Customer Reviews

Guitar Lessons: Flamenco Made Easy Learn How to play Flamenco guitar instructional video

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Charles Sedlak is not what you'd call a pedantic music instructor. He's more like Arlo Guthrie showing you some licks in the back room after a set at the Berkeley Cafe. In this DVD Sedlak assumes you have the basics of the guitar figured out and just want to sound like a flamenco guitarist. He doesn't dwell on the musical tradition behind flamenco, spend time teaching you all the forms, or hold forth on the nuances of technique.

He just shows you how to get the flamenco sound, while informally teaching you some cool sounding but easy to play pieces. And sometimes that's all you want. Formal flamenco studies are slow going. Sedlak gets you to the payoff quickly, so you can sound like you halfway could actually BE a flamenco player, with just a few weeks of consistent practice.

There is much, much more to flamenco than Sedlak presents in this video course. But you're more likely to stay motivated with this material, especially if you're a begninning flamenco player, than if you take the long road of the flamenco purist. Even intermediate players will find some nifty secrets to add flair to their playing. And in contrast to the sometimes stupefying cadence of other flamenco teachers, Charles, with his long hair and wavy eyes, is wonderfully entertaining.

The instructional DVD is definitely helpful. It has a number of excellent right hand strumming & picking patterns. Don't let the heavey metal appearance of Charles Sedlack fool you. The DVD is well suited to people like myself who have never played flamenco guitar. He does a good job breaking down the right hand patterns in to smaller segments so that any one can learn them with practice. He also slows them down so they are understandable.

I purchased two other flamenco guiter programs from amazon that were rated 4 1/2 to 5 stars and they unfortunately were not good for beginners in flamenco. I am a seasoned guitar player and I had no idea what was being presented. I rented Charles Sedlak's dvd and must say...it is a real easy approach to flamenco. So I purchased it her at amazon, which by the way offered the best price. In a matter of weeks, I was able to play like I had been playing for years. Best one out there! He breaks it down step by step and teaches you songs in the process....I give it 5 stars...

This DVD is clearly not intended for someone who has never played the guitar before (although you can download a PDF from the website that explains chords, TAB, and other annotations). The author moves quickly and assumes you know your way around a guitar and playing chords. He spends his time where he should, which is on the specifics of the Flamenco technique that are different from standard guitar playing.

If you already play guitar of some sort and want a quick way to add a little Flamenco to your repertoire, then this DVD is for you. He goes through several basic Flamenco strumming and picking patterns and through a couple of complete songs. The TAB for the songs is available on the website (password comes with the DVD). This is all many of us want (including myself) and I was very pleased with the DVD. However, if you want a very thorough and methodical Flamenco instruction manual, this is not for you.

The instructor's guitar technique is mediocre although what he teaches is within the grasp of an intermediate guitarist. There are better, more costly DVD's by more skilled guitarists. I bought Aaron Gilmartin's Learn to Play Flamenco Guitar and that double DVD provides a lot more information and lessons (at over 3 times the price). Flamenco guitar involves advanced strumming and picking techniques. I would not recommend flamenco guitar to a novice guitarist regardless of who the instructor is. For those who have no trouble landing fingers properly on all the primary chords without looking, then you are ready to focus on the unique strumming/picking techniques of flamenco.

I would like to add that the guitar is not an ideal solo instrument. Most songs need a background rhythm, beat or vocals. Flamenco guitar sounds great all by itself. It is well worth the effort to learn.

For the musician who wants to dabble in flamenco-ish guitar, Sedlak's DVD is fine and does a good job getting you spun up on some basic techniques quickly. In fact if nothing else this DVD helps de-mystify a few basic techniques (especially rasgueado) quickly for the uninitiated. And if you are into rumba flamenca (which is great stuff but not truly flamenco), this DVD will help get you there.

BUT if you are serious about true Andalucian flamenco puro (the real deal) and putting in your best efforts to get there -- this DVD is not for you, although again it is useful in helping understand certain right-hand techniques.

well... i bought it, and i just started playing the guitar few months ago, and this really helps a lot... Charles explains in a very easy way the techniques... if you want to get into flamenco, and you dont have much experience with the guitar.... this is the dvd you are looking for... and of course if you want to learn fast, it depends in how much time you invest on practicing... much practice and you will see results quickly

I say this mini course taught by Charles Sedlak really is esay and easier to follow than some other flamenco insruction books and DVD's. I am getting Malaguena, and Tarantas and am looking at Solearres. Charles is also easy to follow and good natured. I like that line 'Have it your way" or basically you don't have to play these songs by the letter as he said you must do with classical music. Real good DVD mini course!

This is one of the best flamenco videos out right now. Each section is clearly demonstrated and fairly short, so if the given lesson isn't what you want to learn its not long before you are on to the next topic.
Charles is a great teacher & very clearly explains each lesson. The chords are very easy so you can concentrate just on the flamenco techniques. I teach nylon string guitar & find this video to be great for anyone looking in this direction.

One important note--flamenco is fairly difficult when compared to other types of guitar. Although the author begins the video by stating its not as hard as people think, & this is an easy approach, these are still DIFFICULT techniques and this video is not for a beginning guitar player. You will need some guitar skill to get the most out of this video.
The techniques shown for flamenco all have to be practiced many, many times probably over a period of weeks to pick them up. You won't pick this stuff up in one session, that is for sure.
That being said this is a great video which covers lots of diff't techniques needed for flamenco. If you're willing to put the time in & practice, you can definitely learn most of what you need to wow your friends & family with flamenco from this video alone.

I've played guitar for years, but never studied Flamenco. Based on the other reviews here I decided to try out this DVD. I'm very glad I did. With a little practice you can learn some very basic Flamenco and add a little spice to your guitar playing. This is a great place to start on Flamenco guitar playing.