What's the difference between a classical and a Flamenco guitar?
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- Опубликовано: 27 сен 2024
- A run down of the differences between the two main arrangments of a nylon string guitar: guitars made specifically for playing classical music, and those built to excel at the many styles of flamenco.
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Two best ways to explain the difference between a violin and a fiddle.
1) It's a violin when you sell it, but a fiddle when you buy it.
2) A violon has strings, a fiddle has strangs.
The difference between water and H2O is thay water is what you drink and H2O is what makes up water
The bridge on the fiddle may have a more shaved bridge in order to make it easier to play double stops, but yeah. Exact same instrument just called differently depending on music played.
Bruh, I’m digging that Lord Farquaad hair....
lmfao
Nice😂
you didn't have to do him like that
pick 3 milord
@@f.i.l.d.e.p.s lmao I just remembered that line from the executioner guy in shrek. Lol I'm gonna rewatch shrek because of you dude
Music stores around here do not have staff that know this basic information. Thank you so much for this video that cleared up the two guitars definition.
I've played classical guitar since I was 12, and I didn't even know this lol. Thank you!
Hi David , I'm your new student , I'm 67 years old and I love flamenco music , specifically Rumba , I find your teaching unbelievable simple , practical ,easy to understand , in a few minuets I learned so much and not only that , but you have clarify so many myth and wrong believe about the guitar types, strings etc etc , muchas garcias desde Vancouver . Pepe
Jose H Thanks for stopping by and watching! Let me know if there is anything I can help you with.
yes I will thanks , very kind
Boomer
Thank you so much for your clear explination of the differneces between a classical and a flamenco guitar. I am a composer in the midst of writing a new Guitar Concerto and found your comments very helpful.
As he briefly touched on, it's kind of much ado about nothing unless you're advanced or professional. For beginning and intermediate players either works great. And for those of us who have played steel string forever and are wanting to try to transition to classical, the flamenco style is awesome as the action is more familiar. If the action is crazy high and you don't enjoy playing it, you won't!
That was one of the best, most concise and easy to understand explanation, for players of any abilities. Thanks. After many years of playing Classical and steel string Acoustic, I learned something worthwhile again.
This was a really well done video. It's not often that I leave positive comments on a video but you did a great job with the explanation.
Wow! I've been playing classical guitars for 20 years. This video and the comments have taught me something new!
Thank you so much for this interesting video. Many flamenco solo player like to play a guitar with a high action because they want to have a clear tone with no buzzing strings. A classic guitar has more diversity of sound and you can play a lot of different styles of music. (From Barock to Latin)
*Explanations highly clear but in-depth, yet organised. Nice demonstrations and examples.* 10/10 + #NewSub!
Thank you for taking the time explaining the differences. Appreciated. Subscribed.
So knowledgeable... Being a Spaniard, it's just my 👂 who knows about all this, my head needed some more information. Thanks! 🙏
Most flamenco guitars do have spruce tops. However this one cat by the name of Paco de Lucia R.I.P. almost always played a cedar top conde hermanos in a pretty serious fashion.
Yeah sure, why then not shell out like 15-20 k $ and buy a Conde cedar top? And, you might have to wait six months before you'll get it too!
@@TheHesseJamesdon't you have spruce in your country?
@@TheHesseJames Paco F7, cedar top flamenco guitar. $600.00
Valuable information. Thanks for this video
I'm looking through your older classical guitar videos for perspectives. Thank goodness you still have these up. :)
I took a lot of them down.
@@DVSPress Ah well, then I'm grateful for the ones I was able to watch.
