Mel Bay's Flamenco Guitar: Basic Techniques (Technicas Basicas) [Spiral-bound]

Juan Serrano (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 29, 1996 | Series: Technicas Basicas

This book, written in both English and Spanish is the most authoritative method available on flamenco guitar technique. Juan Serrano is one of the world's premier flamenco concert soloist and is a seasoned teacher and performer in this vibrant, colorful musical genre. The text describes the history and development of flamenco music; teaches basic music theory; presents developmental studies on flamenco guitar techniques such as rasgueado and tremolo; and offers 14 exciting flamenco guitar solos. Written in notation and tablature.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Juan Serrano's incredible musical execution has been witnessed and enjoyed by millions around the world. Serrano has drawn awe and praise from his audiences, aficionados, critics, and artistic peers. Critics have called him the "best flamenco guitarist living today."

But Juan Serrano is more than just an incredibly gifted guitarist. He is also an exceptional and rare musical resource who can communicate his art on a very personal level unlike other great Spanish guitarists who normally only perform in a strict concert setting where the audience receives little orientation about flamenco from the artist. Serrano speaks both English and Spanish which enables him to give enlightening explanations during his performances that give his audiences a rare insight into flamenco. He has performed on major television and radio programs throughout the world. In addition, Serrano has authored several music books and videos distributed by Mel Bay Publications which instruct guitar players on the origins of flamenco and its techniques. He has also written Flamenco, Body and Soul, a history of flamenco for the aficionado published by the Press at California State University.

Serrano's mastery of flamenco not only comes from his many years of discipline and study of the guitar, but also because he grew up in Cordoba, Spain, the birthplace of this rich and dazzling music. At age nine, Serrano was studying under his father, a professional guitarist, and learning the traditions of flamenco which is a fusion of Jewish, Moorish, Christian and Gypsy musical elements between the 8th and 15th centuries in Andalucia. Juan made his professional debut at age 13 and as a teenage earned a reputation all over Spain and Europe as a gifted musician. He performed and recorded with the top flamenco musical, dance, and theatrical companies. At this time Serrano also started his solo career. His home town of Cordoba was so proud of his accomplishments that they replaced the bell in the town clock with recordings of his guitar playing.

Cordoba also awarded Serrano the Porto de Oro. This prestigious honor is awarded once every ten years and Serrano is the only guitarist ever to be so honored. Serrano received the Page One Ball from the Newspaper Guild of New York for his outstanding performances. He was also awarded the Medalla de Oro from the Spanish Academy of Fine Arts, the Catedra de Flamencologia from Jerez, Spain, and an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut. The city of Fresno bestowed Serrano with the "Fabulous Fresnan" and "Horizon" awards. Serrano is the only flamenco guitarist in the world with a doctorate in humane letters and a tenured faculty position at a major university. He developed the guitar program at California State University and heads the guitar department. In addition to his teaching duties, Serrano is much sought after as a performer, for master classes and as a guest lecturer on the history of flamenco. Serrano's latest recordings are a series of five compact discs, Masters of Flamenco, Volumes 1-5 and The Art of Flamenco Guitar released by Planet Records; Flamenco Festival, a re-release by BMG; Grandes Guitarras by Phillips; and Sabor Flamenco released by Concord Picante.

Product Details

• Spiral-bound: 148 pages
• Publisher: Mel Bay Publications, Inc. (May 29, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786625562
• ISBN-13: 978-0786625567
• Product Dimensions: 0.5 x 9 x 12 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #532,648 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mel Bay's Flamenco Guitar : Basic Techniques (Technicas Basi, August 8, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Mel Bay's Flamenco Guitar: Basic Techniques (Technicas Basicas) (Spiral-bound)

The exercises are a good supplement if you are using another method book. It does not include enough explanatory material if you are using it as your sole method. The section on tremelo, for example, could use explanation. The photographs and exercises for rasgueo are very good. The included pieces are not for complete beginners, though the exercises seem like they would be useful to master or practice for all levels - some of the exercises are not easy but make a notable difference in your ability to play once they are mastered. All the exercises and pieces are on the CD. The CD has only the music with no explanations or verbal text which is advantagous when you just need to hear the music example. This is a book which could be useful to a player for a long time I think.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a solid flamenco book, July 12, 2005

By 

J. A. Papaioannou "John the Greek" (Ithaca, New York USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mel Bay's Flamenco Guitar: Basic Techniques (Technicas Basicas) (Spiral-bound)

This book is nice in a way because not only does it feature everything in music notation, but also in tablature, atleast in a rather... more complicated type of tablature, so the rhythm is clear.

I believe that everyone who wants to learn flamenco should, no HAS to learn how to read music notation. So I don't know if I truly welcome the author's decision to waste half of the book on tabs.

Anyway, it gives a modest amount of study exercises for the various techniques you will need to practice for flamenco guitar. There's scales, legatos, thumb exercises, tremolos, RASGUEADO(the definitive FLAMENCO technique, BUY The Art of Rasgueado if you want to learn this technique) and some arpeggio exercises.

What is nice about this book is that it showcases different styles and forms of flamenco music with a one page description of the origin and rhythm, and a sample piece, which is of a rather beginner's difficulty, not too bad. This is what this book is really helpful for, not the exercises supplied in the first 20 or so pages. If you're just starting off with a nylon string guitar and need to learn proper stature, positioning, music notation, tone, etc... I highly recommend Christopher Parkening's Classical Guitar Theory Volumes 1 and 2. Everything taught as classical theory will crossover for flamenco.

In conclusion, this isn't the book to get if you're just now picking up a flamenco guitar, but once you get comfortable with it and have learned some theory, pick it up for its introduction to varied flamenco forms and styles.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not recommended for self taught beginners, January 4, 2005

By 

R. Stepan "Robio" (Phoenix, AZ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mel Bay's Flamenco Guitar: Basic Techniques (Technicas Basicas) (Spiral-bound)

This book would make a good supplement to someone taking lessons from a flamenco guitarist. This is not a good book for someone trying to learn this on their own. The right hand techniques of flamenco are syncopated and require the right form from day one.

Only if someone has the correct technique can they ever dream of achieving the speed needed to play a flamenco soleas.Flamenco guitar is the most demanding of all acoustic guitar techniques for the right hand, I would recommend Juan Martin or Herrera's videos to learn flamenco. You need to see the techniques to really understand how to execute them