A Doctoral Hiatus

One of the more frequent comments I get from people who write to me here at Ravenna Flamenco goes along the lines of, "Oh, how I wish I had more time to play guitar." Believe me--this is one lament I couldn't empathize with more.

Granted, for most of us, finding "practice time" comes down to a question of priorities. How much time do we spend watching TV? (a worthless pursuit--we all know it)--or sleeping? (c'mon, people--that's what espresso is for!).

I don't mean to suggest that eking and extra hour or two out of the day to play guitar is easy. But it is often possible. Sometimes, however, the "priorities" question can be sticky. This is the situation in which I find myself now.

As some of you know, in addition to playing guitar, I'm also a PhD student in English Language and Literature. On the surface, I know this sounds like all fun and games (humor me here), but amidst all the hang gliding and hot-tub parties there is a point where pen must hit paper in a serious way: this is called the doctoral dissertation . . . and at present I'm right smack in the middle of it.

And what does one do in such a position, when the number of hours that need to be spent writing exceed the number of hours available in the day? Enter prioritization. Now I know what you're probably thinking: "So you're saying you're going to stop playing guitar while you write your dissertation?" Well hold on--this would make me a crazy person, no? Of the many things I am, "crazy" is not one (at least I don't think so . . . ).

Since, however, I'm already exceeding the recommended daily dosage of caffeine for humans (by a factor of roughly twelve), I must identify some other place to free up time. As I did for my PhD qualifying exams (in Oct. 08), one source of freeing up practice time will come in the form of taking a hiatus from actively adding to Ravenna Flamenco for a while. As you may have noticed (and as was the case just before that earlier leave of absence), there's been a flurry of activity around here the last month or two: new articles, new video posts, a new metronome website, new blog entries. (Think of this as an appeasement to you all in advance for my pending scarcity.)

Of course, just scaling back my web-writing doesn't yield quite the diss writing time I need. And here's where the priorities really get prickly: I've also decided to temporarily withdraw from playing for flamenco dance classes and for La Peña Flamenca de Seattle. This last withdrawal was probably the most difficult to make, but it ultimately came down to this question: do I want continue playing for a group and just "get by," or is it better to spend my limited time honing my skills at my own pace, and then move back into wider pursuits when it better suits my art?

Put like this, the decision got a lot easier: after all, I got into flamenco to begin with for my own personal fulfillment. Playing for others (or for money) has been a bonus, but that has never changed my original motivation. I am, of course, all in favor of being a "working artist," but--for me at least--that has to happen on my own terms (after all, if it doesn't, then I'm just "working," no?).

Which isn't to say that I won't continue to "work" when it suits me over the summer. I may play the odd wedding. There's also been talk of--if the writing proceeds apace--coming back for part of the Peña show in June. The most important thing for me, however, is that even with this unholy amount of writing yet to do, I'm still building time into my days to play guitar in the way that best suits me as a musician.

This said, I know from my last hiatus that you likely still have a couple of questions:

1. "Will you actually come back to Ravenna Flamenco, or is this a sneaky way of throwing in the website towel?"
   
   Well, my crystal ball is in the shop at the moment, but I don't mind pointing out that I've taken just such a break before and got right back at it when my latest hurdle to über nerd-dom had been cleared.
   
   
2. "What sort of stuff are you planning on doing with Ravenna Flamenco when you get back?"
   
   Good question! Some of this will have to do with you all. Over the last month or two I've been focusing mostly on making the metronomes more accessible. When I get back I would like to spend more time developing guitar tabs. I'm also thinking about putting up a discussion forum, or maybe hosting a public Ravenna Flamenco "Wave." And there are of course a couple dozen article ideas kicking around in my head. But this is where you all come in: What do you want to see more of on Ravenna Flamenco? Let me know--either in a comment on the site, or in response to this blog post (which would conveniently keep the suggestions all in one place).
   
   
3. "So," you ask, in an offhand sort of way, "what's your dissertation about, anyway?"
   
   Here I must demur. You really don't want to know. It's nerdy. If you must press, look at my University of Washington website--but don't come complaining back to me saying that you weren't properly warned!

