The most important thing in flamenco is to understand, and be understood. Guitarists, singers and dancers often use different words to mean the same thing. We encourage you not to get hung up on the terms, but to help, we've provided this handy video glossary of terms you can quickly access. This list includes generally agreed upon terms that will appear frequently in your flamenco journey.
A technique unique to flamenco in which the thumb is used like a guitar pick to alternately strum and play single notes, usually with melodies in the bass.
Arpeggio is one of the central guitar techniques in flamenco
Playing Compás as opposed to playing falsetas - one of the many meanings of Compás.
Stay in compás! What it means to be in or out of compás.
Compás as a measure or cycle in flamenco.
There are a few different kinds of Golpe, which are ways to strike the guitar with your nail or your hand for a percussive effect.
When a piece/song/dance changes key or tempo at the end we call the the Macho. For example, the Tangos are the macho of Tientos and the Rumba is the Macho of Tangos.
What is a Llamada? This is one of the trickier terms in flamenco, but you'll start to recognize them once you know what to look for.
Introduction to the Llamada in Alegrias.
Introduction to the Llamada in Bulerias.
Introduction to the Llamada in Seguirilla.
Introduction to the Llamada in Soleá.
Introduction to the Llamada in Solea Por Buleria.
Introduction to the Llamada in Tangos.
When there is no rhythm in flamenco we call this Libre. Most all of the Libre Cante comes from the Fandango family and includes the Fandango, Taranta, Granaina, Malagueña and more.
Palos are the styles or forms in flamenco, such as Soleá, Buleria or Fandango.
A way of playing the guitar percussively with the strings muted.
Palmas are the handclaps that serve as the rhythmic backbone of flamenco. You'll want to practice your palmas as much as possible!
Picado is the flamenco technique for playing scales.
Either a style of dancing or simply playing Por Medio on the guitar.
Literally a "lift', a subida is a quickening of tempo, which can be gradual or sudden.
The tonic is the first note of the scale used to build a piece of music. This note, and corresponding chord, gives us a sense of resolution in music. We often refer to this as "home base." For example, in the key of A, the root of the main chord is A, therefore the tonic is A.
Flamenco strumming - any time you use the back of the nails of your fingers (not the thumb) to play a note.
Flick out each finger as if you are flicking a bug off your knee. We are trying for individual, percussive, and rhythmic strokes with each finger, rather than just unfurling your finger...
