Flamenco Guitar
Flamenco is the traditional
music of Andalusian Gypsies in southern Spain.
Flamenco guitar players have always
been known for their complex and demanding style
of playing, not to forget their incredible sound.
So what then is the
difference between Spanish guitars and flamenco
guitars?
Flamenco more accurately describes
a style of playing the classical guitar, rather
than the guitar itself. Flamenco and the Spanish
guitar evolved together in the 1800s. However,
flamenco became the dominant musical instrument
of Andalusia. Spanish guitar became commonly associated
with classical music with a little help from Andreas
Segovia.
The flamenco guitar had several
innovations to make it easier to be played flamenco-style.
Its body was made of relatively cheaper such as
Spanish cypress,
and special plates named golpeadores
were fixed. These plates
were placed below the sound hole, so that the
player can tap or slap it, as part of flamenco
music.
Instead of using metal tuning
heads, the flamenco guitar featured wooden ones.(
most probably because they were cheaper and lighter
than metal). Strings were often mounted closer
to the body, to make fingering and strumming easier.
The greatest flamenco guitarist
is probably Paco de Lucia.
He has introduced new techniques and fingerings
that have totally changed the way this guitar
is played, and how it sounds.
Click on the image
for a complete view of the guitar.
