The entire chord sequence is played as follows: E, Am, G, F. This also makes playing the song more fluid, as you can easily slide the G chord shape down to the F. In order to get a more ‘Spanish’ sound, we recommend playing the G and F as barre chords. Malaguenas consists of only four chords: E, Am, G, and F. This will give you the classic spanish sound in your rhythm playing.īegin by doing the exercises in 4/4, slowly at first.The big arrows indicate an up or down strum on the beat, while the small arrows are strummed between the beats, on the ‘and’ count. On the up strum, you will do the opposite begin with the thumb strumming up, and move through to the ring finger. As you move your hand down to strum, begin by hitting the strings with first your ring finger, followed by the middle, then index, and finally with the thumb. Its a fairly simple technique, but can take a bit of practise to get the hang of. Tradionally flamenco players will grow the nails of thier right hands which will act like plectrums. In flamenco music, the fingers are used in a downward raking motion, using the right hand nails over the strings. This technique should be applied to the rhythm section of all three songs outlined in this post. This song uses the ‘raking’ strumming technique, which can be practised using the ‘up/down’ exercise. This simple bass groove is repeated throughout the song, adding a nice background for the chords and lead to go over.

It is the bassline of the song, played only on the E and A strings. This sequence should be practised using the thumb only. The great thing is all three of these parts can be played simultaneously with friends or a loop pedal.įlamenco guitar is traditionally played using only fingers, with long nails on the right hand acting as plectrums. It begins with a fairly simple bass groove on two strings, moves to a four chord strumming section, and ends with a moderately difficult and quick lead part. It is a great one to start with as there are three main parts to learn with varying complexity. Malaguenas is a popular beginner spanish guitar tune, learned by budding flamenco guitarists the world over. If you are looking to dip your toe into some Spanish waters, here are a few simple tunes and techniques to get you going. Differences aside, it is most definitely possible and acceptable to play spanish or flamenco music on a classical guitar and vice versa as the key to the spanish sound really lies in the nylon strings. So although on the surface the two appear similar, they are different in a few small but crucial ways. This video gives a pretty thorough rundown of the main differences between the two: A classical guitar produces notes that sustain more after being plucked, whereas a flamenco guitar benefits from shorter notes, ensuring that the speed and intricacy of notes do not become too muddy. A flamenco guitar’s sound is far more responsive, percussive, and brighter than a classical, in order to make middle and higher frequencies stand out. They are also usually fitted with a tap-plate a protective plate made from plastic which enables the player to tap the guitar without chipping away the wood. The strings are closer to the fretboard resulting in a lower action, enabling faster playing. There is a fair amount of overlap in classical techniques and flamenco, however each guitar serves to accentuate its inherent style.Ī traditional flamenco guitar has much thinner wood making up the top, back, and sides, the body is constructed solely from cedar, and is thinner than a classical. Had a lighter, thinner soundboard and bodyĪ concert classical guitar is constructed from thicker wood, is built mainly with cedar or spruce tops, has a slightly wider neck, and a deeper body.Lightly built in order to respond quickly.Luthiers did their best to solve the problem by creating a guitar that was:

Traditionally, the guitar in flamenco music was used as an accompaniment to loud singing and dynamic dancing, and proved to be too soft. What makes a flamenco guitar different from a classical nylon-strung guitar? The main differences are in their construction and sound, the first and most important differentiator bieng volume.

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