Flamenco has been part of my life and passion for music for as long as Classical guitar has. While Media Luna Guitar Tuition has a strong focus on the Classical guitar we are very excited to also offer Flamenco guitar lessons.
Why I play Flamenco Guitar
My introduction to the Spanish guitar began with hearing the famous “Asturias” by Isaac Albeniz as I walked past a practice room when I was in early high school. I had already been playing the electric guitar and it was at this exact moment my journey with music took an abrupt change in a fantastic new direction. Within a few months of this revelation I chanced upon a documentary on SBS: Paco de Lucia – Light and Shade, and thereafter began my love of Flamenco music and the Flamenco guitar. For those interested, the documentary is now available on YouTube and is well worth checking out.
The guitar you see Paco de Lucia play throughout much of this documentary is a Conde Hermanos “Media Luna” which is of course where Media Luna Guitar Tuition gets it’s name. I am fortunate to own a wonderful Media Luna instrument built in 1978 and it’s certainly a worthy guitar to name a guitar school after!
Growing up in Western Australia there were no opportunities to study Flamenco guitar at school or university so while undertaking my classical guitar studies (always playing as much Spanish music as my teachers would let me!) I also took Flamenco guitar lessons privately. First with Chris Lavern and then, after completing my degree in classical guitar performance at WAAPA with Tim Andrew.
One of the most important lessons I believe to have learned from my flamenco guitar teachers is the importance of listening to as much Flamenco music as you can and to immerse yourself in it as much as possible. For those of us who didn’t happen to have grown up in Spain listening to Flamenco since birth, this is crucial if we are ever to have a chance of playing this music with the reverence it deserves.
Lesson Structure
My lesson plans are catered around learning traditional Flamenco rhythms and techniques. We learn how to play in the style of a particular Flamenco rhythm as opposed to learning a given “song” from start to finish. In this way we can continue to add to that solo as our knowledge and technique becomes stronger.
I can relate to and understand the desire of people to want to learn Paco de Lucia solos right away – but of course you must learn to walk before you can run. Rhythms played simply and convincingly will be the basis for everything that is to follow.
All materials needed are provided for lessons. Learning to read traditional music notation is encouraged but not essential. I encourage you now to take a look around the Media Luna Guitar Tuition website and please get in touch if you’d like to know more about the structure and content of our Flamenco guitar lessons.
