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Flamenco Bass?

well, just registered here an surprised to see this topic, then i opened youtube to understand it and i've just seen 3 videos searching by "flamenco bass", and those are:

1) Invalid Link Removed
2) http://youtube.com/watch?v=uqZZ2bqgT0g
3) http://youtube.com/watch?v=y6n1y9lYuLs

first and second video, lots of slap,pop and tremolos or tremolo-like but the only comment i can do is there's more flamenco in "sultangs of swing" from dire :rollno:

In the third video you can see some tremolos (slapped and fingered) and some typical flamenco-arab scales and progressions but i would never say that i play flamenco if i have played that,even with the technique Danygrowl has (brilliant imho).

So, at this point, what video did you see? isnt easy to reply something that cant be understood :D

Btw, bass is really new to flamenco to assure there's a style of playing flamenco with it which works, in classical terms if you know what i mean. I'm in my way to find that *secret* and can only tell you that way is to hear lot of flamenco at the same time you practice the rythms of the "palos" you want to learn (there are like hundreds so maybe its time to find what palos you like the more to concentrate on them). The harmony is simple in 80% of flamenco, cuz the flamencos aren't known for their musical knowledge (or what we usually understand for that), i havent gotten any bass/harmony classes in my life and studied harmony by myself since 6 months ago and i can assure you gonna get it time time before you get the rythm, so dont worry about that.

Forgive any book except "cante por cante", really well explained for non-flamenco people, but i dont know if its in english or other languages, anyway its very basic but incredibly good with the basics of flamenco. You can give a try if you can get the method for cajon by Nam Mercader: its a videotutorial where he shows some of most complex and popular flamenco rythms explained in a real manner, that is that most methods explain it in a correct way BUT not in a way someone can introduce himself to flamenco from 0%, dont know how to explain it really....
You can go when you have the basics, to get some of the cds "Flamenco compas", collections of rythms,+guitar+voices+claps ordered by palos, just to practice,hear... awesome only if you already have the basics.

Anyway, thats my particular opinion about getting into it,and assuming im not a flamenco and that my knowledge about it grows very very little each time and maybe tomorrow i'll think a bit different than today cuz i just discovered something new,cuz im just starting in it, so dont take my words too seriously.

im tremendly curious about what the people outside spain believe or think about flamenco in general, after seeing this and others posts in this forum ?
 
im tremendly curious about what the people outside spain believe or think about flamenco in general, after seeing this and others posts in this forum ?
I think most people around here don't have the faintest idea what flamenco is, although sometimes you see a plastic one stuck in the lawn. :D

I think the perception is that it is mostly solo guitar music, but no one has much knowledge about the music itself, although there's a decent chance that a musically knowledgeable person could recognize it if they heard it.
 
I've seen it done on youtube and it's amazing.
I want to learn more about it.

I have a little thing I did with a loop pedal up on myspace called "flamenco". I use double-thumping+plucking for most of it.(might have to crank the volume though, i suck at recording)
Link Removed


You probably want to check out Carles Benavent.
Invalid Link Removed
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
He's played with guys like Paco de Lucia and Chick Corea. He also has a few solo albums.
 
Im sorry Grueber, but i can't listen to the 2 last songs (nothing loads really, both explorer & firefox, am I the only 1?), but anyways the two bach ones are great, i used to do that kind of exercises(easier ones!!) in the past and that reminds me to put them on the list again, so more work lol :hyper:

:ninja:
 
Im sorry Grueber, but i can't listen to the 2 last songs (nothing loads really, both explorer & firefox, am I the only 1?), but anyways the two bach ones are great, i used to do that kind of exercises(easier ones!!) in the past and that reminds me to put them on the list again, so more work lol :hyper:

:ninja:

Thanks, I plan on doing all 15 two-part inventions but it's probably gooing to take me awhile.

Yeah, sometimes the myspace player is a little weird. Usually if I just check it another time it will work.
 
well, just registered here an surprised to see this topic, then i opened youtube to understand it and i've just seen 3 videos searching by "flamenco bass", and those are:

1) Invalid Link Removed
2) http://youtube.com/watch?v=uqZZ2bqgT0g
3) http://youtube.com/watch?v=y6n1y9lYuLs

first and second video, lots of slap,pop and tremolos or tremolo-like but the only comment i can do is there's more flamenco in "sultangs of swing" from dire :rollno:

In the third video you can see some tremolos (slapped and fingered) and some typical flamenco-arab scales and progressions but i would never say that i play flamenco if i have played that,even with the technique Danygrowl has (brilliant imho).

So, at this point, what video did you see? isnt easy to reply something that cant be understood :D

Btw, bass is really new to flamenco to assure there's a style of playing flamenco with it which works, in classical terms if you know what i mean. I'm in my way to find that *secret* and can only tell you that way is to hear lot of flamenco at the same time you practice the rythms of the "palos" you want to learn (there are like hundreds so maybe its time to find what palos you like the more to concentrate on them). The harmony is simple in 80% of flamenco, cuz the flamencos aren't known for their musical knowledge (or what we usually understand for that), i havent gotten any bass/harmony classes in my life and studied harmony by myself since 6 months ago and i can assure you gonna get it time time before you get the rythm, so dont worry about that.

