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I've been trying to learn a bit of flamenco guitar over the past few
of years, and more often than not find passages too fast for my simple
abilities - the potential of using MIDI to assist my playing and learning
(especially by slowing down passages) struck me as being worth investigating.
At the time I was unable to find
any flamenco music transcribed in MIDI on the network,
so hopefully these pieces may fill a small gap.
Technical details about
how the pieces were transcribed, equipment used, etc. are available.
I must stress that the pieces I have transcribed are not ones of the
technical excellence you would hear in a virtuoso performance of flamenco
guitar, though I hope you'll enjoy them all the same.
Note that the files are described here in an approximate order of complexity.
Simply select the MIDI file you're interested in, and the file should be
transferred to you, and either be played if you have a MIDI player configured into
your browser or else give you the option of saving it
(if not, Netscape users in particular should be able to click
on one of the file links with the RIGHT mouse button and then choose
"Save link as....."):
-
 malagn_1.mid :
-
A very, very simple example of "Malaguena" used as an early
learning exercise (about 10 bars of music): it would be played
by beginners at about ¼ speed!
- tientos.mid :
- Added to the collection on
28th September 1998.
- Cejilla at 3rd fret.
- solear_1.mid :
-
A simple example of the solemn "Soleares" - a first complete
piece, which even I can play at full speed......
- Cejilla at 2nd fret, so shift your sound source up 2 half-tones.
- sevilana.mid :
-
"Sevillanas" are lively, repetitive yet tuneful songs that would
typically be accompanied by dancing and/or singing. This piece
comprises 3 Sevillanas.
- Cejilla at 3rd fret, so shift your sound source up 3 half-tones.
- farruca.mid :
-
"Farruca". The longest piece?
- Cejilla at 2nd fret.
Note this piece has varying tempo, and will undoubtedly sound
awful if your sequencer or playing device can't handle tempo
variations.
- "Golpe" featured on a separate track and channel (so can be
muted if required). I've used a woodblock sound as the nearest
approximation.
- zapatead.mid :
- "Zapateado para bailar". Zapateado literally means "tapped
with the shoe", but is also the name of a specific dance
played to the rhythm of the Tanguillo in 6/8 time.
- Cejilla at 2nd fret.
Note this piece also contains tempo variations.
- malagens.mid :
-
"Malaguenas" - what the first exercise turns into when
developed further!
- The first few bars of this consist totally of fast "rasqueado"
(doesn't sound too convincing on my equipment - I hope yours
is better).
- Cejilla at 3rd fret.
NB. tempo variations.
- alegrias.mid :
-
"Alegrias en mi" - Alegrias in the key of E major.
- I particularly like the gentler feel of this piece as it dances
along merrily - I just wish I could play it properly on the
guitar (it may well appear a relatively simple piece, but,
believe me it isn't!).
- Cejilla at 2nd fret.
I have used Juan Martins method in learning and
transcribing these pieces.
For further details you might like to visit
Juan Martins Flamenco Pages
A number of people have started asking me if they can incorporate some of these pieces into
their own pages: I'm starting to compile a
list of sites using these pieces
which you might like to visit.
If you'd like to comment on this page, why not visit my
Music board.
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