Flamenco Bass insights?

[gimmeagig]

Are there any flamenco bassists here? I stumbled over a Carles Benavent CD a while ago and I'm trying to learn a little about that style and I found a few clips on youtube but I can't figure out what is going on rhythmically.Seems like some kind of compound time signature but I'm not sure.
Are there any clips out there that explain that?
Who are some other guys to listen to?
Clinic Bajo Flamenco - YouTube

Hovabass Flamenco Duet - Open Arms, Armenian Jazz Band Hova Burian - YouTube

[ACalbass]

No,is basically simple time signature.
Could be 2/4, 4/4, 3/4 and also 12/8 being used
Of course some people fusion flamenco with some other styles and makes it at irregular tempo.
Bass in flamenco is relatively new,if you go by to the origins of flamenco.where there is only nylon guitars , voice, dance and clapping.

[gimmeagig]

I remember a spanish guitar player telling me about the buleria for example which I think was a 12/8 but it was subdivided in a strange way. I forgot exactly what he said

[DirtySix]

The term you want to look up is 'compas'. If you search google for a flamenco compas clock you will find the timing for each style within flamenco. Generally most of the forms work on 12 beats with the accents on different beats depending on the form you are playing ex. Bularias, tengo, solera and so on. Not all forms start on the first beat which adds to the confusion.

Clapping along is a great way to familiarize with the rythms and is called 'palmas'.

If you talk to a flamenco purist they will tell you bass flamenco is not real flamenco, however this is truly a snobby way of looking at music.

I play flamenco guitar (not that well yet). I find this thread interesting because i was just thinking about bass accompaniment in flamenco this morning. I have just gotten into playing 6 string bass and was thinking of how it could be applied to flameco. Please send me a msg if you want to talk more about flamco and bass as the idea intrigues me.

[DirtySix]

Also another great place for flamenco info would be to search foroflamenco on google. It is basically the talkbass of flamenco.

[251]

Originally Posted by gimmeagig

Are there any flamenco bassists here? I stumbled over a Carles Benavent CD a while ago and I'm trying to learn a little about that style and I found a few clips on youtube but I can't figure out what is going on rhythmically.Seems like some kind of compound time signature but I'm not sure.
Are there any clips out there that explain that?
Who are some other guys to listen to?
Clinic Bajo Flamenco - YouTube

Hovabass Flamenco Duet - Open Arms, Armenian Jazz Band Hova Burian - YouTube

These might give you some ideas;
New Flamenco - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lo Mejor del Nuevo Flamenco
Inicio | pacodelucia.org
Ottmar Liebert: Nouveau Flamenco
The Gipsy Kings
Diego Paqué - cantautor flamenco

Google search Nuevo Flamenco to find more

[DirtySix]

Gypsy kings is soley rumba flamenca and is generally not considered to be a flamenco group. They do play some awesome songs though. They stick mainly to 4/4 time so it might not help with the other compas used in flamenco.

Try Paco Delucia, Diego Delgastor, Tomatito, Paco Penna, Carlos Montoya. These will give you a great start. As for bass, there are some songs where Paco Delucia plays with a bass player but they are just playing along and not playing with flamenco techniques. Hope this helps.

[gimmeagig]

Originally Posted by DirtySix

The term you want to look up is 'compas'. If you search google for a flamenco compas clock you will find the timing for each style within flamenco. Generally most of the forms work on 12 beats with the accents on different beats depending on the form you are playing ex. Bularias, tengo, solera and so on. Not all forms start on the first beat which adds to the confusion.

Clapping along is a great way to familiarize with the rythms and is called 'palmas'.

If you talk to a flamenco purist they will tell you bass flamenco is not real flamenco, however this is truly a snobby way of looking at music.

I play flamenco guitar (not that well yet). I find this thread interesting because i was just thinking about bass accompaniment in flamenco this morning. I have just gotten into playing 6 string bass and was thinking of how it could be applied to flamenco. Please send me a msg if you want to talk more about flamenco and bass as the idea intrigues me.

Great Info guys, thanks. I don't really want to play flamenco on the bass I just want to understand it enough so that I could accompany a guitar player without completely getting lost at every turn for example.
I'm in Northern Idaho so there's a slim chance I'll find someone but you never know.
Otmar Liebert and Gypsy Kings is out for me.
As an example a guy on bass who I find really interesting is Carles Benavent,
His compositions and his style is amazing and so far away from anything I have ever played but I'd like to at least scratch the surface of that style. By the way the guy with Paco is Alain Perez who is a killer Salsa Latin Jazz player.

[TimoMetzemakers]

I've been playing in a flamenco band for a year. I have a jazz background, and I found the easier palos (rumbas, tangos, sevillanas) not that hard to understand. However, I still had to learn all the signals that the musicians use to communicate among themselves since the form of a given song usually isn't fixed as it is in pop, rock, or jazz, but more or less improvised.

As for the harder palos that are based on a 12 beat compás, let's just say that I'm starting to get the feel for bulerías, but when the guys want to play a soleá, a siguiriya, an alegría or a fandango, I'm still getting my @$$ handed to me on a regular basis.

This book helped me quite a bit : Amazon.com: Flamenco Bass Method (9788493445249): Mariano Martos: Books (Unfortunately it appears to be quite expensive in the US.)

Timo

[gimmeagig]

Great, I'll check that book out!
Thanks