Named for the Spanish word for "Flemish," Flamenco is historically a gypsy music that originated in Spain as a result of Middle Eastern musical influences. It is renowned for its spontaneity -- many Flamenco players know nothing of music notation and simply are continually improvising upon traditional rhythms and interchangeable phrases called “falsetas” that have been passed down through the ages.

Flamenco techniques such as the picado, a two-finger technique for the right hand used to play single note melodies, the golpe, or "hit," used to percussively strike the guitar while playing rhythms, and the rasgueado, a brisk striking of the fingers of the right hand used for flair and emphasis, are just a few of the techniques commonly used in this guitar style.

At your Flamenco guitar lesson, a solid basis of fundamental techniques will be emphasized: The various forms of Rasgueo, Picado, Arpeggios, Alzapúa, Apoyando (rest stroke) vs. Tirando (free stroke), Golpe, Rumba techniques and variations.

The fundamental rhythmic forms of Flamenco will be explored: Soleares, Alegrías, Farruca, Bulerías, Seguiryas, Zapateado, Tarantas, Tientos, Latin American-inspired forms such as the Rumba, Guajira, and Colombianas.

Flamenco/Jazz styles: Modern Flamenco is often played in the more popular rumba style. Though not technically “pure” Flamenco, it involves many of the same techniques and rhythmic devices while borrowing from various other genres such as Brazilian Jazz, Cuban styles, Latin Jazz, and even Rock. This hybrid style is sometimes called “Flamenco/Jazz” or “Nuovo Flamenco”. At Paper Moon Music, you can study the techniques of this style, allowing you to improvise or learn your favorite songs. Today there are numerous artists performing this style of guitar, among them Strunz and Farah, Jesse Cook, and Ottmar Liebert.

To see examples of the techniques you will use in flamenco, check out our video below which combines them all into one exercise: