The first lesson looks at starting an Alegrias. As a guitarist, the only part of this where you need to play what I play is during the Cante, and then only if the singer is singing traditional letras. The falseta can be anything at all. You can even start Libre, or you can start with compás if yo...

In the second lesson we look at the first letra and the Coletilla and how to accompany them. These two sections of the cante generally follow the exact same chord progression, but they feel different. From there we get into the falseta and then the Llamada for the second letra.

It’s traditional...

In this week’s episode we look at the second letra of the danced Alegrias - how to get into it, the letra itself, and what happens after. The accompaniment of the cante is the same as in the first letra - you can review that here: https://learn.flamencoexplained.com/videos/cante-alegrias - but ge...

In this week’s episode we look at the Silencio and the transition into the Castellana. The Silencio itself is pretty standardized - it’s essentially a mini guitar solo that is slow, lyrical and in the minor key, and it’s one of those things you can actually have prepared beforehand. The Castellan...

The Escobilla - in Alegrías is all about giving the dancer a pulse for their footwork. The tricky bit is knowing what pulse they need. Normally a lifetime of playing for dance class will prepare you to know this, but here at Flamenco Explained we’re all about giving you the cheat-sheet, so we br...

The bulería that happens at the end of the Alegrías is known as the Bulería de Cadiz, because Alegrías originated in the port city of Cadiz, and the letras are very distinctive. As far as the right hand is concerned it’s just another bulería, but the melodies and chords are different than the phr...

There are a few ways to end an Alegrías - the dancer can end on stage, go back to their chair or walk off stage. Either way you need to be accompanying the Cante and keeping up with the dancer, who may be speeding things up again at the very end. As with everything, once you know the options you’...

This is the final performance from our Alegrías Explained episodes. See how it all comes together with the Cante, Baile and Guitar from top to bottom! To understand and hear all the explanations between the three: Cante, Baile and Guitar, in large detail of each section, there are 7 lesson episod...