And there you have it. I shall write to you all again sometime next fall (whereupon, if you wish, you can call me "Doctor Andy"--though keep in mind that no amount of kind words will get you complimentary prescriptions for anything fun from me--alas, I'm not going to be that kind of doctor).

And now: You! Go play!

I'm going to go write . . . then play . . . and then write some more . . . .

~A

Seattle Flamenco (dot org!)

Soooo. As many of you know, I start to feel guilty when it's been a long time between blog posts. Like several weeks. Or almost a month. And I start to scramble around and come up with excuses as to why I would be so negligent. You've no doubt already noticed that I've clearly plunged into "excuse mode"--but what you might not yet know is that the excuse is a good one!

So what have I been doing, you ask? I've been website building! No, not another flamenco magazine (like Ravenna Flamenco) and not another site dedicated to my own pursuits of flamenco. Rather, this site is one dedicated to everyone that's involved in flamenco in my little geographical niche (and, for all practical purposes, available to anyone who wants to find more out about that niche). It's called SeattleFlamenco.org and it is exactly what it sounds like: an open format non-commercial (i.e. not-for-profit) site that represents (or at least aspires to represent) all of the flamenco in the Seattle area.

Why would I do such a thing? There are several reasons. The first is that many of my fellow flamencos (and myself) have, for some time, been in the habit of complaining that the flamenco "community" around here is a bit disjointed. (And I'm sure Seattle's not alone in this complaint!) I can't guarantee that this will fix that problem, but at least if it doesn't our fragmentation won't be for lack of trying.

Beyond just getting the flamencos on the same page, however, I also wanted us to have a central place where people outside of the various Seattle flamenco circles could look in and discover a bit about what's going on right under their noses (and hopefully come out to support it!). I mean, let's face it: individual groups (mine included) spend a lot of time getting people to their own shows, but not a lot telling people about all the other options out there. Truth be told, it's not directly in their interest to do so. But it's in everyone's interest to stir up excitement about the scene. That's what this site is after.

Finally, there's quite a bit of "because I can" involved in the creation of this site. Mind, I've never built anything like this before (we'll see soon enough if it stands up to the test of traffic!), but I'm (evidently) not the type to let obliviousness stop me. Good idea? Or not? Well, we'll find out.

This, of course, all begs the "how?" question--and, perhaps more importantly, the "and what the hell gives me the right?" question. Fortunately for all of us, these two are answered in the same way: I get around both of them (I hope--we'll see) by making the site user generated. Show and event postings, artist and instructor listings, they're all user modifiable. Which means that even though I'm the one that set the thing in motion, how it eventually takes shape is up to the community as a whole (or at least to whoever decides to participate).

And which also means that aside from making sure the databases don't fall apart, I only have as much say in how the content shapes up as everyone else. Of course, I also play interference for spammers, and potentially referee for disputes, but ultimately the idea is that since this is a community built project, some sort of reliable and communal account of the scene will emerge. We'll see!

I guess the final question is this: will people actually use the site? This is something else we'll have to see. So far, as of two days "post-site-launch," things are looking good: the site has almost three dozen "fans" on Facebook and twenty followers on its Twitter feed. This all equals free publicity, which strikes me as a pretty good reason for anyone to use a site. As I mention above, though, if folks let this one fall flat, the days are over that they can complain that no one ever tried to help!

And now, dear readers, I am going to go play.

I suggest you do the same!

~A

Of Calendars and Cocktails

So I was checking in on some friends' blogs recently . . . which reminded me that I've got a blog of my own that I've been neglecting miserably lately! Well, fear not, intrepid readers, there is news to be had from the Flamenco Northwest and have it you shall.

But first to bring you up to speed: as some of you know (and the rest of you are about to find out), the dancers that make up the other regular two-thirds of my little flamenco group are due back from Spain any week now--two weeks from now, actually.

And terribly excited we all are, of course, to see what new moves they bring back with them. Promising new repertoire or not, however, their absence is not enough to quell the call to perform--or, more specifically, it's not enough to quell the calls I get from folks asking for flamenco performances.

