| aflamencao |
flamencoized |
| a golpe |
sung to the rhythm of only a stick, or knuckles on the table. |
| alborea |
the Gypsy wedding song sung in the solea compas |
| alegrias |
compas of the cantinas group |
| alzapua |
guitar-playing technique that uses the back of the thumbnail |
| angel |
see duende |
| a palo seco |
without accompaniment |
| apodo |
nicknames that Gypsies receive for life |
| a seco |
playing the guitar rasgueado, with the fingers of the left hand damping the strings |
| atravesarse |
for the guitarist - cutting corners and rhythm during a falseta, making the dancer's job difficult |
| babeo |
repeated meaningless sounds such as bababa in the middle of words |
| bailaor, -ora |
flamenco dancer, as opposed to bailarin, which is any other dancer. |
| baile |
flamenco dance; other forms are referred to as danza |
| baile de manton |
a dance with a shawl |
| balanceo y vaiven |
swaying of the body and hips. Balanceo is gentle; vaiven is violent |
| bamberas |
song form for swings |
| bata de cola |
dress with a train |
| bonito |
"pretty"; in other words, not good flamenco |
| braceo |
the dancer's use of the arms |
| bulerias |
song form. An evolving rhythm that started about the turn of the 20th centuray |
| bullanguero |
festive; adjectival form of bulerias |
| cabal |
final version of the siguiriya; literally, honest, exact, complete. |
| cambio |
change of key and lightening of a song to a song |
| campanilleras |
songs that are originally of a religious brotherhood who went to prayers to the sound of handbells - hence the name, which means "bellringers" |
| cantor, -ora |
flamenco singer; any kind of other singer is called a 'cantante |
| cante |
flamenco song; any other song is canto |
| cante pa'adelante |
literally, "singing from in front"; singing not done for dancers, with the singer seated |
| cante pa'atras |
literally, "singing from behind"; singing for dancers, with the singer standing |
| cantes de ida y vuelta |
songs brought back from Latin America |
| cantes de levante |
songs from the eastern province of Grandada, Jaen, Almeria, and Murcia |
| caracoles |
s song form that started in a zarzula (popular Spanish form of operetta) as a street snail-vendor's song |
| cartageneras |
song form derived ffom the taranta, with a florid vocal line, more "artistic" and decorative than forceful and rough |
| castanuelas |
castanets |
| cejillo |
capodaster or capo, used by guitars |
| chufla |
any festive and frivolous song |
| cierre |
close of a series of steps or a line of song |
| compas |
a measure or bar; flamencos use the word to mean both (a) the twelve-count and (b) the rhythmic skill of a performer |
| contratiempo |
cross-rhythms; including syncopation and rubato |
| copla |
verse of (flamenco) cante, as against the cuple of (non-flamenco) canto |
| corrido |
ballad, nowadays a romance |
| corte |
the way the singer ends a musical phrase |
| crotalo |
Phoenician and Roman form of castanets |
| cuadro |
a flamenco troups |
| debla |
a form of tona. It is old song form, now seldom used |
| dejes |
the way the singer ends a phrase |
| desgarro |
literally "tear, rip"; wilderness, heartbreak |
| desplante |
technically, apoint in the dance that marks the end of a section. In fact, a high point, a climax, in the dance at which the dancer pauses and the audience applauds |
| diapason |
the neck or fingerboard of the guitar |
| duende |
literally, "spirit" of "demon" ; suggesting possession. Flamencos prefer the word angel |
| escobilla |
literally "broom"; the section of the dance in which |
| escuela bolera |
a graceful and balletic form of the old bolero; dance in 3/4 time popular in the last century |
| falsetas |
solo passages on the guitar at start and between verses of the song |
| fandangos |
a family of song forms; thought to be of Moorish in origin |
| farruca |
folk song adopted from northern Spain (Galicia); above all a dance only performed by men |
| figura |
a star; a performer who has achieved name and fame |
| gancho |
literally a "hook"; by extension, anything that gets to you, that "hooks" you. |
| garra |
literally "claws"; guts, force |
| garrotin |
song adopted from northern Spain (Asturias) |
| gesto |
tapping the face of the guitar with the second and/or third finger while playing |
| granaina |
form of Fandango in free rhythm that in many ways stands apart |
| guajira |
an ida y vuelta song; meaning "girl" in Yucateca, the native language of Cuba |
| jaberas |
form of Fandango from Malaga |
| jalear |
to encourage with words and/or palmas |
| jaleo |
vocal encouragement given to performers when the audience calls out such phrases as ezo!, arsa!, ole!, toma! |
| jipio |
a cry (such as ay) used by the singer to find his pitch or to put into the middle of a song |
| jondo |
the Gypsy pronunciation on hondo (deep); formerly applied to the song forms but nowadays is used more to describe a manner of singing. |
| juerga |
a lively flamenco party, usually with only cante a golpe. |
| ligado |
in guitar, sounding the note with the fingers of the left hand only |
| llamada |
literally "call"; the opening of a dance |
| macho |
usually a three-line verse used as remete to the siguiriya; usually in a major key |
| malaguenas |
