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I have a tendency to include references, appositions, and other errata in my text as I write. As I realize that not everyone cares for such digressions, however, I generally "hide" them in scripts. To access this "additional information," just click on the boldfaced text. To expand all errata at once (brave soul!), click here.
Flamenco Dance Accompaniment for Guitarists
This article series discusses how to prepare the principle song forms commonly demanded of dance accompanists. It is broken up into five sections:
- Part I: Accompaniment Basics
- Part II: Sevillanas
- Part III: Alegrias
- Part IV: Soleá
- Part V: Further Afield
Part IV: Soleá (continued)
[part 2 of 2--read part one here]
Second Copla (F)
The second copla provides another example of creating variation by playing with section length. Whereas the first copla was fully “built out” with two tercios, a contestation, and a repeated cambio, this second copla ends up much shorter by cutting out the contestation and only playing the cambio once. I have also noted (and played) a version of the cambio which includes a wider variety of passing chords. This is not a terribly common accompaniment for singers, but it does make for a more interesting phrase when played on guitar alone.Second Falseta (G)
The second falseta is also adapted from Juan Habichuela’s soleá “A Mi Luis.” It is a fairly simple phrase, but allows the guitarist some nice opportunities for playing with dynamics and nuance. As with the first falseta, it is followed by remates which vary the descending Am chord progression.
NB: Note the addition of an extra right-hand finger stroke in bar 193. I do this to denaturalize the rhythm (i.e. break it out of strict 4/4 or 3/4 time), which works to further emphasize the accent chord which follows (in this case the up-beat of the third beat in measure 193). You could think of this as playing a 7:6 grouping of notes . . . but then again, you (as I) might also not want to over-think it too much – if it sounds right (and it’s in compás), go with it.
As in alegria, the escobilla is a standard section for soleá baile accompaniment. As it does in other forms, the escobilla here builds in tempo and intensity, matching and accenting the dancer’s footwork. In this case, I use the escobilla to transition to this soleá’s final buleria ending -- but, as with all of these components, escobilla can go virtually anywhere in an arrangement. In the interest of keeping this arrangement manageable (it’s already almost eight minutes!), I have noted a short passage of escobilla here. As with the redoblao section above, you may end up playing a much longer version when you play for a dancer. As before, creative variation will keep things interesting from a musical perspective.
6. Transition to buleria and Ending (I)
As you accelerate through the escobilla, you should keep in mind that you ultimately (at least in this case) want to end up at a buleria tempo. Once you’re up to speed and you make the transition to buleria (here at bar 213), you may want to alter your foot tapping pattern to better catch the feel of these closing phrases.
When I tap soleá, I usually tap my foot in a steady rhythm and keep track of where the accent falls on an “up” in my head. For slower tempos, this helps me stay in time:
For faster tempos, however (like buleria), I find that tapping out the compás in full helps me better sync up with the rhythm – and consequently, better bring it out in my playing:
NB: For more on foot-tapping in flamenco, see the article “Foot Tapping for Bulerías” here on Ravenna Flamenco.
As has been the case above, the buleria section here is fairly short. For actual accompaniment (or for your own amusement), you might make this passage much longer – and can, of course, finish it off any way you like. Listening to as many performances and recordings as you can lay your ears on will go a long way toward helping you come up with ideas about how to embellish, rearrange, and change. Flamenco is a living art and undergoes change all the time; arrangements like the one I’ve given you here provide a starting point, but are far, far from the end of what you might do.
Interpretation and Solo Guitar
As with the alegria in the previous article in this series, a good soleá accompaniment may contain all or only a few of these elements—and in whatever order makes sense to the dancers and musicians involved. It is important, of course, that there be some musical sense to the arrangement, that it builds meaningfully in some way, and that musicians and dancers are able to use the form to “say something.”
As an accompanist you will do well to learn variations on the common components of soleá and learn to assemble and rearrange them in an order that compliments what your dancer is doing. This, of course, is why soleá appears late in this article series—once you’ve become familiar with forms that have standard arrangements, the next logical step is to move out into more open territory form-wise. This is also a good move toward being able to come up with your own arrangements and compositions for flamenco as a whole: once you begin to understand the various flamenco song forms and how they move, you will be more confident about putting your own stamp on them—both while accompanying a dancer and while playing all on your own.
The final installment of this series on dance accompaniment will take a look at moving "further afield" and applying some of the principles of arranging flamenco music for accompaniment to a wider variety of flamenco song forms. We'll discuss how to approach Tangos, Fandangos, Farruca, and other forms with an eye (and ear) toward dance accompaniment.
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