I am a relative newbie to nylon guitar who is well in the wrong side of 50 and have been learning classical for most of a year. I am totally raw at flamenco at this point, but have been working on the little bit of flamenco that is in the "pumping Nylon" book and another small easy flamenco song or two. I do enjoy much of the flamenco type music and hoping I can start out learning a couple of simple flamenco rhythms and styles and see where it goes from there. I do enjoy some of the more "Spanish" sounding music and hope to learn enough for my own personal enjoyment of playing, and perhaps incorporate some of the technique into my other classical playing. I have heard good recommendations for Jaun Serrano's instructional book and CD and expect I will soon purchase that and try out his method.

I am also a member of the Delcamp Classical Guitar forum under the ID of Jratwen, and also on the Falseta and GSI forums as Westy in case I happen into any of you there:) I do recognize a few people here from the Delcamp forum who have graciously welcomed me aboard. Looking forward to participating in the forum and getting better acquainted with this community.

- Jim

Welcome to the forum Jim. We look forward to your participation.

-Bob

Welcome to the forum Jim. I like the Serrano books and CD and also the Juan Martin "El Arte" books and CD. Both are a great start for traditional flamenco. Is there much interest in central Washington in flamenco? I know Seattle has quite a flamenco community.

Bienvenida al foro!!

Welcome to the forum, Westy. We're glad you joined us. We are all here to learn and improve regardless of our level of expertise. Look about all the sub forums. There is much to learn, and feel free to ask questions. We're here to help and share.

Lorette

Thanks Bob, Sam and Lorette for your welcoming words. As far as flamenco in Central Washington, I could well be the only one as far as I know . I have not been able to locate any flamenco players in the area. In fact, I was trying to search for a used flamenco guitar where I live and could not find one new or used locally, nor a used one on Craig's List in all of Eastern Washington. Even calls to to the guitar places in Spokane - the biggest Eastern Washington City - yielded me only one store that would sell me a new Yamaha CF 171 (think I got the model right?) and a few odd comments including (OH, you mean those pink plastic birds you stick in your front yard? ) . I finally purchased an inexpensive used flamenco on ebay, which I at first gave mixed reviews - especially when the bridge flew off after tuning - but I've had it well repaired and it has an interesting sound and feel that is slowly growing on me. Thank heavens for the internet and places like this, I do have some good resources to work with on my own, and feel I can make a reasonable attempt to pick up the necessary technique, rhythms, and feel for playing.

Lorette, I did order the Juan Serrano basic Flamenco book you recommended along with a couple sets of D'adarrio ej46C strings from my local guitar store, and am looking forward to beginning with his method. I have also been reading the Flamenco history section on this site and find it quite interesting and helpful for giving me a feel for what flamenco is and how it should be appreciated and played. I also have found another site that is not a forum, but is a very interesting read with lots of flamenco history, links and other information. The site is Sal's flamenco soapbox,I am posting a link o the site but am sure you can google it if the link is not acceptable. Thanks again and looking forward to participating in the forum and benefiting from the wealth of flamenco knowledge and experience I see here.

- Jim

Sal's Flamenco Soapbox
http://herso.freeservers.com/sitemap-page-order.html

Hi Jim,

Sal has been around for a long time. I've watched his site grow from almost only text to the extensive site it is now. Sal has always been very generous in sharing music and technique. He is a special person.

Lorette

Lorette wrote:Hi Jim,

... Sal has always been very generous in sharing music and technique. He is a special person.

Lorette

Ditto on that Lorette - his site ia a great read, I love his attitude and philosphy - not to mention the knowledge and resources he generously shares - couldn't resist the opportunity to give him a shout

- Jim

Where are you located in Central Washington, anywhere near Soap Lake? I love flamenco guitar (singing, music, dancing) and would love to know some musicians/artists interested in this music that live in that area.

Hi and welcome;

I've been at flamenco just a little bit longer than you and also came from CG (and Delcamp) as a first stop, so I know well how you feel. I have found that the Montoya instructional DVDs are very good. I like the progression of exercises and pieces better than those of Martin and Graf-Martinez, which are generally more available.

There are a number of us here from the cross-border Pacific Northwest. We should have a regional gathering.

Byron