There is no historical evidence that shows any difference between classical and flamenco instruments with regards to the basic construction of the instrument and many players and builders say there is none. Pepe Romero says a test of a guitar - as far as how good a sounding guitar it is - is if it sounds good for both classical and flamenco. It is true that the percussive techniques used in flamenco playing require protecting the top with a golpeador and cedar being a softer wood may not be an ideal choice although there are luthier who use it. Flamenco players have a preference for a lower action, but that's a player preference not an instrument preference. A blues player getting their action set lower on their tele doesn't change the instrument from being a tele. As a guess many guitar historians think that the light back and sides were used on cheaper instruments because cypress was easier to obtain and less costly, and since the gypsies who played flamenco did not have a lot of money played them they became associated with flamenco guitars. If you can find a fine cypress bodied guitar set up for classical playing you should play it, they are awesome, perhaps better than the much more common Indian rosewood. The instrument with nylon strings that we all know and love really should be called the Spanish guitar, as this is the culture that has brought it to us, whether we play flamenco music, or classical music on it. We don't refer to any other guitar by the style of music that gets played on it. Classical pianists have a preference for Steinway and Bosendorfer pianos where jazz players prefer Yamahas but we just call them pianos. I have spent lots of time in Spain and played many instruments, a really good flamenco and a really good classical will sound the same when your back is turned as long as the player does not play hard and cause it to buzz. Flamenco builders are beginning to promote the difference between flamenco and classical instruments, but in my opinion it's more a marketing notion. As far as the tonal differences you can find a vast array of tonal palettes in both "classical" and "flamenco" guitars. Bright, punchy, crisp, full, round, etc. are terms that you will hear to describe either. There seems to be a preference for a bit brighter sound in flamenco, but players who specialize in playing baroque music as opposed to latin american will have different ideas about the ideal tone from the instrument. That doesn't make it a different instrument. I build Spanish guitars, if the player is going to be playing flamenco style it will get a golpeador on it, if they play only classical it will not. The action will be set by the players preferences and physical characteristics. I have set up many guitars for younger players or players with very small hands with a low action in order to make it easier for them to play- some flamenco players have their action set quite high if they have large powerful hands.
+Bob St. Cyr I've addressed this elsewhere in the comments, but I shall sum up:
The classical and flamenco guitar are different arrangements of the same instrument, this is true. However, those differences exist and I am constantly asked about them, hence this video.
My classical and flamenco guitar have very different tonal characteristics, and I desired this for stylistic reasons. I have many guitars, and I have many because they each do different things. So it is with these. It is a bigger difference than a Steinway and a Yamaha, in my not-so-humble opinion.
I will not doubt your quote from Pepe, but I have heard the opposite from other members of the Romero family, and, perhaps more importantly, I hear the opposite often from flamenco players.
Thanks for stopping by and good luck.
same guitar just the way they treat them and they don't treat them the same way :)
vei dorje Of course not.
FWIW, Pepe Romero is not someone that any real flamenco guitarist would want to emulate. He sounds classical, including when he's trying to play what little he has left of flamenco. Don't get me wrong, he's a fantastic guitarist and I have great respect for him. But flamenco no es. So I would take his advice with a huge grain of salt.
If you have the money then you re going to get what you want. It really comes down to preference. Some people who only have one guitar whether it be flamenco or classical are to play whatever they want to play on it. If you have the means then you re going to buy what you prefer when it comes to sound and what action you re looking for. For years I played flamenco on a classical guitar. But years later now with money I own both types of guitars. But at times I’ll play Spanish on the classical and classical on the flamenco guitar. Just depends.
Same with the piano. I play recitals every so often. If it’s a voice type of concert I prefer Yamaha or Baldwin that have a higher brighter sound. Bosendorfers are just too light when there’s that much sound. If it’s a piano recital I prefer Steinway (pre 70s if possible)
In short it comes down to what suits your taste, what sounds good and feels good to groove on.
Great video, that helped me a lot.
Thank you
Ole Viller, Denmarm
😹I kept thinking my cat was crying to come in (she was actually outside, ready to come in) - but then I realized it was from your video! Thanks for the great info!
Thank you for clearing this for me.
Thank you for your information, all the way from a country side in INDIA
I bumped by chance into an old man at my swimming session a few years ago. He worked with Pepe Martinez and "looked after" (he and his family put him up in his house and stuff) in the 60's or early 70's here in the UK and was with him when he did a few TV appearances and other performances. Long story cut short, he was gifted a Flamenco guitar by Pepe which he still had years later. Eventually he couldn't play any more due to age and took it to a local guitar studio. They took one look at it and offerred him a fairly hefty sum and that is the end of my little story.
The difference between a violinist and a fiddler is, you can trust a violinist around vulnerable folks.
As i said below, the difference is a violinist plays with strings, a fiddler plays with strangs.
