Hi folks. So nice to find a like minded bunch of musicians. I've been a guitarist for 25yrs or so, mostly classical but with lots of fingerstyle folk (blues/celtic). But this last year and a 1/2 I have been totally obsessed with flamenco, to the point that I have played little else. It has been the best change i've ever made. The raw emotion in this music is indescribable. I find myself mostly drawn to the old stuff: del Gastor, Marchena, Ricardo etc.

Welcome to the foro, Rob. I visited your website, very nice! My interest was drawn, among other things, to the mention of you involved in both music, and psychology. In your work at Auditory Perception and Music Cognition Laboratory, did you delve into psycho-acoustics much? This is rather a fascinating topic for me as a luthier. It seems as guitarmaker, at the very (theoretical) best, I can fulfill no more that 50% of the guitar's potential. In reality, the percentage must be a lot less. The rest is up to the musicians, listeners, everyone's psychological state and the physical environment in which the music is heard/performed. Again, welcome, and feel free to contribute thoughts from your knowledge of music and psychology, even if it is not strictly flamenco-related.

Rob, Welcome to the foro and glad you found us. You are on the right track trying to understand the emotion of flamenco. The roots of flamenco were created by the Spanish Gypsy (Roma ... originally Hindu from Northwest India) as we see in the Siguiriyas, Soleares, Bulerias, etc. and even thought other palos were influenced by regional folk song and dance, we must understand what the Gypsy experienced in order to get the feel of the music. The modern trend is to leave the Gypsy out of flamenco as we see with this months meeting of The International Congress of Flamenco in Jerez and NOT ONE Gitano, or Roma on the council. I find it disturbing that the people that are solely responsible for creating and keeping flamenco alive during the rein of Franco are now being cut out of flamenco, even in the country and area where it originated.

Peter brings up a very valid subject. What motivates anyone to perform music, especially flamenco. Why does flamenco seem to over take many once they are exposed to it? Perhaps it is because the very essence of flamenco comes from human emotions that helps the brain overcome stress. Is flamenco a medicine? The emotion of the audience is something I have not thought about, but explains why we all have different preferences in flamenco even in the old school. Why one is drawn to one style more than the other and that to be appreciated the performer needs the right audience. Interesting!

Hi Rob, and welcome from the island on the other edge of Canada.

Hi Rob. Welcome from further down the Pacific Coast in Oregon.

-Bob