"Flamenco Chuck" Keyser
(ca. 1976)
The Compas Analysis and "A Flamenco Journey" are available as one book from: The Academy of Flamenco Guitar, PO Box 1292, Santa Barbara, CA for $22.50 US
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"Flamenco Chuck" Keyser
(ca. 1976)
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(The Addendum contains material applying to all subjects in the Compas Analysis)
"Flamenco Chuck" Keyser, 1993
For a complementary viewpoint, see A Flamenco Journey, by Susana ("La Ceniza)
My own view of Flamenco is that it is an artistic expression of an intense awareness of the existential human condition. It is an effort to come to terms with the concept that we are all "strangers and afraid, in a world we never made"; that there is probably no higher being, and that even if there is he/she (or it) is irrelevant to the human condition in the final analysis. The truth in Flamenco is that life must be lived and death must be faced on an individual basis; that it is the fundamental responsibility of each man and woman to come to terms with their own alienation with courage, dignity and humor, and to support others in their efforts. It is an excruciatingly honest art form.
For flamencos it is this ever-present consciousness of death that gives life itself its meaning; not only as in the tragedy of a child's death from hunger in a far-off land or a senseless drive-by shooting in a big city, but even more fundamentally in death as a consequence of life itself, and the value that must be placed on life at each moment and on each human being at each point in their journey through it. And it is the intensity of this awareness that gave the Gypsy artists their power of expression. For the Gitanos in the Morón del la Frontera, Lebrija, and other small towns around Sevilla (the cradle of cante flamenco) this consciousness was clearly evident in the sense of community among the artistic families and the value that they placed in their art.
Flamenco is an adult art and philosophy, in which the axiom that "if god is dead, everything is permitted" must be balanced by a secular humanism_; with a sense of care and compassion about life in general and human beings in particular. As the struggle for physical survival and the necessity for competition for the basics of life become less relevant for man in the light of technological and social advances, the old mechanisms for "meaning" (religion, flag, greed) lose their relevance.
In the world (in the 60's and early 70's) into which the flamencos that I knew existed_, these ideas (in a less modern sense) were expressed in the essence of their art. Certainly religion was irrelevant to their lives (except as required by Franco's Spain); after all, the Gypsies originally came from India with a completely different intellectual heritage than that of the Catholic church. Rather, the art of flamenco became a center of meaning for them, with a very real consciousness of the art to be preserved and passed from generation to generation as a justification for family. In this sense, music, dance and song in the secular world became their religion.
Flamenco is not an art without responsibility; the technical demands of the art required a discipline, complete with peer review (the grandmother chiding her grandchild for losing rhythm ("fuera compas, nio"). In Morón, the existential aspects of the cante were evident immediately - children were surrounded by the cante jondo from a very young age. Through the cante, they became aware of the consequences of consciousness of their existence early on; for the parents it was a solution of the problem of creating life in the face of having to teach the meaning and consequences of natural death - it was provided by the surrounding culture._
This perspective means that sexual motivation plays a secondary role in the serious interpretation of the art (indeed, attractive members of both sexes are often viewed as distractions unless they are flamenco aware, or "entrao"); rather it is an adult expression of existential ideas by both sexes in ways that are most attractive to their roles as men and women in preserving their dignities under these absurd conditions. It is an expression of the courage to face not only the consequences of existential consciousness as a philosophical principle, but a determination to express them with the essence of one's being in an art form that is highly technically demanding, requiring a deep commitment to mastery of even the basic techniques. For a flamenco artist, it requires facing them every day in technical practice - it is a race against time to master technique in order to be able to interpret and improvise meaningfully, and requires the courage to face the prospect of losing technique in the face of life's requirements for survival, or the fact of merely growing older.
This courage is often expressed by a sense of humor in the great flamenco artists as well; fully capable of expressing profound desolation, they are also deeply aware of the absurdity of extending this to a general characterization of life. Even the absurdity of human existence must be taken as a joke occasionally. As most performance artists are acutely aware, death makes life transient by its very nature; how can even the most meaningful expression have enduring meaning? In spite of the pressure to make products, the essence of the art is spontaneous performance (as expressed in improvisational technique - guitar, cante, and dance) rather than created "things"- on community artistic relationships rather than acquisition of material wealth.
