Flamenco Dictionary

The left hand positions in the guitar playing. They make up the harmony that accompanies the singing, the "toque" and the dancing.

In music, effect produced by a relative chord when it lies in its foundation.

After the primitive period, when the flamenco song and flamenco dance were interpreted in friends meetings, in patios we know a new period called "Café Cantantes".
We consider this period of "Café Cantante" the most importamt, because its classicism, definition of the styles and spreading outside the usual limits of Andalusia.
Places where they sell drinks and offering singing recitals, but also toque shows and flamenco dance performances. We can set the splendor period between 1847 and 1920 and its decadence from the 20s.
Generally it was a spacious living room, decorated with mirrors and bullfighters posters, with chairs and tables and a scene (a wooden scene) where they performed.
On the sides they were boxes for the moneyed audience and private rooms for the parties and family dinners.
We can divide the "Café Cantantes" into "general" where we sung all kind of folk songs and "Experts" where one kind of song dominated.

Subjective expression, used for the most solemn songs. Also used for any song well interpreted.

The "cante jondo" is the most genuine Andalusian song, with a deep feeling. "Cante jondo" or "cante hondo" (deep song), the world "jondo" is a dialect form of "hondo".

This is the first "tercio" or the first song, without any big performing difficulty, even with the same expressiveness than the rest of the song.

When each note corresponds to a syllable.

When the job of reaping is finished, at the end of the day, begins the singing, the old one, simple and clear song of trilla.
The Song of Trilla, melodically very similar to the lullaby, is not an exclusive Andalusian song. In Castilla you will find genuine Songs of Trilla. This kind if song doesn't need the guitar to find its compas, but only the sound of little bells and the voices of the man encouraging the work of the animals.

The cantaor must now face folk songs with higher melodic production. It is the "tercio" of the high tessitura and connected verses, done without breathing between one and another, a complete melodic phrase. In this "tercio" a good cantaor shows his power and tries to transmit it.

We call like that the happy and noisy styles, like the alegrias, rumbas and tanguillos.

Subjective expression that designate the less solemn aongs and more suitable to dance.

Used like shortening of "Flamenco Song", designates the group of musical compositions with different styles, emerged between the last third of XVIII. Century and the first part of XIX. Century thanks to the juxtaposition of musical and folkloric forms existing in Andalusia.

The song performed to accompany the dance.

The song, with guitar accompaniment, to listen to, without dance.

Artist singing flamenco.

A Campanillero is a flamenco cante or song form. It is in couplets of six verses. It has its origin in sacred songs of Andalusia which were chanted during the early morning procession known as Rosario de la Aurora.

Lyric that is used like a culmination in some kind of songs.

End of a song.

Expression fo the group of aflamencado styles, with a clear hispanoamerican origin.

Flamenco style from the eastern regions, Almeria and Murcia.

The Cantiñas is a group of flamenco palos (musical forms), originated in the area of Cádiz in Andalusia (although some styles of cantiña have developed in the province of Seville). They share the same compás or rhythmic pattern with the soleá and are usually sung in a lively rhythm (between 120 and 160 beats per minute). They are normally sung in a major mode and have a festive mood.
The usual chord positions for the tonic chord in the guitar are those of E major, C major and, occasionally, A major, the latter usually reserved for solo guitar pieces. The chord progression is normally of the simple tonic-dominant type, although modern guitar players introduce other transitional chords.

The Caña can be considerated like a fundamental song of the flamenco. Its melodic influence is unquestionable, nt only in minor songs but also in some of the oldest styles, the original ones.
Some prestigious opinions locate the soleas and the siguiriyas before the caña. But we are not sure about that.
The Caña uses and covers all voice's styles, very difficult to sing, requires technique and vocal abilities.

It seems that the current Caracoles are coming from an old Cantiña, entitles "La Caracolera", Cantiña from Cadiz, you can dance on it and the cantaores have extended itm adding "tercios" or mixing it with other Canitñas.

A flamenco palo, musical dance and song style, very Spanish. Generally a song with couplet of four octosyllable verses.
Like the Martinete it is considerated like a kind if Toná, its lyrics are dedicated to themes in relation with the prison and the prisoners. Interpreted without guitar (palo seco).

Born in Taranta, with some infletcions of the Malagueña. The Cartagenera is located between the Taranta and the Malagueña, under an emotive point of view. Eastern song, free performance.

Used to change tones in the flamenco guitar. 
Device used for shortening the strings, and hence raising the pitch, of a stringed instrument such as a guitar, mandolin or banjo.

Rhythmical cadence to mark a rest point or the end.

A tuning peg is used to hold a string in the pegbox of a stringed instrument. It may be made of ebony, rosewood, boxwood or other material. Some tuning pegs are ornamented with shell, metal, or plastic inlays, beads (pips) or rings.
Turning the peg tightens or loosens the string, changing the pitch produced when the string is played and thereby tuning it

Flamenco song from the group of Ida y Vuelta Songs.

Song or dance interpreted respecting faithfully the rhythm or cadence of the corresponding style, generally marked by the guitar.

The compas is the time signature (also known as "meter signature") is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and what note value constitutes one beat.
In a musical score, the time signature appears at the beginning of the piece, immediately following the key signature (or immediately following the clef if the piece is in C major, A minor, or a modal subset). A mid-score time signature, usually immediately following a barline, indicates a change of meter.

The compas is the time signature (also known as "meter signature") is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and what note value constitutes one beat.
In a musical score, the time signature appears at the beginning of the piece, immediately following the key signature (or immediately following the clef if the piece is in C major, A minor, or a modal subset). A mid-score time signature, usually immediately following a barline, indicates a change of meter.

Danzón, rumba, tanguillo and  zapateado.

Alboreá, Alegrías, Bamberas, Cantiñas, Caña, Caracoles, Fandangos, Verdiales, Mirabrá, Caracoles, Romeras, Rondeñas, Sevillanas, Soleá and Soleá por bulerías.

Colombianas, Farruca, Garrotín, Mariana, Danza, Tangos, Taranto, Tientos and Zambra.

The accents are in the weak parts of the compas.

Festive song, including "jaleo", with knocks and a lot of compas, with nuances of the Buleria, coming from Jerez de la Frontera.

The lyrics of the Andalusian singing are more literary, pretentious and express common feelings. Popular versions of poems, sometimes originated in the theater and zarzuela (some typical Spanish opera).
It exists a duality between the gypsy singing and the Andalusian singing, diminishing with the time. Today we call both of them Flamenco Singing.