You won’t find a violinist around vulnerable people,
dear David
thanks for taking your time to make a guitar like this
However, I would like to add some points. There are great flamenco guitars made with Cedar Top, even Redwood top sometimes. Great flamenco virtuoso like Serranito, Manolo Sanlucar, Juan Serrano... all play great Jose Ramirez guitars made of Cedar top and Rosewood (Indian or Brazilian) back and sides. Many of the most famous guitars are also made with Cedar top: Gerundino Fernandez, Hermanos Conde, Valeriano Bernal... Spruce is just a more popular choice :D
Thanh Huynh Thanks for stopping by and watching! Your comment may actually illicit another video on the history of the flamenco guitar. Jose Ramirez (the original Jose Ramirez, who died quite a while ago) didn't explicitly make "flamenco" guitars. He just made guitars, and flamenco player will adapt whatever is suitable - Carlos Montoya played often on a "classical" guitar because of its better bass range compared to the cheap cypress and peg guitars that were popular in the then-budding flamenco scene. You're going to play whatever is the best available - and certainly in the past that was often cedar.
However, in the context of this video, I'm talking mostly about modern guitars, and in the modern era spruce is a near-universal choice for a flamenco guitar. Likewise in my experience flamenco-specific performers have all used spruce-topped guitars. There's nothing to say you can't use cedar (or even something else), just that it seems really rare to choose it for that style. Guitar makers are aware of this. As a result, virtually all the guitars you will find that are set-up as or marketed as flamenco guitars will have a spruce top.
For my part, I really do prefer cedar for most things; unfortunately that has fallen out of favor a bit in the classical world as well.
Additionally, I might add that I don't think I ever saw Juan Serrano play a cedar top guitar, either in practice or in concert. When I was a student of his (in the early 2000s), he played mostly guitars made by David Macias. They were all spruce-topped, so I presume he held similar opinions on spruce to other artists. There are always exceptions, though, so play what sounds best for your style and interpretation! Thanks for watching!
David Stewart Just a correction, Jose Ramirez did make a guitar that was influenced by the guitars flamencos used - called the tablao guitar. He also made guitars out of cypress.
thanks for replying. Yes, all of your info and perspectives are true. I only put in my 2cents on the " Spruce top flamenco guitars" based on my experience.
Wwish all of other arguments could come to this level of healthi-ness :)
From someone who knows very little about guitars and music...thank you. Great explanation.
I cannot reply directly do you via youtube, Felix, since a setting in google+ has removed that ability for you, but here is an answer for whether the strings are the same on a flamenco and classical guitar:
For all intents and purposes, both types of guitars use the same strings. Some companies market and sell "flamenco" sets, sometimes with black colored treble strings, but these are not really different from classical strings of the same tension. I use the exact same sets of strings on my classical and flamenco guitars. I do this for consistency as much as because that set (Savarez 540J "HT Classic") happens to compliment the sound of both guitars well. In addition, most flamenco players I have come across do not seek out strings marketed as flamenco strings, nor do they necessarily play on hard tension strings (though I do for both styles). When setting up any sort of guitar, experiment with string types and chose those that work the best for your hands and your instrument. Don't worry about what label is on them, because they are essentially the same exact product.
thank you!
David Stewart Hey David can you explain the difference between classic music and flamenco music? I'm confused and I can't tell which is which!
try la bella flamenco strings. I love em!!
You just taught me something. Thank you.
very interesting David! I wasn't aware of the differences until now. thank you for the well delivered information. cheers!
very informative and straightforward. didnt know about the top protector, thnx alot for the information
Hi! Just to say that there is one crucial issue that needs to be corrected. One of the main differences between classic and flamenco have to do with the scale. This issue plays an important role in virtually all of the aspects (tone, sonority, playability ...). Classic 650 millimeters, Flamenco, 660. BEst
Thank you for explaining this. This is a useful video.
So glad I watched this video, thanks for posting!
I am grateful to have learned this!!! All these years I did not know! I can tell you what necks and pick ups will brighten your electric, but not this. The contrarian in me wants to remind everyone that now has the "wrong" guitar upon seeing this video. My audience loves and is accustomed to Alembics and Dumbles, two of the most expensive gears in the electric guitar world. They did NOT care at all when I covered their beloved songs on a Fender if I did it right. Brad Paisley's fans can not hear the difference between Brad's 5K Klon and my 40.00 Klone. If you OCD on setting, ownership, sharing, appearance, technique and so on, you become like Jazz and Classical. Historical. Namaste.
My Paco F7 has a cedar top but is a Flamenco, it's a unique piece.