characterized by its sad, elegiac tone. The city and province of Malaga are virtually the home of the flamenco fandango |
| maritinetes |
songs of the smithy - performed to the sound of hammers on anvil beating a siguiriyarhythm |
| melisma |
series of notes sung on one syllable. It is the part of the song that, to the ears unaccustomed to it, may sound like unmusical wailing |
| milonga |
a type of folk song from the Plate River area in Argentina, where it is still very popular |
| mineras |
best described as watered-down tarantas |
| mote |
see apodo |
| mudanza |
see punteado |
| nanas |
lullabyes |
| oposicion |
refers to the asymmetry of flamenco; in other words, if the arms are going one way the face will look the other. |
| Palillos |
flamenco name for castanets |
| palmas |
clapping. It is an art, requiring skill and knowledge of compas. |
| palmas altas |
percussive effect performed with the fingers of the right hand on the left palm, resulting in a sharp sound |
| palmas sordas |
muted clapping done with cupped hands (usually by the singer) |
| palmero |
performer of palmas |
| palo |
song form; literally, a suit of cards. They fall into two main categories: those done in free rhythm (sin compas) and those done in rhythm (con compas) |
| paso |
step or a series of steps |
| payo |
commonly thought to be the Gypsy word for non-Gypsy, but in fact prison slang for an easy mark, a sucker. The Calo word for non-Gypsy is gacho |
| pellisco |
literally, "nip, pinch"; that quality (usually in a dancer) that turns you on |
| pena |
flamenco club |
| pateneras |
Legendary or real, la Patenera was a girl from Cadiz, notorious for her beauty and hardness of heart. A 19th century writer mentions hearing pateneras sung in a voice that conveyed "inexplicable sadness." |
| picar |
to pluck on a guitar |
| pitos |
finger snapping |
| playero |
lamenting |
| por arriba |
on guitar - in the hand position for the key of E |
| por medio |
on guitar - in the hand of the position for the key of A |
| punteando |
steps and movements that are not part of the zapateado |
| rasquado |
on guitar, a drumroll effect created by using the backs of the fingers - that is, the nails - one after another |
| remate |
way of ending a song, either by raising a pitch, changing to the major, or simply speeding up |
| roas |
Sacromente form of the albordea |
| romances |
songs (ballads) in a form of tona, nowadays when done with a guitar it is usually played in a solea rhythm |
| romeras |
sings of a girl on a pilgrimage |
| rumbas |
song form from Cuba |
| Sacromonte |
a hillside in Granada with cave dwellings, in which Gypsies used to live. It was one of the heartlands of Gypsy flamenco, with a style all of its own |
| saeta |
a song of passionate devotion to Christ or the Virgin |
| sevillanas |
non-flamenco song that has been flamencoized in various ways due to its popularity, including the dancers' hand and arm movements |
| siguiriyas |
heart of deep song. It expresses anguish, lament and despair, and as been described as an outcry against fate and the quintessence of tragic song. |
| soleares |
As song, the solea lies at the heart of flamenco, together with siguiria and tona. As dance, it stands alone -at least for women |
| son |
all sound accompanying the flamenco song (guitar, clapping, finger snappin, knuckle tapping) |
| sonanta |
flamenco slang for guitar |
| soniquete |
literally, "droning"; it is applied to performers being what jazz players call "in the groove" |
| tablao |
the venue for a tourist-oriented flamenco show |
| tablas |
literally, "boards"; the stage on which the dance is performed; tiene tablas means "to be [an] experienced [performer] |
| tangos |
probably the oldest flamenco song form in a simple rhythm of 2/4 time, as reflected in the time beaten by the palmeros |
| tanguillos |
songs of Cadiz; festive, light, sometimes mocking, and always suitable for Carnival |
| tapa |
the face of the guitar |
| tarantas |
a mining song of free rhythm and by far the hardest to sing, demanding tragic intensity as well as unusual control, both vocal and artistic, in the melismas |
| templar |
to tune |
| temple |
tuning or temperament |
| temporeas |
songs of the farm - harvesting and threshing songs |
| tercio |
section; a line of a verse; a musical phrase |
| tientos |
similar to the tango |
| tocaor |
guitarist |
| toque |
guitar playing |
| torsion y convlusion |
stages, usually in the solea, wherein the dancer reaches a more or less acstatic stage |
| tremolo |
on guitar, playing a bass note with thumb and high notes with fingers in quick succession to make a continuous sound |
| Triana |
the traditional Gypsy quarter of Seville, now yuppified |
| vibrato |
repeated meaningless sounds uttered during the song, such as jajaja, but unlike babeo, not within a word |
| vito |
Andalucian folk song and dance (non-flamenco) |
| voz affila |
hoarse voice like that of El Fillo, a 19th century singer; this quality is also known as rajo |
| zambra |
(a) a form of Sacromente tango (b) a noisy fiesta originally of the Moors |
| zapateo, zapateado |
the form of tap dancing peculiar to flamenco |
| zorongo |
an old song anddance in 2/4 time (not flamenco), revived by Federico Garcia Lorca; also called zorongo |
