Flamenco Dictionary

Person with enthusiasm for the flamenco art. We also called "aficionado" someone who performs but does not practice as a professional.

It is a kind of voice in the Flamenco Singing, hoaree and wheezy.

Generally it consists of introducing the song with Spanish guitar and singing it with some "melisma! at the end of the phrase.

Guitar. Playing without capo.

The singing is performed to be heared.

"Alboreá" belongs to the "solea" group and the metrical style of 12 tempos. This is a singing for the gipsy weddings. For the gipsy "cantaores" it is a singing that we have to keep back for weddings and we should not sing it out of this occasion. The rhythm and the guitar accompaniement are identical to the "soleá". The lyrics usually consist of hexasyllables. Belongs to the group of the singings influenced by the "soleá".

The "alegrias" are festive singings belonging to the Cadiz singings group (called Cantiñas). Its "copla" or verse usually contain four verses octosyllables. Its melody incites to the dance.
Its rhythm is determined by the "compas" metre of the "soleá", but its is different from the "soleá" regarding its tempo, much faster. It is a light style, happy and sensual, with a clear dancing rhythm.

Thumb technique of the right hand for the flamenco guitar. This technique consists in reproduce three sounds with only two "ataques", making "tresillos" more or less fast, characteristic of the flamenco music.

We use the "caña" and the "polo", a succession of characteristic "ayeos" (introdutcion before the begining of a song).

Vulgarly the "palo seco" refers to the flamenco styles sung without any guitar accompaniment. Singing performed "a capella".

Guitar arpeggios are broken chords where the notes are played one at a time rather than simultaneously.
A group of notes which are played one after the other, either going up or going down. Executing an arpeggio requires the player to play the sounds of a chord individually to differentiate the notes.

Folk song played to be danced.

Begin the performing of a song or a dance.

Flamenco guitar technique, consiting of dragging a finger of the rigth hand, generally the index finger, from the first string to the sixth, from down to up and quite quick. Pluck a string without lifting the finger if the neck and dragit to another string.

The "ayes" of the flok songs are like a ritual and holy shout, very deep.