Glossary of flamenco terms
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- aficionado
- one interested in flamenco ('afición' a liking for)
- aflamencado
- flamencoized
- a golpe
- A tap, it can refer to a particular footstep by the dancer or a tap on the guitar, but it can also just refer to any tap (i.e. tapping the table in compás)
- alboreá
- the Gypsy wedding song sung in the soleá compás
- alegrías
- festive compás of the cantiñas group; one of the cantes chicos
- alzapúa
- guitar-playing technique that uses solely the thumb
- ángel
- see duende
- a palo seco
- without accompaniment
- apodo
- nickname, which Gypsies receive for life
- arranque
- spontaneous outbursts of uncontrolled emotion that a performer may emit
- a seco
- playing the guitar rasgueado, with the fingers of the left hand damping the strings
- atravesarse
- for the guitarist - cutting corners and rhythm during a falseta, making the dancer's job difficult
B
- babeio
- repeated meaningless sounds such as 'bababa' in the middle of words
- bailaor, bailaora
- flamenco dancer (male, female), as opposed to 'bailarin', which is any other dancer.
- baile
- flamenco dance; other (non-flamenco) types are referred to as 'danza'
- baile de mantón
- a dance with a shawl
- balanceo y vaivén
- swaying of the body and hips. Balanceo is gentle; vaiven is violent
- bamberas
- song form for swings
- bata de cola
- dress with a train (literally: "gown [of/with] a tail")
- bonito
- "pretty"; in other words, not good flamenco
- braceo
- a dancer's use of the arms
- bulerías
- song form; an evolving rhythm that started about a century ago
- bullanguero
- festive; adjectival form of bulerias
C
- cabal
- final version of the siguiriya; literally, honest, exact, complete.
- café cantante
- prime venue for flamenco in the 19th century
- cambio
- change of key and lightening of tone to end a song
- campanilleras
- songs that originally came from a religious brotherhood who would go to prayers to the sound of handbells - hence the name, which means "bellringers"
- cantaor, cantaora
- flamenco singer (male, female); other singers are often called a 'cantantes'
- cante
- flamenco song; other (non-flamenco) songs are cantos
- cante pa'adelante
- literally, "singing from in front"; singing not done for dancers, often with the singer seated [pa = "por"]
- cante pa'atras
- literally, "singing from behind"; singing for dancers, often with the singer standing [pa = "por"]
- cantes de ida y vuelta
- songs brought back from Latin America
- cantes de levante
- songs from the eastern province of Grandada, Jaen, Almeria, and Murcia
- caracoles
- a song form which started as a street snail-vendor's song in Zarzuela (a popular Spanish form of operetta)
- cartageneras
- song form derived from the taranta, with a florid vocal line, more "artistic" and decorative than forceful and rough
- castañuelas
- castanets
- cejilla
- capotasto or capo, used by guitarists to raise tone of all strings; a mechanical 'barré'
- chufla
- any festive and frivolous song
- cierre
- close of a series of steps or a line of song
- coba
- flattery, often with something false in it
- coletilla
- a short form of estribillo
- compás
- a measure or bar; flamencos use the word to mean both (a) the name of the type of twelve-count and (b) the rhythmic skill of a performer
- contratiempo
- cross-rhythms; including syncopation and rubato
- copla
- verse of cante flamenco, as against the cuple of a (non-flamenco) canto
- coraje
- a way of performing that shows impetuosity or daring (lit. "courage")
- corrido
- ballad, or also a romance
- corte
- the way the singer ends a musical phrase
- crótalo
- Phoenician and Roman form of castanets
- cuadro
- a flamenco troupe
D
- debla
- a form of toná. It is an old song form, now seldom used
- dejes
- the way the singer ends a phrase
- desgarro
- literally "tear, rip"; wilderness, heartbreak
- desplante
