Exploring Flamenco: Fandangos de Huelva and Tarantos
About Exploring Flamenco: Fandangos de Huelva and Tarantos
Learning two contrasting pieces of music at the same time is a great way to broaden your technical abilities and interpretive skills. While the cante (singing) melodies of Fandangos de Huelva and Tarantos are structurally similar, the solo guitar perspective of the palos couldn’t be more different.
Fandangos de Huelva is a breezy, fun palo from the coastal city of Huelva. Lyrics are about life and love and often include folkloric or religious references. You’ll develop your arpeggio and picado techniques, challenge your playing velocity, and learn a light, relaxed style of rasgueo (flamenco strumming).
Tarantos is a serious palo from the mining regions of Southeastern Spain. Lyrics tell of tragedy and the hardships of mining life. At the core of Tarantos is the movement from a G chord to F#, with strings 1 and 2 left open rather than barred. The open strings give Tarantos a deep, haunting feel. Our exploration of Tarantos will strengthen your thumb technique and you’ll learn a heavy, profound style of rasgueo.
You’ll end the course with a collection of compás variations and falsetas for Tarantos and Fandangos de Huelva and we’ll cover how to arrange your repertoire into unique guitar solos.
This class is limited to 20 students.
Class Materials Needed
Guitar - nylon strings recommended
Capo - we may use it in Tarantos to make stretches easier on the left hand
Playing Experience
One year of playing experience (any style) is recommended. Ideally, students will already know basic chord shapes and be able to change chords smoothly. Being comfortable with (or at least tolerant of) barre chords will help.
Beginning guitarists are welcome but may find this course very challenging.
No knowledge of music notation is needed. I’ll teach using a combination of TAB and demonstration.
Class Goals
- - Learn compás (rhythm) and several falsetas for Tarantos and Fandangos
- - Arrange your compás and falsetas into unique solos
- - Recognize Tarantos and Fandangos when you hear them
- - Expand your technical abilities in flamenco guitar, particularly in thumb, rasgueo, and arpeggio techniques
- - Deepen your understanding of flamenco compás in two different rhythms
- - Enjoy playing two new palos with flamenco guitar enthusiasts all over the world!
When
The class will meet for ten weekly 60-min live online sessions on Sundays at 12 pm ET | 9 am PT | 17:00 UTC on the schedule below. The first session is on September 19.
(Convert to my time zone)
Enrolled students receive lifetime access to the video recordings of the classes.
How It Works
Students can connect to the online platform using a tablet or computer with reliable internet. To actively participate online students also need a webcam with microphone. The class is covered by the Lessonface Guarantee.
Students Say
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Eric F. on September 19, 2021
This was a fantastic lesson today! Leah's pace was just right for my playing ability--she want slowly enough so that I could keep up and yet not too slowly, thus keeping things challenging. I like the way she always demonstrates how to play things in a basic way and then shows us a "fancier" more musically interesting way to play it. Very much looking forward to next class!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Jarek L. on May 8, 2022
Book 1:1 online lessons with Leah Kruszewski on their Lessonface profile.
Leah Kruszewski
Multi-year Teacher of the Year for Flamenco and Classical Guitar, Leah loves introducing flamenco guitarists to the rhythms and melodies of southern Spain and guiding classical players as they develop their technique and repertoire. She also enjoys guiding beginners in Loog, fingerstyle, and acoustic guitar (ages 6 & up, please).
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