For some strange reason, this video of yours pops up all the time, even though I don't play the guitar.
Great video. Thank you.
Good info. Thank you David.
Thanks for clearing that up!
Hi! I want to learn how to play guitar and flamenco has to be one of my favourites. Should I get a classical guitar and learn the flamenco basics and then if I like it or once I get better, then maybe buy a flamenco guitar? thanks in advance.
Whatever is available and good is what I would play. You can always add a golpeador (top guard) to a classical guitar to protect it from the flamenco techniques.
Don't do that
Go for a flamenco class and buy a flamenco negra guitar
You can use this guitar for classical or bossa also
julia5naugusto1 @555
ur not from america are you? "u" in favorite I think french people say it with a u Just saying...
Get both, ;)
Very informative! Thank You!
Thanks for stopping by!
thanks for this valuable info, I always though there was something different between both.
Being a steel string acoustic player I hissed and crawled in a corner because my tiny fingers ache after just 5 minutes. I always wanted to play with a classical though.They have so much personality.
+Miu Moi I don't think large hands are necessary to play the guitar. Some of my favorite players have small hands. Keep at it.
Thanks for that comparison, you made my day! 👍
Keep in mind some flamenco guitars are dark wood at the front, a brand that makes this type of guitar is Cordoba and Paco de Lucia himself played many songs with a dark top guitar. Im not sure if it was cedar tho, im pretty sure it was spruce with a dark finish. So for anyone seeing this, just know there are many flamenco guitarists that have played with a dark top. Many flamenco guitars try to be fancy and look slick by changing the type of finish on the wood. Just always make sure it says Spruce on the details dont rely on the colour too much.
I play both on either
Learned a lot
very helpful for my intended purchase. Thanks ✌🏽
I like your guitars my friend. Good day.
Nicely explained and demonstrated....
Very usefuuuuul informations ,, tnx a lot👌
Me;
I owned my first commercially mass produced Classical Guitar under the 99USD range segment although still have a construction decent my Guitar is Valencia Model CG180 C but it is cutaway modern they have specialised Nubone Graphite composite Saddle technology with only ABS plastic on the nuts all from them provided normally packages
the weird thing is the saddle that it can suspected to bypassing the Flamenco's required conventions,
it is still a classical guitar But scrutiny is imposibble to examine the entire constructions
any of the strings mounted can mitigates its flamenco like vibrations
This was a great video. Thank you so much!
I hate high action. It introduces more buzz than it aims to eliminate.
NotOrdinaryInGames maybe you just suck lol
@@douchebagface8163
Hush
It's also just really hard on the fingers if you're used to steel string and electric, now I'm considering getting a flamenco guitar instead of a classical for that very reason
Dave, thank you for teaching us the elements that makes up a flamenco guitar. I wonder if you could share a resource on the elements of the clapping. In flamenco there is a distinct clapping that I could never get down. Even though I have Andalucian roots and actually lived in Southern Spain with my grandmother, no one ever really taught me in detail what you have.
There are loads of Spanish speaking channels here on YT that will teach you any compas.
Very informative video, thanks for taking the time..😊
very useful information thanks
Helpful thanks
Thanks. That was very helpful.
Liked, commented and subscribed...
+Sakthivel Ganesan Thanks so much!
Thanks so much David..👍😊Warm cheers..👍😊🎶
Brilliant video David!!!!
thank you man, that was great explanation!
Interesting, thanks.
Thank-you!
Thank you 🙏🏽
Very informative, thanks mate.
Very cool video. Thank you!
This is really helpful, thanks a lot.
Thanks !
I've built a few steel string guitars, but would love to make a Flamenco guitar.
Thanks really interesting
thanks i learned a thing or two with this video.
Great video!
Thanks!
Thank you, very helpful!
good points, esp fretboard position on soundboard.... nice.
Very Informative....Thanks!
I cannot reply directly do you, Felix, since a setting in google+ has removed that ability for you, but here is an answer for whether the strings are the same on a flamenco and classical guitar:
For all intents and purposes, both types of guitars use the same strings. Some companies market and sell "flamenco" sets, sometimes with black colored treble strings, but these are not really different from classical strings of the same tension. I use the exact same sets of strings on my classical and flamenco guitars. I do this for consistency as much as because that set (Savarez 540J "HT Classic") happens to compliment the sound of both guitars well. In addition, most flamenco players I have come across do not seek out strings marketed as flamenco strings, nor do they necessarily play on hard tension strings (though I do for both styles). When setting up any sort of guitar, experiment with string types and chose those that work the best for your hands and your instrument. Don't worry about what label is on them, because they are essentially the same exact product.