- technically, a point in the dance that marks the end of a section. In fact, a high point, a climax in the dance at which the dancer pauses and the audience applauds
- desplazamiento: see marcar
- diapasón
- the neck or fingerboard of the guitar
- ducas, duquelas
- Caló (Romany or Gypsi) word for "sorrows"
- duende
- literally, "spirit" of "demon"; suggesting possession. Flamencos may prefer the word ángel or el age
E
- escobilla
- literally "broom"; the section of a dance in which the bailaor/a does an extended zapateados
- escuela bolera
- a graceful and balletic form of the old bolero; dance in 3
4 time popular in the last century - estampa
- look, appearance by the stance, positioning, form, and dress
- estribillo
- short phrases sung repeatedly at the end of a song; the last section of a dance done with singing, where the cantaor/a sings while the baile is danced; see 'coletilla'[2]
F
- falsetas
- solo passages on the guitar, short melodies played at the start and between verses of a song
- fandangos
- an old family of song forms; thought to be of Moorish in origin; very popular in the early/mid 20th century
- farruca
- folk song adopted from northern Spain (Galicia), now above all a dance; once "only performed by men"[3]
- figura
- a star; a performer who has achieved a name and fame
G
- gachó
- Caló (Gypsy or Romany) word for non-Gypsy (compare payo)
- gancho
- literally a "hook"; by extension, anything that gets to you, that "hooks" you
- garra
- literally "claws"; guts, force
- garrotín
- song adopted from northern Spain (Asturias)
- gesto
- tapping the face of the guitar with the second and/or third finger while playing
- granaína
- form of Fandango in free rhythm that in many ways stands apart, from Granada
- guajira
- an ida y vuelta song; now meaning "girl", word from Yucateca, a native language of Cuba
- guasa
- joking in bad taste, rustic trickiness[4]
- guitarrero
- guitar builder
H
I
- ir con tiento
- to move slowly
J
- jaberas
- form of Fandango from Malaga
- jalear
- to stimulate a performer, to encourage with words and/or palmas
- jaleo
- vocal encouragement given to performers, when the audience calls out such phrases as ezo!, arsa!, olé!, toma!, vamo
- jarana
- "spree" when a group enjoys themselves doing flamenco
- jipio
- a cry (such as ay) used by the singer to find his pitch or simply put into the middle of a song
- jondo
- the Gypsy pronunciation on hondo (deep); formerly applied to the song forms, but now used often to describe a manner of singing
- juerga
- a lively flamenco party, often with only cante a golpe.
K
L
- letra
- copla of a song taken at its literary value; section of a dance when the cantaor/a is singing the lyrics, doing the tercios
- ligado
- in guitar, sounding the note with the fingers of the left hand only
- llamada
- literally "call"; the opening of a dance
M
- macho
- usually a three-line verse used as remate to the siguiriya; usually in a major key
- malagueñas
- song form characterized by its sad, elegiac tone. The city and province of Malaga are considered the home of the flamenco fandango
- mutis
- the exit made off the stage by the bailaor(a)s
- marcar
- to mark time, done by bailaor(a)s, usually while the cantaor(a) is singing; 'marcajes'; see desplazamientos
- martinetes
- songs of the blacksmith, can be performed to the rhythm of hammers beating an anvil; in compás similar to the siguiriya
- melisma
- series of notes sung on a single syllable of the coplas. To the ear unaccustomed to it, the sound may seem like unmusical wailing
- milonga
- a type of folk song from the Río de la Plata area of Argentina, where it is still very popular
- mineras
- best described as watered-down tarantas
- mote
- see apodo
- mudanza
- see punteado
N
- nanas
- lullabyes
O
- oposición
- refers to the asymmetry of flamenco; e.g., in dance, if the arms are going one way the face will look the other
P
- Palillos
- flamenco name for castanets
- palmas
- hand clapping. It is intricate art, requiring skill and knowledge of compas.
