Product Details

• Actors: Aaron Gilmartin
• Directors: Happy Traum
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Homespun Tapes
• DVD Release Date: June 1, 2004
• Run Time: 210 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0002DVAHM
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #173,632 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

The passion and fire of flamenco, with its driving dance rhythms and spectacular melodies, has inspired guitarists for generations. This Spanish Gypsy folk music has its roots in the Middle East, and you can hear strains of Arabic, Jewish, Eastern European, Indian and other ethnicities in its powerful rhythms and harmonies.

Aaron Gilmartin’s clear, concise instructions will get you started playing flamenco guitar right away. All you’ll need is a basic knowledge of the fingerboard and a nylon string guitar to learn this exciting musical tradition. Whether you now play classical, folk, blues or contemporary fingerstyle guitar, these DVDs will open a whole new world of music to you.

Along with flamenco history, terminology and technique, Aaron teaches four of the most important flamenco forms, each with its own recognizable "feel," or aire: Tangos, a dance rhythm in 4/4 similar to the sounds made popular by the Gypsy Kings; Alegrias, a lighter, more uplifting style; Bulerias, the exciting and popular form played by everyone from Sabicas to Paco de Lucia; and Soleares, the "mother of all flamenco forms." In each form you’ll learn the basic compas (rhythmic feel), and become familiar with strumming and picking techniques such as the rasgueado, abanico and picado.

Throughout the two DVD lessons you’ll develop your tone, rhythmic power, strumming variations and the improvisational melodies (falsetas) and heart-thumping rhythms that make flamenco so exciting to players and listeners alike.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for moderately experienced players to fine-tune rhythm and style, August 6, 2005

By 

Mel Beckman (Oxnard not just a pretty name, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: DVD-Learn To Play Flamenco Guitar (DVD)

I've been playing flamenco for several years, but learned from instructors who were quite busy and could not spend a lot of time helping me refine my technique. The value of this DVD is that you can play the material over and over again until you have the rhythms down solid. I read music, but I find I really like seeing the left and right hand parts demonstrated separately -- another thing you can't really do with a live instructor. Aaron Gilmartin also clarifies some confusing aspects of Flamenco terminology -- something I wish I'd had in the early years of playing

Aaron goes into great detail on each rasguedo and rhythm, giving you everything you need to learn them perfectly. And his hints about playing and how each technique should feel are priceless. The melodic passages are very basic, but pleasant and reasonably interesting. But I'm after the rhythm, and I got it here.

I also have Juan Martin's "Solos Flamenco", but that book is too vague and moves too quickly to advanced material to be very rewarding. I did like some of the Martin's pieces, and enjoyed learning them, but I don't think his course really helped me improve my technique.

This is a great book for new flamenco players that already have some proficiency at classical guitar, but also valuable for intermediate students llike myself. A green beginner will get lost -- you've got to master fretboard and right-hand fundamentals before tackling the flamenco style.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent but be careful, February 28, 2006

By 

Ahmad Talal Ahdab "ANTF" (Lebanon - Tripoli) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: DVD-Learn To Play Flamenco Guitar (DVD)

This DVD (they are 2 in fact) is very good. It focuses very well on very important techniques that usually all flamenco guitar players use, and it gives you methods to practice them with a guitar and without it. The picture of the movie is very clear, and the method of showing both the right hand and the left hand at the same time is very successful. Also the DVD titles are very well made allowing you to easily jump to any technique you are practicing.

What you have to be careful about this DVD is that it is not for beginners in guitar. Don't expect that you are in zero level and you want to learn flamenco from it. The level of the songs played and the techniques discussed are to a bit experienced guitar player.

I strongly recommend this DVD if you would like to learn flamenco, and I also recommend that you get the book of Juan Martin too. These two together will form a complete ring.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for beginners into Flamenco, June 30, 2005

By 

Flamenco Drummer (Worcester, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: DVD-Learn To Play Flamenco Guitar (DVD)

This DVD is really good. I have been playing drums for a while now, but always had fooled around guitars. However, only recently I decided to play flamenco guitar. I bought a book on the basics and this DVD. It is amazing how fast you can start playing the basic forms of flamenco like Tangos. The DVD is easy to follow and Aaron simplifies the pieces. He goes over technique for the right and left hand.

However this shouldn't be looked as a comprehensive but rather intorduction to Flamenco which in my opinion is really beneficial for starters.

If you play guitar already and want to explore flamenco, there is not a better DVD than this one.