Okay, fine, truth be told: I'm not exactly seeking restraining orders on potential clients. But there have been a couple interesting dates that have crossed my inbox--one of them the day before Dani returns, the other one the day after Rachel gets back. So what's a guy to do? Well, I'm not sure what other guys might do, but I for one set promptly to rifling through my list of contacts with this thought: "Who can I coerce into to putting some shows together with me in the vagabonds' absence?"

Luckily for me, Rachel, Dani and I have been (and will continue to be) strong proponents of collaborating with other musicians and dancers, so a ready roster of potential partners in crime is easily at hand. Building a set from "scratch," however, has been a different process than working a dancer or a singer into an already existing set. And it's been a good learning experience. Rachel Sprague and Marta (said partners in above mentioned crimes) are both talented performers (again, luckily for me), but--of course--they think, dance, sing, and operate in general differently than R & D.

Which means that I've had to rethink my strategies in getting music, arrangements, and set lists together (which is to say, specifically, that bribery with Grape Nehis alone isn't doing the trick any more). Most of what has been challenging, actually, has been in learning to accommodate different styles of communication and in finding out where the sticking points are that keep us all from getting on the same page.

Ultimately, I suspect (I hope) that these kinds of experiences will make me more versatile and flexible as an accompanist. It's a bit frustrating to sit down with dancer "A" and struggle to get through an arrangement of a palo that you can do almost unconsciously with dancer "B." But how very cool would it be to be able to sit down with dancer "C" and be sensitive enough to read his or her cues well enough to move through an improvised arrangement on the fly?

I'm not quite there yet myself, but that kind of spontaneity is starting to take on a clearer shape and significance in my mind. Perhaps ultimately I'm starting to figure out that staying in the "comfort zone" of fixed arrangements and collaborators provides some security, but that artistically that security can also be a trap.

But then again, maybe that's just the Grape Nehi talking. In any case, it's about time for you to go play, no?

~A

Juerga!

I had always thought the Spanish word "juerga" translated more or less to "party" in English. This isn't strictly wrong . . . but, as with most things in flamenco, it's more complicated than that. The venerable D.E. Pohren defines "juerga" as "a flamenco jam session." Robin Totton says it's "a get-together of flamencos among themselves" ( . . . and "also may mean a lively party"--vindication is mine!).

This all jives pretty well with the general impression I've had. It may be from the interwebs, however, that we get the unvarnished truth: according to babylon.com, a juerga is a "binge, spree, period of excessive indulgence . . . A festive binge of drinking and merrymaking." Oh my!

Whatever the truth, I think all of these descriptions effectively sum up the all-night bout of flamenco-steeped mirthery that Savannah Fuentes hosted at her house last Saturday. I knew this night would at least be blog-worthy before I ever stepped foot inside the house: as I was looking for a place to park, I stumbled upon my friend Rachel Sprague--who happened to be standing in the middle of the street, holding her truck's side-view mirror in her hand. ("It just fell off!" claimed she.)

After assuring that Sprague had the situation under control (the mirror "fell off," evidently, while she was trying to park next to--or perhaps in--a rather large oak), I got myself situated and found Savannah's house. I'll spare you the mingling minutia; let it suffice to say that there was plenty of wine (it never did run out) and lots of open space for dancing.

And were there musicians! My god! I expected there to be a few guitar players, perhaps a cajon player or two, some singers. But then the violin player showed up (Sallah--who is awesome). And the oud player (Yousef--also awesome). And the cello player (again: awesome (I am wearing this word out, I know--but it's the only word that fits!)).

To be honest, I was totally intimidated. I remember thinking, holy crap, these guys are going to be awesome and I'm going to feel like a tool, fumbling at my poor guitar with ten thumbs or flippers or something. As it turns out, they were totally awesome (okay fine, I'll find another word)--but they were also all about collaborating. And I think that's finally what made the whole thing really take off: no one was trying to impress anyone, or put on a show; everyone was there just to make music, sing, and dance.

