[jonnoid68]

hi everyone

i'm interested very much in flamenco pop - if i can call it that - i can do most lead stuff but there is a bit of rhythmn i would like some help with

the rhythmn in question can be seen on a youtube video featuring paco cepero playing lead and another guitarist playing rhythmn. the tune is called Aqua Marina (rumba flamenco guitar). i can't post links so bung in the title and you'll find it i'm sure


my question is does anyone know how the rhythmn is played? it's probably very simple indeed and i'd love to know how it's done!!

any help would be great!

john (uk)

[dzakovich000]

John,

I am not 100% sure on this one, but I think Rumbas have 4 beats per bar with an accent on the 2nd and 4th beats. I don't think they are as rhythmically complex as some of the more traditional palos.

[Alatriste]

John,

You might want to tell us what style of guitar you have already been playing, then we might be able to answer your question better. Rumbas are not easy just because they are 4-beat as opposed to 12-beat. The rasgueo (rhythm) and falsetas (lead/melody) are just as complicated as in the the other palos (styles) of Flamenco. As an example, check out Tempestad, a rumba by Juan Serrano. You will see in the linked example that both of what you refer to as 'rhythm' and 'lead' are played by a soloist. This piece also exhibits a continuous rasgueo in its 'rhythm,' which is not something seen in rock 'n roll where terminology like 'rhythym' and 'lead' have more meaning.

See example ==> YouTube - Tempestad (Juan Serrano) - Spanish Guitar - johnclarkemusic.com

Saludos,

Miguel

[dillonpape]

Guitar rumba Video

I use this pattern to this day. Pretty simple and quick explanation, can get you through simple rumbas for the rest of your life. Also, if you go to the "Flamenco Videos" tab up top of this website ^^^ one of the first videos should be Flamenco Rumba by Juan Martin, which also has some interesting ideas in it, although I do not remember from the last time I watched it what the difficulty is as far as if you will be able to figure it out without prior experience playing that type of thing. You can figure it out yourself by watching it if you can do it.

Just take the chords and basic technique from those videos and experiment with slightly different rhythms and such to expand your variety a bit. As you say, rumba is sort of flamenco pop. Consequently, the rhythmic patterns are quite similar to typical rhythmic patterns used in conventional rock and such chord progressions. You can basically take any chord progression rhythm from a rock or pop song, play it with your fingers (adding golpes and slaps), and change the chords to Am G F E or Am Dm F E or some other flamenco-y chord progression, and you have yourself a rumba.