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•Soleá Accompaniment
•Practice Tips for Beginners
•Free Tab on the Internet
•Alegrias Accompaniment
•Foot Tapping for Bulerías
•Returning to A [book review]
•Palmas in Brief
•Sevillanas Accompaniment
Recent Tabs
•Alegria falseta
•Soleá por Baile
•Bulerías falseta
•Tangos falseta
•Sevillana (E min)
•Alegrias por Baile
•Almoraima (bulerías)
Metronomes
•Metronome
Demo
•Alegrías
(120 bpm)
•Alegrías
(144 bpm)
•Bulerías
(180 bpm)
•Bulerías
(200 bpm)
•Rumba
(180 bpm)
•Rumba
(200 bpm)
•Sevillanas
(120 bpm)
•Sevillanas
(135 bpm)
•Siguiriya
(144 bpm)
•Soleá
(90 bpm)
•Tangos
(120 bpm)
•Tangos
(144 bpm)
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Compás
You're heard it before: until you get a firm grasp on compás, you may be playing beautiful music, but you're not playing flamenco. Ravenna Flamenco is here to help! The Flamenco Compás metronomes will help you both hear and see the compás while you practice. What's more, they're created by real musicians (mostly Andy, really) playing real instruments. The best part: they're free! (And will continue to be.)
Alegrías | Bulerías | Rumba | Sevillanas | Siguiriya | Soleá | Tangos
Alegrías [120 bpm] A basic alegrías rhythm, played here with cajón and palmas. The compás of alegrías accents the 3, 6, 8, 10, and 12 beats of the 12 beat cycle. Traditional alegrías phrasing generally starts on the "one" count, though rhythm playing (as one might do for dancers) often also has a heavy 12.
Alegrías [144 bpm] A basic alegrías rhythm played with cajón and palmas, this time just a bit faster. As with the "Alegrías 120" metronome, the compás here accents the 3, 6, 8, 10, and 12 beats of the 12 beat cycle. Although alegrías can certainly go faster than this, being able to play cleanly at this tempo should get you . . .
Bulerías [180 bpm] A very basic bulerías rhythm, played here with cajón and palmas in "twelves." This metronome accents the 12, 3, 6, 8, and 10 beats, which gives it a more "traditional" bulerías feel. This is a great place to start if you're still trying to get your head (and fingers and feet) around counting and playing . . .
Bulerías [200 bpm] The rhythm in this bulerías, in addition to being faster, is played in a more "modern" style, with accents on beats 12, 3, 7, 8, and 10. The "6" is still part of the bulería compás, but in this case not playing it is what makes is stand out. This is typically the style more recently associated specifically with . . .
Rumba Flamenca [180 bpm] A basic rumba rhythm, played with cajón and palmas. The compás of rumba flamenca is similar to that of the tangos, but instead of accenting the 2, 3, and 4 beats of a four beat cycle, the guitar accompaniment for rumba accents the 1, the upbeat of the 2, and the 4. This gives it a lighter air and . . .
Rumba Flamenca [200 bpm] A brisk rumba rhythm, played with cajón and palmas. The rumba is an ida y vuelta form brought to Anadalucía from Cuba. Though it was originally adopted (according to Robin Totton) by the Barcelona Gypsies, it has since been perhaps most effectively popularized by Paco de Lucía's . . .
Sevillanas [120 bpm] The compás for Sevillanas can be counted simply in "threes," with the accent beat on the "one" of each group of three beats. But flamenco is rarely this simple, and neither is Sevillanas: riding along with Sevillanas's waltzy 3/4 is a 2/4 "feel" (for lack of a better term) that drives many of the . . .
Sevillanas [135 bpm] The tempo in this metronome is about the speed at which many dancers comfortably perform. Solo work may go faster (cf. Paco de Lucia)--or slower (cf. some excellent Sevillanas playing by Pedro Soler)--but this is a good target speed for accompaniement. This metronome, as with the Sevillanas . . .
Siguiriya [144 bpm] A basic siguiriya rhythm, played here with cajón and palmas. The compás of the siguiriya can be counted in a number of ways. Some flamencos start the count on the "one" of a twelve beat cycle (i.e. accenting the 1, 3, 5, 8, and 11). Others like to use the 3, 6, 8, 10, 12 beat emphasis and simply start on . . .
Soleá [90 bpm] A basic soleá rhythm played with cajón and palmas. The compás of soleá starts on the "one" count and accents the 3, 6, 8, 10, and 12 beats of the 12 beat cycle. When playing with others (or by yourself), this is a palo that can accommodate quite a bit of "push and pull" tempo-wise, but . . . .
Tangos [120 bpm] A basic tangos rhythm, played here with cajón and palmas. The compás of tangos accents the 2, 3, and 4 beats of a four beat cycle (commonly paired with another four beat cycle, giving phrases in 8's). The "one" count is often silent; I've included cajon on the one-beat here to help those new to the rhythm . . .
Tangos [144 bpm] A basic tangos rhythm, played here with cajón and palmas. The compás of tangos accents the 2, 3, and 4 beats of a four beat cycle (commonly paired with another four beat cycle, giving phrases in 8's). As is usually the case with the traditional tangos, the "one" count here is silent. Be sure to . . .
See something you like here? Something you would change if you could? Let me know: this series is still very much "in the works"—your input matters!