I know, this sounds obvious. Like, why else would a bunch of musicians get together? Unfortunately, musicians tend to be egotistical (I'm no exception) and they generally want to sound good. Which means they (I) don't like to take risks in public. Which means that trying out new musical ideas is generally strained at best.

But behind closed doors (and undoubtedly helped along with no trivial amount of wine), it's easier to set aside the musical inhibitions and try something new. When it's just me and a cellist, say, it can be hard to find a groove. Inspired collaboration can happen, but there would have to be some rare chemistry (and genius) to turn such an outing into an all night party. But when there are musicians and palmistas and dancers all into a tangos or buleria one gets carried on the current of it. The energy draws you in. (Hmmm--this is starting to sound like nudist colony propaganda--but that comes later . . . ). Anyway, enough with the chit-chat. How about some pictures? (Quick--before I use the "a-word" again!):

. . . And then the photographer left. But this was still only 2:00 or 3:00 (I think I finally staggered home around 5:00--and I was not the last to leave). I can definitely see why the word "binge" would come into play here--not only for the "excess," but also for the sheer "carried-awayness" of it.

Lucky for me, the hangover was limited to a little bit of cotton-mouth and a slight ringing in the ears--neither of which kept me from a healthy (if sleepy) dose of playing the next day.

And speaking of playing, isn't that what you should be doing right now?

~A

Flamenco, Anyone?

Hello, world! I've survived the PhD exams! And am nearly coherent enough to tell about it! Before you ask: no, I'm not quite a doctor yet--I still have to scribble out one of these "dissertation" things. . . . But I am nearer to being a doctor than I've ever been (and may, I'm told, play one on TV sometime soon).

But enough of my pursuit of nerdery! We care little for such things here, no? I have, after all, replaced the "daunting-stack-o'-books" picture with the "infamous-and-ubiquitous-guitars-icon" picture. So: what (you may ask) is new?

Well, as my intrinsically nerdy nature dictates, I feel compelled to tell you in two stages. Here's the first: it would seem that, despite my best efforts, flamenco guitar refused to be "back-seated" during my exams (see below). This is, of course, a good thing. But it also made for an interesting personal experiment centering around this question: what happens to one's (i.e. "my") guitar playing when a really big project muscles its way onto the scene?

The result was something I didn't even realize I was the least bit interested in (cf. "exam panic" below), but, as it turns out, should care a lot about. The good news is that with rare exception, I still managed for the most part to pick up the guitar every day. And most of those days included some species of structured practice. I think there were three factors in particular that helped this to be the case:

First, my guitars are never "put away." I actually don't store them in their cases. Is this potentially harder on the instruments? Yes, potentially. But does it mean that I play them more? Certainly. Since my guitars are always "out," it's easy to pick one up over coffee in the morning (which I regularly do)--or in those little "dead spots" in the day that aren't quite enough time to do something, but are just long enough to feel wasteful. For example: I can revisit a problem spot in a peteneras I've been working on (more on that later) or play through a couple sevillanas in the time it takes water to boil. There's another 8-10 minutes in the time it takes penne to cook (depending on what you consider "al dente").

This is not to say I actually leave the poor things strewn all over my house, willy-nilly. I actually hang them on the walls. I mean, let's face it: guitars are pretty. So why not leave them out? Having them there, staring you down, as it were, is also a good reminder of whether you've been neglectful or not (sort of a Foucauldian micro-politics of power meets musicianship . . . oh no! I can't turn the nerd off!).

Anyway, reason two: I don't watch TV. Don't even own one. They're degenerate, vile devices and should be scorned by right-thinking people. Yes, you're saying (I know you are! I can hear it): but how much time do you spend in front of a computer, mr. no-tv-snob? Arguable way too much; I agree. But let's think about this practically: what is an hour (or six) of mind-numbing television watching more likely to displace? The time I spend stalking my friends on Facebook or the time I spend practicing arpeggio variations? I honestly don't see "Pumping Nylon" winning out on this one.

Finally, reason three: before push came to shove (time-wise, that is), I made some choices about where my musical priorities were best focused. This means I backed off on Ravenna Flamenco and on my involvement in dance classes and La Peña in order to leave myself time to "just play." I know this seems counterintuitive, but in fact I found that the playing I did get in was productive and allowed me to expand my skills and maintain my enthusiasm (rather than just maintain dance repertoire).