Forgive any book except "cante por cante", really well explained for non-flamenco people, but i dont know if its in english or other languages, anyway its very basic but incredibly good with the basics of flamenco. You can give a try if you can get the method for cajon by Nam Mercader: its a videotutorial where he shows some of most complex and popular flamenco rythms explained in a real manner, that is that most methods explain it in a correct way BUT not in a way someone can introduce himself to flamenco from 0%, dont know how to explain it really....
You can go when you have the basics, to get some of the cds "Flamenco compas", collections of rythms,+guitar+voices+claps ordered by palos, just to practice,hear... awesome only if you already have the basics.

Anyway, thats my particular opinion about getting into it,and assuming im not a flamenco and that my knowledge about it grows very very little each time and maybe tomorrow i'll think a bit different than today cuz i just discovered something new,cuz im just starting in it, so dont take my words too seriously.

im tremendly curious about what the people outside spain believe or think about flamenco in general, after seeing this and others posts in this forum ?

I've never been more confused in my life by one post.
I would like to mention I know nothing about flamenco.
 
Thanks, I plan on doing all 15 two-part inventions but it's probably gooing to take me awhile.

Yeah, sometimes the myspace player is a little weird. Usually if I just check it another time it will work.

Yeah it didnt work for me either the last too.
I'm really interested in learnign Flamenco. So you pla Flamenco? Do you think you could make lessons?
I've always thought of Flamenco as castanets and classical guitars with nylon strings. When I saw it on bass I was like "wow, that is way cool than sweeping"
 
Yeah it didnt work for me either the last too.
I'm really interested in learnign Flamenco. So you pla Flamenco? Do you think you could make lessons?
I've always thought of Flamenco as castanets and classical guitars with nylon strings. When I saw it on bass I was like "wow, that is way cool than sweeping"


hmm..., I might have to re-upload them or something. Did it look like it was playing, or did it not even load?

I don't think I'm playing real flamenco or anything, I'm just using doublethump+plucking and playing in this scale
D-Eb-F#-G-A-Bb-C-D
 
You can go when you have the basics, to get some of the cds "Flamenco compas", collections of rythms,+guitar+voices+claps ordered by palos, just to practice,hear... awesome only if you already have the basics.

This video explains what Seguirilla is for an example:


I recommend this guy's whole youtube video series to get a basic understanding of the ideas that make up Flamenco.

Btw, I remember reading an article in Bass Player magazine from the mid-90's about a flamenco bass player who played a semi-hollow fretless bass. I can't remember what his name was though :mad: He wasn't a solo player. I don't really care for the "solo flamenco bass" anyway...I like the idea of adding bass to accompany flamenco guitar.
 
I suggest u listen to a Spanish band called Ojos de Brujo (translates to eyes of the wizard). their bassist is Awesome, not really flemenco techniques, the guitarists cover that (who are also amazing).

flamenco bass isnt a common thing, tho I do incorporate some flamenco techniques into my playing, like typical flamenco "wheels" and percussive techniques on my acoustic bass. Incorporating it into a groove however is difficult. Though i just do it for personal enjoyment and not so much in the band!
 
You should check out the records from Carles Benavent. Both his solo albums and his colaborations with Paco de Lucia and Camaron de La Isla (a spanish gypsy flamenco singer). Here in Spain he is considered the father of flamenco electric bass.

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Hi,

I recently saw, and briefly met Carles here in London, he was playing by invitation with Tim Garland.

I must confess I'd never heard of him, but found his playing style compellingly refreshing.

Very basically, use a pick (held conventionally between first finger and thumb) and the rest of your picking hand fingers are then used to play chordal extensions and stuff.

His picking technique is very strong (probably taken straight from guitar), so to reproduce his style you have to work up those scales and get them to machine gun speed.

His bass is something hand made for him and on this occasion at least the sound was definitely not your modern scooped hi-fi.

So don't expect any flailing of hands.

I've got a very old Flamenco guitar tutor on the shelf, something I plan to try for pleasure someday. Having a quick look, that right hand technique that we all associate with Flamenco is called The Rasgueado, where you fan each finger across the strings.

Hey, something else to practice.

Regards,

Kevin
 
Great thread! When I was in college, the plan was for me to move to Spain for a while and learn flamenco on my bass. It's refreshing to see so many bassists take a similar interest.


:eek:


I'm afraid that, as a Spaniard, I can't call this "Flamenco".
In any single way.

Benavent's stuff is the only thing I would call Flamenco Bass, and what he does when playing flamenco is backing the guitar and putting a slightly different flavor into that piece, when he's not playing flamenco, he just sounds as another Jaco wannabe.

What is this depiazza doing is taking any random jazzy stuf and putting a slight flavor of flamenco in some phrases.


Flamenco is and should be, one man at the spanish flamenco guitar, then another one singing, not always, and people playing cajón and clapping. Then, possibly, Some Benavent style bass, but nothing else.

Definately not a "Flamenco Solo Bass OMFG LOL I'm So Good Flashing Amazing I Play Faster Than Thou".