Flamenco is a song, music and dance style originating from the gypsies in Andalusia, Spain. Originally, flamenco consisted of unaccompanied singing (cante). Later the songs were accompanied by guitar (toque), hand clapping (palmas) and dance (baile); the toque and baile are also often found without the cante, although the song remains at the heart of the flamenco tradition. More recently other instruments like the cajon (a box used as a percussion instrument from Peru), palillos (castanets), and the bass guitar have been introduced.

This article is part of the Music of Spain series.

Andalusia

Aragon

Balearic Islands

Basque

Canary Islands

Castile, Madrid and Leon

Catalonia

Extremadura

Flamenco

Galicia, Cantabria and Asturias

Murcia

Navarre and La Rioja

Valencia

The origin of the name flamenco is a much-debated topic. Some people suggest an Arabic origin for the name, but it seems more likely that it is of Spanish origin and originally meant Flemish.

Table of contents

1 Flamenco Forms 2 Canté Classifications 3 Flamenco Artists 4 Sounds of Flamenco

Flamenco Forms

Flamenco cante consists of a number of traditional (and not-so-traditional) forms, with characteristic rhythmic and harmonic structures. The rhythm (compas) is perhaps the most fundamental distinguishing feature of the different flamenco forms. Songs are composed of several "phrases" or falsetas with rhythms defined by the song form.

Some of the forms are sung unaccompanied, while others usually have a guitar and sometimes other accompaniment. Some forms are danced while others traditionally are not. Amongst both the songs and the dances, some are traditionally the preserve of men and others of women, while still others would be performed by either sex. Many of these traditional distinctions are now breaking down; for example the farruca is traditionally a man's dance, but is now commonly performed by women too.

Canté Classifications

The classification of flamenco forms is not entirely uncontentious, but a common and convenient first classification is into three groups. The deepest, most serious forms are known as cante jondo (or cante grande), while relatively light, frivolous forms are called cante chico. Forms which do not fit into either category but lie somewhere between them are classified as cante intermedio. Many flamenco artists, including some considered to be amongst the greatest, have specialised in a single flamenco form.

Cantés of Flamenco
Canté Jondo	Canté Intermedio	Canté Chico
Siguiriyas	Bulerias	Alegrías
Soleares	Tango	Fandango
Tientos		Farruca
Peteneras		Guajiras
		Sevillana
		Verdiales

Flamenco Artists

Flamenco occurs in two types of settings. The first, the Juerga is an informal gathering where people are free to join in creating music. This can include dancing, singing, violin, Palmas (hand clapping), or simply pounding in rhythm on an old orange crate. Flamenco, in this context, is very dynamic; It adapts to the local talent, instrumentation, and mood of the audience. One tradition remains firmly in place: Singers are the most important part; dancers follow the singing; instruments follow the dancing.

The professional concert is more formal and organized. The most common performance usually has only one or more instruments (guitar is almost always at the center). Dancers are the next addition, followed by singers.

It is rare to find an artist who has mastered performing in both settings.

Flamenco Artists
Guitar	Voice	Dance
Carlos Montoya	Camarón de la Isla	Carmen Amaya
Paco de Lucia	Chocolate (Flamenco Singer) (Antonio Núñes Montoya)	La Joselito (Carmen Gómez)
Vicente Amigo	Niña de los Peines (Pastora Pavón)	La Argentina
Luis Maravilla (Luis Lopez Tejera)	Tomás Pavón
Paco Peña	Manuel Torres
Ramón Montoya	Jose Merce
Sabicas (Agustin Castellon Campos)
Tomatito
Moraito
Chicuelo
Paco Serrano
Ronald Radford

Sounds of Flamenco