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The Flamenco Guitar

From Pura Esencia Flamenco Triana, Sevilla

We want to pay homage to flamenco guitar from our blog in the heart of Triana, from the sense of its presence within flamenco art.

The Guitar is an instrument that has led an evolution through the times to the way we know it today, which is the classic six-string guitar, very similar to the flamenco guitar with which any show takes place in a flamenco tablao.

The Guitar is an instrument that has led an evolution through the times to the way we know it today, which is the classic six-string guitar, very similar to the flamenco guitar with which our flamenco show takes place in Triana.

The Guitar is an instrument that has led an evolution through the times to the way we know it today, which is the classic six-string guitar, very similar to the flamenco guitar with which our flamenco show takes place in Triana.

In this sense, it must be distinguished that while the guitar can perform a solo that is simply worth going to a show; in flamenco, it takes an essential basis in the accompaniment of both singing and dancing and thus, the guitar is conferred as the pillar on which all the virtuosity of the art of each artist, makes sense and lends consistency to the show.

Inthis video video we can watch a solo guitar of Carlos Ayala from our Patio Flamenco al aire libre en Triana

We can also see the function of the guitar in the accompaniment to the dance, in this case by Tarantos carried by Natalia Blanco, where the guitar in unono with the touch of palms, is carried away by the rhythm of the taconeo that marks the dancer leaving the prominence of the moment in a beautiful Tarantos

The guitar also accompanies the singing and that is what Samuel Gutierrez knows well and what has to be integrated with a singer to achieve a whole voice and music of the instrument that carries in volbate the lyrics that inspire singing.

Juan Toro & Samuel Gutierrez. Tanguillos de Triana

The guitar has body and, like every body, each parts with a name that gives it its prominence within the instrument ensemble. Like the flamenco artist, the master guitar player (Luthier) performs an art that in this case is hidden from the show and that we want to relive from the memory of a great guitar craftsman as was Don Alfredo Pastor, friend of this house.

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Inside, our master guitar player also spares no precautions. All internal rods are thoroughly filed, as only one edge would break the sound.

And between bottom and cover, flanks. These also come from fine wood panels, usually made of holy stick that after being sanded and polished, are subjected to the heat of a stove to give it its curved shape: this process is known as fire taming.

Andalusia is unmistakable in our eyes; you breathe, you taste, you feel. And if there’s a sound that describes it, that’s definitely the one on the guitar.

We transcribe below what is discussed in this beautiful video that the truth is speaks for itself:

(…) To make this delicate instrument, we start from a wooden heart; of simple fragments like these that can have up to 20 years of healing. The case cover is made with two panels on which the silhouette of the guitar is treated. An almost identical process is carried for the back of the guitar, i.e. the background. Once they are glued and taken out of the template they look like a single piece.

Next, we have to open his mouth, that hole through which the sound flows. This is one of the most beautiful parts, because it is decorated with the mosaic, a fine work of embedded woods.

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Inside, our master guitar player also spares no precautions. All internal rods are thoroughly filed, as only one edge would break the sound.

And between bottom and cover, flanks. These also come from fine wood panels, usually made of holy stick that after being sanded and polished, are subjected to the heat of a stove to give it its curved shape: this process is known as fire taming.

Cedar wood will be born the mast; inside, the handle supports this kind of taco called “zoque”. This element culminates in the head, which each teacher ends up with a personal and unique motive; it’s kind of like the artist’s signature. On it, the fretboard and fretboards are placed, which will be the ones that give us the fixation of the guitar. This piece will give us the important mission of supporting all the weight of the box that is the soul of the guitar, where its unmistakable sound is born.

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Our instrument is already acquiring body, but there is still a lack of touches that will give it its unique personality: the bridge, the headstock and, of no?: the varnish. This is achieved with a secret formula that is called “doll” and is applied in a total of 200 or 300 hands until the guitar itself is satisfied and, it is transmitted to the master in a gentle whisper that only he can interpret. In this way we have witnessed an almost magical process where inanimate pieces of wood, have become a unique work, with soul. Able to touch the heart of anyone who stops to listen to it.

Finally, we want to have a place in this blog for our friend Jonnie Goldie, also a colleague of Pura Esencia Flamenco, who wanted to pay homage to his countrymen in this detail for “granaínas” and thus celebrate Thanksgiving day

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¡Muchas Gracias!

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