I’ve met people who don’t love flamenco, but do love flamenco guitar. And I totally understand. I became hooked on flamenco largely because of flamenco guitar. This is how it goes: you start listening profusely to Paco de Lucía’s Entre dos aguas and next thing you know, you’re spending 90% of your waking time thinking about, practising and listening to flamenco. Just like that!

In other words, you’re hooked.

The world of flamenco guitar is fascinating, sometimes confusing and always exhilarating. So if you’ve become intrigued by flamenco guitar, here is some info – and some album recommendations – that will hopefully help you understand and enjoy it more.

The origins of the flamenco guitar

The history of the flamenco guitar is a little complicated. So let me make a long story very short.

The earliest known ancestors of the guitar (whether flamenco or otherwise) are primitive string instruments (bowl harps and tanburs) from the ancient Egyptian, Sumerian and Babylonian civilisations, over 4000 years ago. These instruments spread around the ancient world with travellers, merchants and seamen, and evolved throughout centuries.

So how did they get to Spain? The chartar, a four-stringed Persian instrument, arrived in Spain and changed in shape and construction, and became known as the quitarra. During the Rennaissance, the Spanish vihuela became popular in the court. It was a string instrument with lute-style tuning (influenced by the Arabic oud which was brought to Spain by the moors) and a guitar-like body. Meanwhile, the guitarra latina, which derived from the quitarra, was played by ordinary folk.

A fifth string was added to the guitarra latina, which made it much more popular than the vihuela, and spread around Europe. In the 18th century, Italian guitar-maker Gaetano Vinaccia built the first six-string guitar in Naples, and in the 19th century, Spanish maker Antonio de Torres designed the first modern classical guitar. During this time, the professionalisation of flamenco and the popularity of cafés cantantes (flamenco venues from the 19th century) meant that there was a need for louder guitars.  And in this context, the Ramírez family designed the current flamenco guitar, based on Torres’ classical guitar design.

Spanish classical guitars and flamenco guitars are different

The term guitarra española or Spanish guitar can be used to refer to both flamenco guitars and classical guitars. Although it may look like there is no difference between a flamenco guitar and a classical guitar to the naked eye, they are indeed different instruments. The differences can be found mainly in their construction and sound.

Guitars hanging from the wall at Pedro de Miguel workshop

Classical and flamenco guitars hanging from the wall at Pedro de Miguel workshop in Madrid

Generally speaking, a classical guitar has a deeper body and the woods used are usually thicker, resulting in a heavier instrument than the lighter flamenco guitar. The strings of a flamenco guitar are closer to the frets to enable faster left-hand action, and they come with a tap-plate (golpeador) —a protective plate that is installed on the surface of the guitar and allows the player to tap the guitar without causing damage to the instrument.

As for sound, a flamenco guitar is more responsive and percussive. Its sound is brighter and drier than a classical guitar, which produces a deeper timbre. A flamenco guitar produces notes that are shorter so that the fast notes don’t step on each other – i.e. so that the flurry of notes that is typical of flamenco doesn’t result in a sound that is too muddy.

The adoption of the capo was key for the evolution of flamenco guitar… and of flamenco singing!

Before flamenco guitarists started using the capo, the singers had two basic keys they could sing in —each of them could be major, minor or phrygian. They keys were por arriba (literally “above” or E) or por medio (“in the middle” or A). This means that the singers had to adapt their voices to the guitar’s limited tonality, rather than the guitar being able to adapt to the singer’s wide tonality.

The adoption of the capo brought a greater scope for both guitarists and singers, and was key for guitarists to slowly discover the infinite musical possibilities of the flamenco guitar.

The price of a flamenco guitar

There is a huge price range when it comes to flamenco guitars. Prices vary depending on the materials used and construction. For example, you can spend around €200 on a factory-made guitar up to tens of thousands of euros on a highly customised, meticulously handcrafted work of art.

Guitar parts at Pedro de Miguel workshop

Guitar parts waiting for their turn at Pedro de Miguel workshop

If you’re in Madrid and keen on getting your hands on one, check out these two guitar workshops and stores. And bear in mind that they also ship internationally, should you not be planning to come to Madrid any time soon!

