, I start with arpeggio moves, faster and faster. Then I go on with rasgueado moves on the side of my thigh, if I want to make it gentle for my roommates

Guitar in hands

Checking the cleanliness of the guitar I don't clean my guitar everyday after practice because it takes time and whatsmore I don't sweat that much on the strings. However, when I feel I have sweat a lot (because of the room temperature or because of crazy rasgueado practice por buleria ) I wipe the guitar thoroughly with polish and I use "Fast Fret" on the strings.
Before practicing a part At that stage one must assume that the guitar is also tuned fine (normally as soon as you take your baby in your arms). Time for fundamentals : chromatic scales with the thumb and in picado (way and back). I also practice other exercises but I need to write them down. If some of the forum users are interested I can write them down and post them. Then, exercises on bar position (index) with ring finger and little finger moving. I also integrated in this part of my everyday practice a "little finger exercise" picked in Oscar Herrero's method too.

Then only I start reviewing falsetas for any palo I want to practice keeping in mind three fundamental principles :
1) Compas;
2) Compas;
3) Compas.
My master made me understand that it is pointless to work falsetas alone : if you cannot jump from a compas to a falseta and then come back to the compas, then you haven't got it yet. Working slowly is my key. No need to hurry, even for the Buleria. When I work on new falsetas, usually with recordings from my master, I use Audacity (free) to slower down the tempo and analyze the melody and everything that is not "visible" for the ears, meaning ligado, pulgar, rasgueado, picado or arpeggio. And then I repeat a hundred times or more each new falsetas. Accuracy of performance will come with time, the priority is being "a compas" since the very beginning, otherwise one shall take bad habits that will be hard to remove afterwards. No need to play bright and clear (which is hardly flamenco, I think) but getting the pulse. The quality of sound will come eventually.

Still, I'm a beginner which means that my falseta repertoire is quite limited yet. However, even though I don't have time everyday to review what I have learned before, I try from time to time to come back to "old" falsetas in order to keep them in mind. As a matter of fact, my teacher doesn't give me any part so I use my ears and memory a lot. And it's really good to train one's ear : now I can pick falsetas easilier when I listen to flamenco.

And above all : have fun!! This is really important. And don't get discouraged. I read in biography of Diego del Gastor that he used to spend from 10 to 14 hours a day working on his guitar : there is no secret to fame and glory on the long path to become a flamenco! Working hard and persevere. Even geniuses must work

These are some very good pointers. I think this thread should be made sticky and I hope more tips will continue to be posted.

Lucas

lucas wrote:These are some very good pointers. I think this thread should be made sticky and I hope more tips will continue to be posted.

Lucas

Ditto to that ...

Alvarez

Great posts! I have nothing to offer, but thanks. I appreciate the practice ideas you have posted. I agree - this should be a sticky topic.

I had posted this before, but it is buried somewhere in the past. This is a chromatic scale that I got from an old flamenco guitar method book back in the early 70's. Good for warm up and getting the feel of the fingerboard. Works even with cejilla at 2nd fret. Use imimi, etc. picato. Play nice and even.


--------------------------------------------------------------0-1-2-3-4------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------0-1-2-3-4--------------2-3-4-5--------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------0-1-2-3-4------------------------------------3-4-5-6-----------------------------------
--------------------------0-1-2-3-4----------------------------------------------------------4-5-6-7-------------------------
--------------0-1-2-3-4---------------------------------------------------------------------------------5-6-7-8--------------
--0-1-2-3-4--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6-7-8-9---


-----------------------------------------6-7-8-9------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------6-7-8-9------------8-7-6-5-------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------6-7-8-9---------------------------------7-6-5-4--------------------------------------------------------
------------6-7-8-9-----------------------------------------------------6-5-4-3----------------------------------------------
--6-7-8-9-------------------------------------------------------------------------5-4-3-2------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4-3-2-1-0-----------------------

El Frances mentioned a little finger exercise. Here is one I learned in 1963 from a jazz guitarist. Works great for strengthening the little finger for flamenco ligatos, etc.

E 1 string ____________141414242424343434242424141414----------------------------------------

You can play it on different strings and any position you prefer. I still do these simple exercises at the start of every practice.

Here is a study in octaves that is very beneficial in flamenco. Also my favorite scales. I try to make practice stuff fun. If you don't, then you get bored with it and don't put the effort in it.
archives-f8/fun-scales-for-flamenco-guitar-t452.html

Great stuff! Thanks for posting this, every bit helps

Hey, everyone!
I had some trouble recently with my internet connexion so I could not post. Here are attached the exercises I was talking about in a previous post. Hope it may help any of the users. Feedback is greatly appreciated