Very Good!!
Wow great info...thanks a lot learned a lot
Very informative video.
I'm electric player. Can I explore classical, Brazilian, and jazz styles by purchasing CORDOBA GK?
awesome explanation
Thank you. I've been looking for nylon string and do much finger picking style and wanted a nice nylon smooth sound. I shy from the wide neck ... so will look for a flamingo... would like cutaway as well as pick up in it...
Thank you
any ideas for a lower priced flamenco guitar?? I cant seem to find any that arent like, hand made, 1000 dollars
Cordoba and Yamaha have more affordable models. Used Spanish Cordoba guitars are usually quite reasonable.
Awesome review!
Good video. Gracias hermano.
Paco played a ceder top from time to time and toward the end.
Please note that besides the way they are played, the main difference between a violin and a fiddle is the arch of the bridge.
I believe you missed one of the most distinguishing factors of a flamingo guitar, the thinner top and bracing to provide the the projection
I didn't miss it because that's not a defining characteristic. The same bracing techniques are used for both guitars. With high-end guitars classicals usually have thinner tops, this is because you're not punishing the top with percussion techniques.
Flamingo projection mostly comes from the tone and the technique.
And the loudest guitars I've ever heard were classical guitars.
@@DVSPress thank you for your reply but I disagree. The loudest I have heard and played have been built as Flamingo guitars with thinner tops and tuned bracing.
Spruce is a type of cedar. Not being smart. Just thought I might share. Thanks for the video. I learned stuff.
Thanks! I guess I meant red cedar.
Nice demo @ 3:45 👍
David, I'm not sure but I'm going to guess Mason William's 'Classical gas' was played on a cedar top. It's not a flamenco piece of music technically, I don't think, but sure has a flamenco feel to it in parts.
thank's!
+skjerns Thanks for watching!
I'm pretty sure the biggest difference is that Classicals are usually mahogany or rosewood sided and backed with a spruce top, and a flamenco guitar is cedar sided and backed with a spruce top. Then, flamencos have thinner tops, different bracing patterns, and lower action.
Inherited my flamenco from my mother (who by her own admission was never a solid player) and I can do your basic chords, play a decent hour of Dylan covers. Would like to learn to really use it for what it's made for some day.
Seriously everyone left out something very important in their conversations.
Passion!
Flamenco guitar players working together with Flamenco Dancers both would strive to bring out their passion. Sex and romance and even gentle love passions are expressed in Flamenco Performances wherein a guitarist and a dancer are present.
Then it follows that the Flamenco guitarist must be able to play very fast and loud at times. Yes, too much timber or tone slows this down because it takes time for the sound to decay and let the next note articulate. I play without a nail guard and I am careful to not damage my guitar. I use every part of my right hand, nails, knuckles, fingers, palm, thumb - all to different effect and I hit in places everywhere on the top plate. You would need to cover the entire top plate on my guitar so then why bother.
Conversely, low string action allows for faster articulation but also less overall volume and less resonance. We make up for this by not playing individual notes when the dancer is really going fast and furious, we use all our fingers and fan the strings to get the speed and the volume to support the rhythm of the dancer. I love that part the most.
Flamenco Guitar Music must, shall reflect Flamenco dancing so yes this works best when both are present. Passion, inspiration, sex. love making this is Flamenco.
Sadly everywhere I look I see less and less talented Flamenco dancers. I am at the point to train my own dancers so that I can play with the passion that I feel.
Flamenco is not about music and social arts it's about getting laid, having sex with a woman that was present that I have seduced with the performance, it's about getting some coin to pay my rent and to eat and buy new strings as needed. Also to keep me in fine, tight fitting sexy clothes. Even as an old man all this is what counts. I'm a whore to most of you. So what!
Peter
+PeterDad60 You have an interesting perspective. Thanks for watching and commenting.
I would not say that what distinguishes Flamenco is passion - to say so implies that other types of music, such as classical, lack passion, which is not true. Yes, good Flamenco is "passionate," but so is most good music.
My apologies for the stupid question but is "flamenco" guitar synonymous with "Spanish" guitar?