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I am fascinated by Spanish guitar music, and I have started exploring it. I have heard classical music like Gypsy Kings, Taranta, Romance, etc. Does anyone here know what types of guitars are used in Spanish music? |
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First of all, Gipsy Kings music isn't classical :) Spanish guitar basically is two types:
Flamenco guitars are lighter in weight than classical guitars and have much brighter sound because they must be heard over the sound the dancers' shoes. So what do you want to learn, classic guitar or Flamenco guitar? right hand techniques in Flamenco are really different and vast. It is a really demanding type of playing. No matter what you pick, I really recommend to get a teacher. It is really easy to develop bad habits that will be hard to correct later. You might want to check this question too: |
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While Chiron is correct, there is a fair amount of crossover betwen the two styles. If you play Spanish Classical pieces by Albeniz and Tarrega and even Sor, you will find rasgueados, trills, tremolos, pinched harmonics, and other flamenco effects. It's clear that those guys were playing flamenco on the weekend. So know the difference, but study both. Listen to flamenco by Carlos Montoya. It's like Solo Blues with Spanish Technique. Being able to play flamenco allows you to isolate a fragment from a difficult Spanish Classical piece, and make a fun exercise out of it. You can even develop it into a new song. |
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So... Do you want a long-winded rant??? Actually, this question is difficult to answer because the range of "Spanish Music" is vast, even for the guitar. There's Spanish Baroque guitar music, which uses a 5-course guitar, all but the highest course double-strung. There's a strong movement of people playing this music on period instruments (I have one myself). It's really unique stuff, and you have to hear it on the original instrument to appreciate it. Gaspar Sanz is the best known Spanish guitar composer of that period. You have probably heard his Canarios in D maj performed on modern instruments. Much of the music from this period uses hemiola... Divide 6/8 into groups of 3/3, 2/2/2... They add up to 6 and 6, but the emphasis changes. This is a fundamental rhythm for Flamenco forms such as Bularias. There's a Baroque song form called Jacaras which is very reminiscent of the Bularias, except its kind of square, or old fashioned, by comparison. BTW, it seems right-hand technique was restricted to the thumb and first two fingers, no fingernails. Find youtubes by Xavier Diaz-Latorre for Baroque examples you won't regret. The classical period (roughly speaking) brought in the 6-string guitar. Still a small body, but six single-strung courses. Of course, Fernando Sor is the famous composer of that period. He still used just the thumb and two fingers (with perhaps rare exceptions). Also, playing was still done without fingernails. The guitar spread quite a bit thanks to salon playing. Tarrega sits in the Romantic period, and played the Torres guitar -- a new design with a bigger body, and different bracing. He still played without fingernails, although I believe there were players who used them in this period. Following the art-music vein, you would probably come next to Emilio Pujol, and then Andres Segovia. General use of the nails probably coincides pretty much with the switch from gut strings to nylon. Preferred woods for classical guitars are spruce for the top, and rosewood for the back and sides. Flamenco music is associated with the Gypsies in Spain (los Gitanos). I have read that the Gypsy influence traces to India. One analysis I read points out that in general these were marginalized, opportunistic people. They learned that their music attracted attention, so they would put on shows to attract onlookers and then pick their pockets. This could be apocryphal... It's probable that there were Gypsies playing guitar in the classical period. I can't say anything about the Baroque. Flamenco guitars used tuning pegs instead of mechanical keys for a longer period than classical guitars. It was said the machine heads were too heavy. The guitar itself is lighter -- sides and back traditionally made of cypress. Maybe this was because it was an easier wood to get. Anyway, the result is a more percussive sound, with less sustain. Modern Flamenco guitars are as likely to use rosewood, depending on the performer's preference. Right hand technique for Flamenco is mind-boggling in its variation. The rasgueados of the Baroque were quite varied and specialized. It seems classical playing turned away from that. But Flamenco has expanded significantly on the strumming repertoire. Rasgueados in Flamenco can use all the fingers (pinkie included). Tremelo adds an extra stroke to the classical tremelo, so it sounds even more florid. One thing about Flamenco... True to what I have heard of the Indian concept of music, song is primary. There is a a Flamenco concept of Cante Jondo -- deep song. Then comes guitar, and then comes dance. As far as I recall from my reading, the dance was put together to attract the tourists, more or less. That's not to diminish Flamenco dance, but I feel compelled to mention it. Modern and fusion Flamenco is some of the hottest and freshest music in the world, in my opinion. Listen to Tomatito... Wow. And Paco de Lucia is still riding the crest of the wave -- he's a guru. For some reason, Spain as a country seems to dismiss Flamenco as just those guitar players... I can't figure that one out. This music really deserves a good hearing. There's a good amount of pop music in Spain that sits on top of Flamenco. Manzanita got pretty famous in the '70s/'80s, and his songs are pretty nice if you can enjoy the era. The Gypsy Kings fit into this vein as well. Estopa is a more modern group doing this. They throw in a good old electric guitar, too. Whew... |
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The classical guitar and the flamenco guitar are similar in outward appearance but they are built quite differently. Traditionally classical and flamenco guitars were strung with strings of sheep gut, with the lowest gut strings wrapped in wire. In the modern era these guitars use synthetic nylon strings, with the lowest nylon strings wrapped in wire. In both cases the strings are plucked or strummed with the thumb and the first three fingers, not with a pick. Without going into details, playing a classical or flamenco guitar requires a different technique than playing the steel-string acoustic or electric guitars, and of course the styles of music you play on these guitars are also different. Here is a picture of two modern classical guitar designs, from Wikipedia.
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