In summary, Flamenco is an art of courage, dignity, and humor in the face of existential chaos - it is a codification of the search for human values in a world free of institutionalized superstition and an emphasis on these values as expressed in the art in defining the flamenco community. For these very reasons, however, flamenco (or a local variation of it) may become relevant as humanity comes to terms with itself and its condition of self-awareness. In the meantime, flamencos, hang in there! Your time may come!
This introduction to Flamenco will provide the necessary rhythmic foundation to enable you to understand Flamenco rhythms, accompany them with palmas (Flamenco handclapping), and count them for the dance. It should be understood that the fundamental basis for Flamenco lies in accompaniment, especially of the cante.
The most important concept in Flamenco is compas; the general term for the uniquely Flamenco rhythmic cycles that form the common bond among flamenco artists in performance. The compas is inviolable in Flamenco circles - to lose compas ("fuera compas") is the cardinal sin in Flamenco performance.
The purpose of this analysis is to introduce you to the fascinating and powerful world of Flamenco, and to provide the foundation for a basic understanding Flamenco rhythms, to enable you to accompany them with palmas (Flamenco handclapping), and count them for the dance.
The most important concept in Flamenco is compas; the general term for the uniquely Flamenco rhythmic cycles that form the common bond among flamenco artists in performance. The compas is inviolable in Flamenco circles - to lose compas ("fuera compas") is the cardinal sin in Flamenco performance.
Flamenco rhythms are complex and precise; the most important "palos" (flamenco forms; "palo" refers to the cane with which the rhythms were beaten out on the floor in the absence of a guitarist) are expressed in unfamiliar permutations of 3/4 and 6/8 meter, with strong emphasis on polyrhythm, and counter-rhythm (these terms will be explained below), and it is necessary to build a strong inner clock as a reference against which these variations are felt.
The fundamental clock tick (beat) in Flamenco is set by the quarter note, with the tempo given by the number of quarter notes per minute (e.g. = 120 beats per minute). Basic rhythm accompaniment can be performed by keeping the beat by tapping your foot on the beat (in quarter notes) and accompanying with handclaps in eighth notes (i.e., two for each beat). Note that each beat is grouped into two handclaps (i.e., a note group):
(F= foot, C = clap, T= tongue (in diagram below))
There are two techniques for performing palmas; palmas sordas ("deaf palmas"), and palmas secas ("dry" palmas). Palmas sordas are performed by striking the cupped palmas of both hands together (not necessarily loudly), and are used for general accompaniment. In particular, they are used when the objective is to encourage other artists, especially the guitar or cante (song) in the serious moments of performance. Palmas secas are performed by forming an air pocket with the left hand and slapping the index, ring, and middle fingers of the right hand onto it, producing a sharp sound. These palmas are used to generate excitement; for example, por Bulerias at a fiesta, or at the finales of theatrical interpretations of the dance.
Counter palmas (contratiempo) are performed by inserting handclaps into the "straight" palmas (palmas en seguido) described above. One way of doing this is to use your foot and a click of your tongue to mark the straight palmas and insert your handclaps between these marks:
Note that the notes are now sixteenth notes, grouped in quadruplets (four notes per beat).
Compas (literally, "meter") is the flamenco name for the way in which the cyclic rhythms of its music are expressed. Once the basics are understood, the true art lies in the subtle varia tions that enhance the music and contribute to the "aire" (artistic expression) of the performance. It is the "glue" that bonds the performers together in their various arts.
One reason that music makes sense is because beats themselves are grouped into cycles (i.e., measures), which correspond roughly to the time duration of a chord in a chord progression or a choreographic phrase in the dance. The number of beats in the measure is given by a fraction called a time signature; for example, a time signature of 2/4 means that each measure is two quarter notes long. Beats can be further subdivided into note groups, which will be discussed later on.
When used in a Flamenco context, compas refers to the rhythmic cycles that characterize the Flamenco forms, which are often several measures long, with unfamiliar accentuations. Because the forms can be quite complex, you can count the compas to clarify the rhythmic cycles within a particular Flamenco form; to keep track of your position in the cycle, and to mark transitions between the various forms.
