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Flamenco rhythms

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An introduction to flamenco rhythmsIn the following, a short description of the rhythms of the most common flamenco styles (or Palos)is presented, together with typical hand clapping patterns. As you certainly know, flamencorhythms are usually of either 12, 4 or 3 beats. The rhythmic units is called Comps*, thus oneComps includes either 12, 4, or 3 beats. Since most flamenco styles (Palos) have 12 beats, letus start with these styles. Palos with 12 beats are for example Sole, Alegra, or Bulera. A tableabout the rhythms of the different flamenco styles is available at the end of this page.

Compases of 12 beats generally have strong beats on the 3, 6, 8, 10, and 12 (marked bold in thefollowing text). The rhythm usually ends at the 10 (e.g. when there is a break, also called corte, inthe music). The basical rhythm of this Comps is:

Sole

The style Sole (or in plural Soleares) has a Comps of 12 beats. The strong beats in thisComps are as usual the 3, 6, 8, 10, and 12. However, some of them are especially pronounced,more specifically the 3, 10 and 12. Try to hear some Soleares, you will hear it. A typical handclapping pattern (Palmas=hands) for Soleares is:

In this example, off-beats (or Contratiempos) are played between the 1 and the 2, the 4 and the5, and the 9 and the 10. These should be exactly in the middle of two notes, not somewherebetween them. This hand clapping pattern is typical for the singing (Cante).

For percussive dance patterns (Escobillas) the rhythm is frequently "doubled":

However, note that it is the very same rhythm as before which should be played at the samespeed. The only difference is that two notes are played instead of one (A), or 4 notes are playedinstead of one (B). When playing or dancing such patterns it help to pronounce the full notes (thebold x's).

Alegra

Alegra is another rhythm with a Comps of 12 beats. A typical clapping pattern is equal to thefirst one shown for Sole. A similar variation is the following example:

When two people are clapping their hands together (two Palmeros) then the following pattern isvery nice:

Bulera

Bulera is rhythmically maybe the most difficult, but also most exciting style. Usually Bulera is

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taught as an example of a style with 12 beats, which is often true. In this case, the basic clappingpattern is:

A nice variation when two Palmeros are performing together is:

A typical Corte (break) is shown in the following example. Note that in the first half of the Compsmany Contratiempos are played. These, together with the pause after the 6 (in the sense that thecontratiempos stop for one beat), indicate that there will probably be a break at the end of theComps (10).

As noted earlier, Bulera is often played as a Comps of 12 beats. However, in many cases theComps rather follows a pattern of 6 beats. And to make things more complicated, Bulera canswitch from 12 beats to 6 beats and vice versa at any time. However, it is all easier than it seems.First have a look at the Bulera pattern with 6 beats. Two different variations occur, onerepresenting the first half of the Comps and one representing the second half of the comps(don't worry about the strange way of counting from 12 to 5 yet):

These rhythmical patterns may be repeated many times. When playing the first one after thesecond one, you get the Comps of 12 beats again. But a typical rhythmic pattern will repeat thesecond pattern for example three times, before finishing with the first pattern:

The first pattern is used for breaks (Cortes), because it corresponds to the second half of the"normal" Comps (of 12 beats). When playing a break using this pattern it is convenient to countas in the second half of the Comps from 6 to 12, then it becomes clearer at which position weare in the rhythm:

It now becomes clear why we previously counted from 12 to 5. When counting in this manner it iseasy to switch to 6 7 8 9 10 whenever a break approaches (don't forget to stop at the 10, as inany break). The entire sequence is consequently counted as:

The sequence may also be shorter or longer, or use a different pattern. For example the firstpattern of Bulera with 6 beats may be repeated four times before closing the sequence with aCorte in the fith Comps.

If you don't know how long the pattern will proceed, simply continue counting from 12 to 5. If youthink a break is approaching, then be prepared to stop at the 10 (or the 4 if you still counted from12 to 5). If there was no break, no problem. It is not important to play the 11. But if there was a


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break and you continued clapping, then everything is ruined.

