How much time do you need to become a good player?
When I started learning classical guitar in mid-eighties, the general acceptance was that it would take decades to master guitar. And you had to start early as a child to achieve professional perfection.
Since I was already a teenager when I began taking lessons, I was quite pessimistic about my future as a performer. However, my electric guitar player friends were able to start bands of their own and even play concerts following a year of moderate practice. I found that quite annoying. I would practice Segovia scales at 80 BPM hoping to do recitals maybe in 20 years whereas those guys would play gigs and enjoy as performers the music they loved.
I used to think "It's much easier to play electric guitar, that's why." Actually, it is not easier to play electric guitar. Now I can see that the evolution recently observed in the world of flamenco guitar was experienced in the world of rock and heavy metal much earlier.
What evolution am I talking about?
Some years I ago I was asked to be a jury on an online flamenco guitar competition and I was blown away by the quality of the entries. People with only a few years of experience were able to play at top level!
I have students progressing from zero to playing Paco de Lucia's Punta Umbria after 1 year of moderate practice.
I see young virtuosos pop up every other day both in the classical and flamenco world.
So, what has changed? Are there a lot more talented people in the world now? I highly doubt that.
Let me say that the emergence of an easily accessible online culture is the main driving force behind this phenomenon.
Here are my speculations:
1 - The rise of the DIY (do-it-yourself) culture
Today we are able to find almost anything over the internet. This enables many hidden talents to come out, which was not possible 20 years ago.
There is a plethora of amazing instructional material out there. I never had a flamenco teacher and learned everything I know from recordings and the internet. If I need to familiarize myself with a palo, for example, I simply do a search on youtube and voila! I get a a long list of video entries many of which are step-by-step tutorials.
Also, there are excellent forums where you can either read and learn from back and forth discussions of masters or ask them directly. The best English-language forum I have encountered so far is the foroflamenco.
2 - Revision and upgrade of the teaching techniques
Closely linked to the ubiquity of instructional material and the aspect of interactivity, the available methodologies of learning and teaching flamenco guitar are constantly revised and upgraded.
When I started playing, there were only a few methods available in print. I remember looking at Paco Pena's Toques Flamencos for anything flamenco related. Still a great book, but it is not really a method.
Today there are many online resources that focus on separate techniques and the publishers of these resources can almost immediately find out whether they are good at helping players advance their playing. Based on the feedback received, the resources are either discarded or upgraded. As an online teacher, I certainly keep a close eye on the reactions of my viewers and followers to improve my instructional material.
The outcome is that we get results in a much shorter time.
3 - Intense exposure to the music
Again through the internet, people are able to focus on what they want to do long before they actually attempt to do it. I receive students who are quite knowledgeable on flamenco culture without any technical ability yet. Remember, Paco de Lucia was saying that he already knew everything about palos and compas before he picked up a guitar himself because he was exposed to the music on a daily basis. Something similar is happening today thanks to the online community.
Do not underestimate your exposure to the online videos. That is a serious part of your education. In other words, you are not really starting from scratch!
In the 90s I used to get students who "wanted to learn how to play guitar." Now I get students who want to learn how to articulate properly buleria remates!
In conclusion, don't be discouraged whenever you see a little kid playing Panaderos. The resources are out there and you have plenty of time.
Since I was already a teenager when I began taking lessons, I was quite pessimistic about my future as a performer. However, my electric guitar player friends were able to start bands of their own and even play concerts following a year of moderate practice. I found that quite annoying. I would practice Segovia scales at 80 BPM hoping to do recitals maybe in 20 years whereas those guys would play gigs and enjoy as performers the music they loved.
I used to think "It's much easier to play electric guitar, that's why." Actually, it is not easier to play electric guitar. Now I can see that the evolution recently observed in the world of flamenco guitar was experienced in the world of rock and heavy metal much earlier.
What evolution am I talking about?
Some years I ago I was asked to be a jury on an online flamenco guitar competition and I was blown away by the quality of the entries. People with only a few years of experience were able to play at top level!
I have students progressing from zero to playing Paco de Lucia's Punta Umbria after 1 year of moderate practice.
I see young virtuosos pop up every other day both in the classical and flamenco world.
So, what has changed? Are there a lot more talented people in the world now? I highly doubt that.
Let me say that the emergence of an easily accessible online culture is the main driving force behind this phenomenon.
Here are my speculations:
1 - The rise of the DIY (do-it-yourself) culture
Today we are able to find almost anything over the internet. This enables many hidden talents to come out, which was not possible 20 years ago.
There is a plethora of amazing instructional material out there. I never had a flamenco teacher and learned everything I know from recordings and the internet. If I need to familiarize myself with a palo, for example, I simply do a search on youtube and voila! I get a a long list of video entries many of which are step-by-step tutorials.
Also, there are excellent forums where you can either read and learn from back and forth discussions of masters or ask them directly. The best English-language forum I have encountered so far is the foroflamenco.
2 - Revision and upgrade of the teaching techniques
Closely linked to the ubiquity of instructional material and the aspect of interactivity, the available methodologies of learning and teaching flamenco guitar are constantly revised and upgraded.
When I started playing, there were only a few methods available in print. I remember looking at Paco Pena's Toques Flamencos for anything flamenco related. Still a great book, but it is not really a method.
Today there are many online resources that focus on separate techniques and the publishers of these resources can almost immediately find out whether they are good at helping players advance their playing. Based on the feedback received, the resources are either discarded or upgraded. As an online teacher, I certainly keep a close eye on the reactions of my viewers and followers to improve my instructional material.
The outcome is that we get results in a much shorter time.
3 - Intense exposure to the music
Again through the internet, people are able to focus on what they want to do long before they actually attempt to do it. I receive students who are quite knowledgeable on flamenco culture without any technical ability yet. Remember, Paco de Lucia was saying that he already knew everything about palos and compas before he picked up a guitar himself because he was exposed to the music on a daily basis. Something similar is happening today thanks to the online community.
Do not underestimate your exposure to the online videos. That is a serious part of your education. In other words, you are not really starting from scratch!
In the 90s I used to get students who "wanted to learn how to play guitar." Now I get students who want to learn how to articulate properly buleria remates!
In conclusion, don't be discouraged whenever you see a little kid playing Panaderos. The resources are out there and you have plenty of time.
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