- palmas altas
- percussive effect performed with the fingers of the right hand on the left palm, resulting in a sharp sound; also called palmas claras and palmas agudas
- palmas sordas
- muted clapping done with cupped hands (often by the singer); also called palmas graves
- palmero
- performer of palmas
- palo
- song form; literally, a suit of cards. Palos fall into two main categories: those done in free rhythm (sin compás) and those done in rhythm (con compás)
- paso
- step or a series of steps
- payo
- sometimes thought to be the Calo (Romany or Gypsy) word for non-Gypsy, but in fact prison slang for an easy mark, a sucker. The Calo word for non-Gypsy is gachó
- pellizco
- literally, "nip, pinch"; that quality (usually in a dancer) that turns you on
- peña
- flamenco club
- peteneras
- Legendary or real, la Petenera was a girl from Cadiz, notorious for her beauty and hardness of heart. A 19th century writer mentions hearing 'peteneras' sung in a voice that conveyed "inexplicable sadness."
- picar
- to pluck on a guitar
- pitos
- finger snapping
- playero
- lamenting
- por arriba
- on guitar - in the hand position for the key of E
- por medio
- on guitar - in the hand position for the key of A
- punteando
- steps and movements that are not part of the zapateado, including 'paseo' (walking steps) and 'mudanzas' (more complicated movements, lit. "variations")
Q
R
- rasgueado
- on guitar, a drumroll effect created by using the backs of the fingers, i.e., the fingernails, striking the strings one after another (held back by the thumb)
- remate
- way of ending a song, either by raising a pitch, changing to the major, or simply speeding up, in a strong decisive manner
- roas
- Sacromonte form of the alboreá (wedding song)
- romances
- songs (ballads) in a form of toná, now when done with a guitar, it is usually played in a soleá rhythm
- romeras
- songs of a girl traveling on a pilgrimage
- rumbas
- a song form influenced by Cuban rumba
S
- Sacromonte
- a hillside in Granada with cave dwellings, in which Gypsies used to live. It was one of the heartlands of Gypsy flamenco, with a style all its own
- salida
- start of the baile (literally, going or coming out)
- saeta
- a song of passionate devotion to Christ or the Virgin, often aflamencao
- sevillanas
- non-flamenco song that has been flamencoized in various ways due to its popularity, including the hand and arm movements of the dancers
- siguiriyas
- heart of cante jondo (deep song). It expresses anguish, lament and despair, and has been described as an outcry against fate and the quintessence of tragic song
- soleares
- As song, the soleá lies at the heart of flamenco, together with siguiriyas and toná. As dance, it stands alone—at least for women
- son
- all sound accompanying the flamenco song: guitar, palmas (clapping), pitas (finger snappin), knuckle tapping
- sonanta
- flamenco slang for guitar
- soniquete
- literally, "droning"; it is applied to performers being what-jazz-players-call "in the groove"
T
- tablao
- the venue for a tourist-oriented flamenco show
- tablas
- literally, "boards"; the stage on which the dance is performed; tiene tablas means "to be an experienced performer"
- tangos
- probably the oldest flamenco song form in a simple rhythm of 2
4 time, as reflected in the time beaten by the palmeros; not the same as "el tango argentino" - tanguillos
- songs of Cadiz; festive, light, sometimes mocking, and always suitable for Carnival
- tapa
- the face of the guitar
- tarantas
- a mining song of free rhythm and by far the hardest to sing, demanding tragic intensity as well as unusual control, both vocal and artistic, in the melismas
- templar
- to tune
- temple
- tuning or temperament
- temporeas
- songs of the farm - harvesting and threshing songs
- tercio
- a short section (musical phrase, line of verse); lit. "third"
- tientos
- a song form, similar to the tango
- tocaor, tocaora
- guitarist; from "tocar" (to play)
- toná
- oldest flamenco, gypsy-Andalusian song, probably from romances or corridas[5]
- toque
- guitar playing
- torsión y convulsión
- stages, usually in the soleá, wherein the dancer reaches a more or less ecstatic state
- trémolo
- on guitar, playing high notes with the fingers (or bass notes with the thumb) in quick succession (back and forth) to make a continuous sound
- Triana
- the traditional Gypsy quarter of Sevilla, now yuppified
U
V
- vibrato
- repeated meaningless sounds uttered during the song, such as jajaja, but unlike babeo, not within a word
- vito
- Andalucian folk song and dance in fast 3
8 time (non-flamenco) - voz afillá
- hoarse voice like that of El Fillo, a 19th-century singer; this quality is also known as rajo