Though don't get me wrong: I do love playing for dancers and singers--and in fact can't wait to get back to it (which will happen on the 23rd of March). (The "getting back" to Ravenna Flamenco, you may have noticed, has already begun.)

And this brings me to "part 2" of "what's new." This part aspires to give a quick rundown of all the stuff I should have covered in past blog posts but never got around to (see "exam panic" below). Since this particular post is already getting obnoxiously long, I'll skip right to the details:

• If you haven't been to www.zamaniflamenco.com lately, do check it out. We've posted a new promo video and a photo gallery on the "media" page. Also, dancers Dani and Zánbaka (who are currently cooling their heels in the south of Spain), are keeping us all up to dates on the vagaries of travel and study in Andalucia on the new ZF blog.
  
  
• I recently played solo guitar for a dinner event at the VA in Seattle. Much fun was this; there will be post coming soon on the ins & outs.
  
  
• The Northside Grill, Zamani Flamenco's erstwhile monthly gig, has closed! So no more monthly gig there. The good news, however, is that our summer festival and event calendar is starting to fill out (starting with a private event two days before the dancers are back . . . more on that later).
  
  
• Plans for Ravenna Flamenco: I've gotten a lot of positive feedback on the flamenco metronomes, so I'll be working in getting more of those put together. Next up is solea, then perhaps some tangos. These are, as always, a bit labor intensive, so bear with me!
  
  
• More RF plans: as I mentioned above, I'm working out a Peteneras by Pedro Soler. I'm planning to tab this out for the edification of all of you (it's a great piece--it forces you to play slow!), but I'm finding that transcribing "toque libre" is absolute murder. I may just scrap regular time signatures altogether and let the notes fall where they may. In any case, keep your eyes peeled for a new addition to "tabs."
  

And now, dear reader, I'll spare you further suffering by bringing this marathon blog post to a close--and I promise to limit such abuses in the future. What can I say? It's been a while! In any case, I hope you all are well and am looking forward to diving back into the thick of things.

Now you! Go play!

~A

Of Axes & Books

In the best of all possible worlds (as might say the good Dr. Pangloss), we would all have trust funds or rich families to finance our flamenco habits--and would probably play pretty well given all the time that not having to worry about actually making a living would free up!

Financed socialite, alas, is no fate of mine. A certain axe is about to fall on yours truly and there will be consequences. Don't get me wrong: this is no complaint--I know that among musicians who juggle myriad responsibilities and make palpable sacrifices for their art I'm in good company.

Yet axes will be axes. My particular axe happens to be one very massive stack of books. And one very hairy exam. Yes, kids, that's right: in a scant five months, Andy will be taking his PhD Qualifying Exams. Which means that as of now (i.e. the official moment that "exam panic" sets in), any function not necessary to continued respiration or avoidance of homicidal behavior is officially being "back-seated" to exam reading.

Said "back-seating" does not, of course, include guitar playing--I'm a firm believer in the idea that mental health doesn't happen all on its own (see note above re: avoidance of homicidal behavior)--but it does include frequent updates to Ravenna Flamenco.

In anticipation of this official moment of exam panic, however, I have finished up a number of pending RF updates: every tab but one now has a video illustration, five new tabs that have been "in the works" are now posted, and performance notes have been added for tabs that were previously performance-note-less.

As I am still planning to practice, play, and perform, I will try to update toque from time to time, though if entries over the next few months are thin, please do forgive me. This said, once my exams are over (i.e. March), I will certainly have positively staggering amounts of things to say, post, and otherwise distribute. In the meantime, please do peruse the articles, noodle with the tabs, and practice with the metronomes.

And if you should cross a zombified and hungry looking Andy on the street a few months hence, don't worry: I won't eat your brain (unless, that is, you've just read--and understand--Fredric Jameson's Postmodernism, or The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism--in which case your brain might start to look pretty good . . . ).

Now you go play--I'm going to go read.