The rhythmic Flamenco forms can be divided into two families; those expressed in measures with time signatures with multiples of two beats per measure (the 2/4, 4/4 compas families), and those with multiples of three beats per measure (the 3/4, 6/8 compas families. Note: technically, 6/8 has two beats per measure, but I include it in this family for reasons that will become obvious shortly).
Flamenco compas is counted in sequences of 4 counts for the 2/4, 4/4 families (e.g., 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.), and in sequences of 6 or 12 counts for the 3/4, 6/8 families. The 12 count compas cycles are expressed in terms of two or four measures depending on the Flamenco form and context. These concepts will be developed much more thoroughly later in this work.
In the real world (particularly in Spain), Flamencos often count inconsistently (or not at all) with respect to the time signatures, because of the complexity of the forms, particularly where polyrhythm or complex counter-rhythm is involved. In addition, the fundamental measures in the 3/4, 6/8 family have to be counted differently than the expected "classical" convention in important contexts.
Students can often be confused by the unfamiliar forms, and one of the purposes of this analysis is to count the compas structures consistently while drawing as much from traditional concepts as possible; pointing out the differences where necessary.
Advice - understand the compas structures yourself, but don't be drawn into arguments with Flamencos who may not have had classical training even at this basic level, especially your teachers. Just observe and assimilate the material on your own.
Tempo refers to the speed at which the fundamental beats (i.e., the quarter notes) are expressed. The beat is kept by tapping your foot either on every count, or every other count, depending on the tempo and time signature of the compas. In the faster rhythms, your foot will tap on every other count, where you'll tap your foot on every count for the slower rhythms. Needless to say, there is a grey area as performance speed changes where you might have to shift from one to the other.
When accompanying with palmas, you should feel all the compas against this steady tapping of your foot (except for the rhythms of Siguiriyas and Serranas) since much of Flamenco will be syncopated against it, and it is your job to provide a steady foundation against which the performing artist can improvise.
Each count (or beat) within the measure can be subdivided into doublets, triplets, quadruplets or sextuplets for variation. These note groups are expressed within the meter and are closely related to technique and tempo (obviously, the faster the tempo, the simpler the note group to complete the technique successfully. Dancers should be particularly aware of their characteristics in the taconeo solos for the various dances; guitarists in the expression of their falsetas.
Combinations of note groups with measures (i.e., compas) can be quite complex in terms of counter/poly rhythm, and it is sometimes difficult to understand the underlying compas structure (the counting can always be made consistent if the form is in compas). Mnemonics, or vocalizations of the rhythms (e.g., saying "Rumpity Tump" aloud) can often be a useful tool in analyzing a given sequence.
Note Groups (Advanced Discussion)
Guitar accompaniment (and solo interpretation) is divided into two categories: chording compas (the guitar strums, or rasgueados that express the flamenco rhythms), and falsetas (musical scale/arpeggio sequences corresponding to jazz riffs).
Castanets (castanuelas, or palillos) are traditionally used with the regional dances; in particular, Sevillanas, Fandangos de Huelva, and Tanguillo de Cadiz. Their use is frowned on in the serious dances, since they detract from the use of the hands; they are used primarily if no singer is available to interpret the cante.
In the best of all possible worlds (we'll not mention the others), the purpose of the accompaniment is to establish and enhance the rhythm and to encourage the other artists to perform to the best of their artistic spirit and ability at their own performance level. To this end you can also encourage the artists by "egging them on" vocally; to do this authentically requires experience, of course, but you can start anytime, preferably by learning the names of your fellow artists.
Things you can say:
Eso Es! That's it!
Asi se (toca, baila, canta)! That's the way to (play, dance, sing)!
Vamo' ya! Let's go!
Toma! Take it!
Que toma, que toma, .. ! (in compas)
Arza!
Ole!
(Toca ,baila, canta) bien o (toca ,baila, canta) en el campo!
Sing well, or sing in the countryside! (Well, I dunno... you'd better all be friends for this one!)
For true flamencos, exciting an audience (of "civilians") comes in a distant last as an artistic preoccupation.
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