Besides the essentials (guitar, tuner, capo), what are some of your favorite tools, gadgets, apps, etc. for playing and practicing? There's a separate topic for pedals in this forum for any electric guitarists : )
My favorite recent purchase is a tiny jbl bluetooth speaker. It's barely bigger than a deck of cards and has a huge sound. As a flamenco guitarist, I often record parts of rehearsals to study later. The recordings I make as iphone voice memos, nothing fancy, but playing them later through a nice speaker makes a huge difference. I've also been using the speaker for my Lessonface classes, though I prefer to connect it using the headphone jack, since the bluetooth connection seems to slow down my computer.
Years ago I purchased a couple flamenco metronome apps which have proved themselves indispensable. A lot of flamenco music uses a 12-beat rhythmic cycle. Ordinary metronomes can't replicate that, and one of the flamenco apps I have keeps the beat using palmas (flamenco hand-clapping). Having a metronome that sounds nice makes practicing a lot more fun!
What are some of your favorite guitar extras? Has any gear you've purchased particularly inspired you or aided your learning? I love hearing what tools other musicians find useful and fun!
Hi Leah, you mention the flamenco metronome apps, can you tell me the names? Are they available for IOS?
Certainly Mari! I have two apps, and both are available for iOS (I use them on an iphone).
I like Doctor Compás because it imitates an authentic flamenco palmas sound. The app has excellent sound and is available for both ios and android. You can decide whether you want to hear the cajon or a click, and if the palmas are soft or strong, and if you want the app to improvise.
I also use a metronome called Sevilla Soft. This one is ONLY available for iOS. The sound is not as amazing, but you can control more settings and sounds and have it give you a basic click as well. This one is more adaptable to non-flamenco genres.
Neither one is free - both cost me around $20 several years ago, but they were well worth the investment, as I continue using both.
Hope that helps!
Leah
Great, thanks! I had looked around a while back at flamenco metronome apps but because they cost money didn't want to purchase without a recommendation.