~A

The Northwest Folklife Festival

Hooray! I've finally had a performance at the Seattle Center that wasn't in the food court! Granted this means I had to walk farther for my corn-dog, but they're for purely research purposes only, so no harm done.

But enough about American haute-cuisine, there are show details to be had. And have them you will: This particular engagement was with La Peña Flamenca de Seattle and ran about 30 minutes. We played a fandangos, a bulería, a garrotín, a set of sevillanas, and a rumba. This particular show didn't include the full Peña compliment of dancers, but there were still a good twelve or fifteen of them (in addition to the musicians and singers, that is).

For those of you not in the know, Folklife is a very large and obnoxious affair, featuring hundreds of local and touring music and performance acts and a higher hippie to yuppie ratio than is even legal north of the Ship Canal. The Peña performed on the International Dance stage and was the first in a series of four flamenco acts from the Seattle area. (Incidentally, I've browsed around for some video from the other groups, but with no luck. There is a video of the Seattle Ukulele Society doing a rousing rendition of "I Will Survive," but you won't get the link from me!)

But enough chatter! How about some video? Here is the Fandangos, our opening number:

This was actually my own personal first "falseta" with the Peña, though you have to listen pretty hard to hear it. The other guitarist, Markus, and I were mic'd, but for some some reason that baffles me still, the sound guy never seems to have turned our mics up over about "one." (I don't want to venture any guesses as to why this might have been--and even if I did, those guesses surely wouldn't include any speculations regarding a pre-show visit to the "Hempfest" promo tent.)

Speaking of pre-show rituals, by the way, I had earlier (on this blog) speculated on the potentially deleterious effects of a very deliberate shot of good Irish whiskey before going on stage. Though I didn't bring out the flask until post-show this time around, the Zamani dancers and I did have lunch (and a couple hefeweizens) before strolling over to the Center for Folklife. As I was actually fairly relaxed and able to enjoy myself on stage, I'm beginning to sense a connection. For the moment I don't want to draw any rash conclusions; I will, however, keep you posted on further "tests."

In the meantime, how about another video? This was the last number we did, a rumba:

There were, of course, other dances in between, but in the interest of not creating yet another gratuitously long blog post, I'll let you check those out on your own on the Peña Flamenca de Seattle YouTube channel.

My overall impression of the show as a whole? All in all I am quite happy with how it went: no major train wrecks, no decomposing produce thrown. That counts as good in my book. But this was far from the end of the evening. After Folklife about ten of us wandered back to our regular watering (i.e. beering) hole, The Two Bells. And we made a shocking discovery: through a series of cleverly concealed doors lies the Two Bells' terrace! As in outdoors, center of the city, beer garden-esqe paradise. Zanbaka and I have been coming to this place for months and have only just now discovered this outdoor enclave. In true flamenco form, we quickly took it over (not that there were more than two other people who had made the same discovery). The pitchers flowed, food was had, and right about the time it was getting too dark (there were no lights) and blurry (you get the idea) to see, out comes the guitar and the fiesta was on.

From a guitar player's perspective, here is the strongest argument yet for being solid on lo básico: there's no way, after two (or three or four) beers that I can pull of Almoriama or Aires Choqueros (eh, who am I kidding--I can hardly play those stone sober), but the basic sevillanas, tangos, and bulería rhythms, no sweat. And rhythm is key--at this point, not a soul could have cared less what sort of fancy falsetas I could pull out, but falling out of compás could have brought the whole works to a grinding halt. Granted, I like to think that this particular group was kind enough to let a few gaffs slide (as they might have done), but one doesn't like to test kindness, if you know what I mean.

And speaking of testing kindness, I can see that I have indeed again created a gratuitously long blog post. And you, poor soul, have read the whole thing (or skipped ahead, but whatever). In any case, thanks for your indulgence!

Now stop indulging and go play!