Pedro de Miguel

Located in Madrid’s flamenco district (aka the Huertas neighbourhood), this workshop was founded in 1991 by two friends who learned their craft making guitars in the renowned José Ramírez’s workshop. These guys have made guitars for some of the best flamenco guitarists in Spain —make sure you check out their wall-of-fame! Their workshop is down the back, where I feel right at home: my dad’s a carpenter by trade and its humbleness reminds me of my dad’s workshop. The guitars from Pedro de Miguel are excellent value, are very responsive and have a fantastic sound. Calle Amor de Dios, 13

Press for guitars

Press used in the guitar-making process at Pedro de Miguel’s

Mariano Conde

This guitar workshop and store is in Madrid’s luthier district, near the opera house. Mariano Sr. and Mariano Jr. are third and fourth-generation luthiers, descendants of a luthier dynasty that dates back to 1915. Their brand is globally renowned, and they make guitars for the very best, including non-flamenco guitar players like Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen! They pride themselves on using high-quality wood and knowing how to treat it, as well as finding out exactly what each guitar player wants when they order a guitar, and then constructing the best guitar for them. Calle Amnistía, 1

Three fantastic flamenco guitar albums

All lists are unfair, as they say, but these are three albums that truly capture the beauty and complexity of flamenco guitar.

Sabicas – Essential

Sabicas, who lived a big chunk of his life in exile from the Spanish dictatorship led by Francisco Franco, was an incredibly talented guitarist and composer who reached international stardom before he was renowned in his native Spain. He was a bit of a pioneer as a flamenco guitar soloist, and he was also one of the first flamenco artists to experiment with other music genres like rock with the album Rock Encounter (1966). Essential contains a great selection of some of his best work as a soloist. Agárrate los machos. Prepare yourself!

Paco de Lucía – Siroco

Pretty hard to make a list of flamenco guitar albums without including one by the late Paco de Lucía! Best known internationally by his wonderful Entre dos aguas, he is considered by many to be the greatest flamenco guitar player that ever walked the earth. He popularised flamenco worldwide and in Spain, where, believe it or not, flamenco is still often considered underground. He was an active member of the “new flamenco” trend of the 80s where he ventured into fusion-territory by playing with world-class musicians like McLaughlin, Di Meola and Chick Corea. He even introduced a new musical instrument into flamenco: the cajón or flamenco beat-box. So go ahead and enjoy this sublime work of art. Paco de Lucía dreamed of being a flamenco singer —thank god the man couldn’t sing!

Manolo Sanlúcar – Tauromagia

Truth be told, I became a bit stuck when recommending this album, given its title and running theme: bullfighting. But this record is much more than that – its author is one of the greatest flamenco guitar players, and the music contained within is outstanding and inspired, as well as daring and innovative. So despite your feelings on bullfighting, give it a spin!

Wanna learn more and listen to great live flamenco guitar in Madrid? Check out my private flamenco tours!


5 Comments

Pat Critchlow · 19/07/2017 at 18:34

Our son is planning a holiday in Spain in August. He plays classical guitar but enjoys Flamenco also. He had some Flamenco lessons in Spain when he was on a previous holiday. he would like to go to places where he could join in “jamming” sessions with Flamenco guitar players. This will be the main purpose of his weeks holiday. Can you help with advice or practical help.

    ymartinmendieta · 20/07/2017 at 14:48

    Hi Pat,
    Thanks for your message. Your son can get in touch with Café Zyriab (https://www.facebook.com/cafeziryabflamenco/), to see if the peña that usually meets weekly there is still on in August, which is a quiet month in Madrid. Another option would be to check La Taranta (https://www.facebook.com/BarLaTaranta/) out, especially on Friday or Saturday night —flamenco singers and guitarists get together informally here. These are good options if he already plays for cante —but worth checking out anyway! There may be some guitar workshops open at school Amor de Dios (http://www.amordedios.com/webad/index.htm) —I advise to physically visit the school and check the lessons and workshops advertised on the board. I hope this helps and that he has a great time in Madrid! Regards, Yolanda.

Robert St. Cyr · 06/07/2019 at 13:14

There are those who believe that a Spanish guitar is good for both classical and flamenco playing. At one time a flamenco guitar had only light back and sides – until Paco decided that a rosewood body suited his taste. Jose Romanillos and Pepe Romero Sr. have both stated that a good guitar should sound equally good playing classical or flamenco.
I have been building Spanish guitars for over 40 years. I do not distinguish between them as to “classical” or “flamenco”. I have had Conde owners prefer instruments that by most definitions would be “classical” instruments and many classical players prefer the sound of a cypress body instrument. It is hard to find a point in history where the distinction between classical and flamenco began. Many feel that Segovia in his mission to legitimize “classical” guitar as an instrument felt a need to develop this distinction, but much like the rest of guitar history there are many uncertainties.

    ymartinmendieta · 26/03/2020 at 17:46

    That’s an interesting point you make, Robert! Lots of uncertainties indeed, also in the flamenco history!

5 Of The Best Things To Learn In Flamenco Guitar Lessons · 29/01/2019 at 22:58

[…] it would be silly if you use a standard guitar as a replacement for flamenco. Their sounds are too different. Hence, you can never learn this instrument if you don't have the right guitar for it. […]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *