Youtube Flamenco Guitar Lessons - Generalife Bajo la Luna (Granaina)
In this video you can watch and listen to the whole piece Generalife Bajo la Luna (Granaina) by Paco de Lucia (from Fantasia Flamenca).
To access the tutorials on the video, you need to click on the card links that pop up at the relevant sections of the music. Just watch the upper right hand corner of the video screen.
Or you can check out the following list of videos that cover the entire piece:
01 - Arpeggio Exercise - 32 - Generalife Bajo la Luna (Granaina) INTRO by Paco de Lucia
02 - Arpeggio Exercise - 33 - Generalife Bajo la Luna (Granaina) by Paco de Lucia
03 - Arpeggio Exercise - 34 - Generalife Bajo la Luna (Granaina) by Paco de Lucia
04 - Arpeggio Exercise - 35 - Generalife Bajo la Luna (Granaina) by Paco de Lucia
05 - Arpeggio Exercise - 36 - Generalife Bajo la Luna (Granaina) FINALE by Paco de Lucia
What is toque-libre (free form)?
or how to play Granaina, Taranta, Rondena, Minera
A flamenco guitar piece written in the free-form does not follow a predetermined compas and it cannot be transcribed into notation using the common meters of 4/3 or 4/4, or any other. Because the musical phrases in such a piece do not stick to a cyclical beat count. Some go on for a whole page while others last for a few notes.
It is possible to argue that the flamenco free-form is similar to the cadence sections of classical music where the musician is at liberty to play the notes however they wish. The cadence in this instance is a short break from the music where the musician showcases their virtuosity.
In flamenco guitar, the following palos fall under the free-form category:
Each of these has very distinct musical qualities that sets it apart from other palos. However, rhythmical structure is not part of the criteria that defines it as such. Because of this, the tonality proves significant in identifying free-form palos. Granaina, for example, is written in Em. I guess it could be possible to try different keys por granaina but then the piece becomes really difficult to identify as granaina unless you make an effort to bring forward other features that resonate with the traditional renditions of the palo.
Due to the lack (or the blurry nature) of llamadas, remates, cierres, it is much harder to observe separate falsetas in a free-form piece.
As a teacher, I introduce free-form much later in my training as it demands a wholesome understanding of the flamenco guitar music. In that sense it is easier to play a buleria than, say, a minera.
If you pose the question of "how to play granaina" to the gypsies and native flamencos, they say that it is the "aire" that defines the palo in toque-libre. I am sure this makes a lot of sense for people born into this music. But for players like myself who approach flamenco with a ruler :-) mimicry is essential. In other words, to understand a free form palo, I must pick the recorded instance of a good composition and try to play it exactly as its master plays it.
Generalife Bajo la Luna is the first granaina published by Paco de Lucia and it borrows quite bit from the traditional falsetas composed before his generation.
Generalife Bajo la Luna video tutorials focus mainly on the arpeggio technique. This whole piece is one big arpeggio school!
For free flamenco guitar lessons, simply subscribe to the atrafanaSchool mailing list.
If you wish to learn how to play flamenco guitar, then check out the links below:
Flamenco Guitar Fundamentals
The Right Hand
Flamenco Guitar Method
atrafanaStudies
Picado Mastery Bundle
To access the tutorials on the video, you need to click on the card links that pop up at the relevant sections of the music. Just watch the upper right hand corner of the video screen.
Or you can check out the following list of videos that cover the entire piece:
01 - Arpeggio Exercise - 32 - Generalife Bajo la Luna (Granaina) INTRO by Paco de Lucia
02 - Arpeggio Exercise - 33 - Generalife Bajo la Luna (Granaina) by Paco de Lucia
03 - Arpeggio Exercise - 34 - Generalife Bajo la Luna (Granaina) by Paco de Lucia
04 - Arpeggio Exercise - 35 - Generalife Bajo la Luna (Granaina) by Paco de Lucia
05 - Arpeggio Exercise - 36 - Generalife Bajo la Luna (Granaina) FINALE by Paco de Lucia
What is toque-libre (free form)?
or how to play Granaina, Taranta, Rondena, Minera
A flamenco guitar piece written in the free-form does not follow a predetermined compas and it cannot be transcribed into notation using the common meters of 4/3 or 4/4, or any other. Because the musical phrases in such a piece do not stick to a cyclical beat count. Some go on for a whole page while others last for a few notes.
It is possible to argue that the flamenco free-form is similar to the cadence sections of classical music where the musician is at liberty to play the notes however they wish. The cadence in this instance is a short break from the music where the musician showcases their virtuosity.
In flamenco guitar, the following palos fall under the free-form category:
- Granaina
- Taranta
- Minera
- Rondena
Each of these has very distinct musical qualities that sets it apart from other palos. However, rhythmical structure is not part of the criteria that defines it as such. Because of this, the tonality proves significant in identifying free-form palos. Granaina, for example, is written in Em. I guess it could be possible to try different keys por granaina but then the piece becomes really difficult to identify as granaina unless you make an effort to bring forward other features that resonate with the traditional renditions of the palo.
Due to the lack (or the blurry nature) of llamadas, remates, cierres, it is much harder to observe separate falsetas in a free-form piece.
As a teacher, I introduce free-form much later in my training as it demands a wholesome understanding of the flamenco guitar music. In that sense it is easier to play a buleria than, say, a minera.
If you pose the question of "how to play granaina" to the gypsies and native flamencos, they say that it is the "aire" that defines the palo in toque-libre. I am sure this makes a lot of sense for people born into this music. But for players like myself who approach flamenco with a ruler :-) mimicry is essential. In other words, to understand a free form palo, I must pick the recorded instance of a good composition and try to play it exactly as its master plays it.
Generalife Bajo la Luna is the first granaina published by Paco de Lucia and it borrows quite bit from the traditional falsetas composed before his generation.
Generalife Bajo la Luna video tutorials focus mainly on the arpeggio technique. This whole piece is one big arpeggio school!
For free flamenco guitar lessons, simply subscribe to the atrafanaSchool mailing list.
If you wish to learn how to play flamenco guitar, then check out the links below:
Flamenco Guitar Fundamentals
The Right Hand
Flamenco Guitar Method
atrafanaStudies
Picado Mastery Bundle