The typical hand-clapping pattern for Bulera in a comps of 6 beats is shown in the followingexample. Every second beat is pronounced by the clapping hands, although the strong beats inthe rhythm are the 12, 2, and 4. This results in a more interesting, swinging rhythm.

When ever you hear Bulera try which pattern fits the music or the dance better, either the patternwith 12 beats or one of the patterns with 6 beats. The patterns with 6 beats are especiallycommon in many Bulera songs and also in guitar falsetas (melodic parts of the guitar). When aFalseta ends a break is typically played, after which the music resumes with the rhythm of 12beats (until the next Falseta or the next song). When you hear a lot of flamenco music you willsoon learn to hear and understand the rhythmic patterns and when to make breaks.

Siguiriyas (Seguiriyas)

The rhythm of Siguiriyas can be interpreted as a Comps of 12 beats, starting at the 8 andfinishing at the 7. This counting scheme is propagated by many flamenco books. In this case thestrong beats remain the same as usual, i.e. the 8, 10, 12, 3, and 6. Most Flamencos (peopleperforming flamenco music or dance), however, prefer another counting scheme, counting simplyfrom 1 to 5:

For this counting scheme the intervals between the 3 and the 4 and the 4 and the 5 are longerthan between the 1, 2 and 3. You can overcome this irregularity by counting "1 and 2 and 3 and a4 and a 5 and" or similar.

It is uncommon to accompany Siguiriyas with hand clapping. However, rhythmic passagesdedicated to the dance may be accompanied with Palmas. The following pattern gives oneexample:

Tangos, Rumbas, etc.

Several flamenco styles have rhythms of 4 beats, such as Tangos, Tarantos, Tientos, and others.As in popular and classic music, the beats 1 and 3 are emphasized:

A typical hand clapping pattern for Tangos is:

Aother variation for two Palmeros is:

The typical hand clapping scheme for Rumba is shown in the next example. Due to the highertempo Contratiempos are usually omitted in Rumbas:

Fandango de Huelva

Fandangos are a group of very melodic flamenco styles. Most Fandangos have a very free


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rhythm (Fandangos libres) are not danced at all. However, between the songs, the guitar usuallyregains the rhythm at plays "a comps". Only a few Fandangos have a constant rhythm and aredanced, such as Fandango de Huelva. Many people interpret the rhythm of Fandango as aComps of 12 beats, with the strong beats on the 3, 6, 8, 10, and 12. On most recordings,however, Fandangos are typically accompanied by a rhythm of 3 or 6 beats. A typical handclapping pattern for Fandango de Huelva is:

Contrary to this example, the rhythm of Fandangos is written with an upbeat (beginning with the 2- 3) in many musical notations. Consequently, the rhythmical pattern seems to be shifted:

Some recommendations for practicing

1. Begin very slowly.

2. When increasing speed, practice only at a maximum speed at which you can still performaccurately and with a clean sound.

3. Train the same dance, guitar, or hand clapping pattern at different speeds. If you can't play it atany speed, then haven't captured the rhythm yet.

4. Pay especial attention to contratiempos (off-beats, syncopes) and tresillos (triples), make shurethat you don't increase speed without intention. Use a simple rhythmic pattern when trainingcontratiempos and tresillos with a metronome.

An overview of the rhythms of the flamenco styles

Compsde 12

Soleares (Soleares, Caa, Polo, Alborea)

Alegras/Cantias (Alegras, Romeras, Caracoles, Mirabras)

Buleras

Soleares por Bulera

Peteneras

Bamberas

Compsde 12/5 Siguiriyas/Saetas (Siguiriyas, Liviana, Serrana, Cabales)

Compsde 3

Fandangos

Verdiales

Malagueas

Granaina

Tanguillos

Compsde 4

Tangos/Tientos

Garrotn

Farruca

Taranto


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* For musicians: One Comps of 12 beats corresponds to four 3/4 rhythms. For Compases with 4 or 3beats, one Comps corresponds to one 4/4 or 3/4 rhythm.

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Last changes: 15.10.2013


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