~A

Ravenna Flamenco Redesign

As I promised I would do in March (and it is really only now just barely April, so I'm not feeling too bad about the time line here), I've finally given Ravenna Flamenco a bit of a makeover. The "outside" of the site, I know, looks like what you're used to, but on the inside (in the code, as it were), you'll find better navigation, more complete tab and music explanations, better search functions, and just generally more efficient web-worthiness. You can of course see all of this just by browsing the site. For those of you into explanations, however, (or who just can't stop reading an article when it goes on too long--poor soul!) here's a little rundown of the recent changes.

To begin with, the site sidebars have been revamped to be more up to date all the time. No matter where you are in the site (except this blog page, ironically) you'll be able to go directly to the most recent tabs, articles and blog posts via the left sidebar. The right sidebar now (instead of merely promising global search functions) actually has global search functions. It also had occurred to me that there weren't any really visible email or contact links anywhere on the site--this, too, has been fixed.

You'll also notice that the main "articles" page is now indexed with a brief description of the articles. For now this list is in alphabetical order, but as the article collection grows, my diabolical plan is to subdivide this list into topic categories and the like.

Ravenna Flamenco's biggest change, though--and the one I'm happiest with--is the change to the "tabs" page. Here again, the main page is an index of the tabs available (already divided into categories by palo). There is a brief description of the tab in question--and above it a series of icons:



These will take you to either the tab directly (in blissfully universal PDF), or, if you click on the song title or video icon, you will be sent to a page with access to the tab, a video of the tab in question (played by yours truly), and a detailed description of why this particular tab is useful from a flamenco guitarists perspective:

The descriptions (or performance notes, if you like) focus on what I take the be the salient elements of the tab in question. Maybe there's an odd timing issue or a particularly tricky syncopation relative to the compás. Sometimes I'll address a distinctively flamenco chord form, or an unusual fingering that creates unexpected melodic possibilities. Whatever the case, the purpose of posting tabs here is to go beyond the great mass of marginal and ill-annotated tabs on the internet. My thinking is that the ratio of quantity to quality out there is at the moment heavily skewed in the direction of the former--this is my attempt to even things out a bit (and provide an alternative for those of you who want to do more than just "scratch the surface" of flamenco).

As I've mentioned before, however (and I really can't say this enough): I'm not trying to come off as an expert on flamenco. In terms of this project, I think of myself more as a fellow explorer. This is one reason why I'm so adamant about the "comments" sections. If you think my notes on a particular tab are crackpot--or if you have something to add--please do speak up. One of the reasons I've given each of these pages a dedicated "comments" function is so that all of you can build on the performance notes and commentary I've started. So by all means: comment away!

[Speaking of comments, a number of site visitors (all dancers, oddly enough) have told me that they like the compás metronomes. As a result, I'll be posting another one shortly. If you've never created or been involved with a project like Ravenna Flamenco before, you may not be privy to this, but let me tell you: my motivation for putting all this up on the web is the hope that someone somewhere will find it useful. If you like something, say so and I'll build on it. Otherwise, it looks (from my point of view, anyway) like nobody's using this stuff!]

Another new addition (this one by special request!) is a "donations" button. Fear not--it has always been (and still is) my intention to keep all of this material freely available. But what am I to do? when you tell me you want something, I'm compelled to accommodate!

So that's about it for now. For anyone who's still curious (and has actually read this far), some of the next changes in the works include building out the "video" section of the site and generally fleshing out the articles, tabs, and metronome collections. As always, if you like something or have a suggestion, please do let me know.

Now go play!

~A

"Ravenna Flamenco" Launch!

This beastie of an idea has been simmering in my brain for some time now--and here it is: Ravenna Flamenco is online. I could go on for megabytes telling you what this thing is and what I have in store for it--but shouldn't you really just go to the site and check it out? . . . .

This particular blog (Toque), as you also may have noticed, is starting in a "middle-ish" sort of way (in media res, say the nerds). The idea to record my experience as a North American learning flamenco is one I've had for quite a while--as such I have "posts" (bona fide "post-its," some of them) from my humblest beginnings (that is, versus my present humble middlings). To fill in some of the gaps, over the next month or two I'll cull some of the most relevant of notes and re-post them to this blog.

Your comments, by the way, are crucial to the whole concept of keeping a blog--don't fear the pencil!

A.