Glossary of terms

apoyando - (leaning on) guitar technique called “rest” strokes, where the right hand finger plucks a string and ends up resting on the adjacent string. This gives a stronger and more flamenco sound.

bailaor - male flamenco dancer

bailaora - female flamenco dancer

bailar - to dance

baile - dance

bata de cola - flamenco dress with a characteristic long tail

braceo - expressive movements of the arms

caló - mixed language of Romani and Spanish spoken by gypsies

cantaor - male flamenco singer

cantaora - female flamenco singer

cante - song

castañuelas - castanets

cejilla - (capo) a device used to raise the pitch of the strings, usually to find the key for the singer but also to add brilliance to the guitar tone. They were traditionally assembled from wood, leather and a nylon string, although modern examples are made from other materials such as metal, plastic and rubber.

cifra - guitar tablature, an alternative to music notation, in which the strings are represented by 6 horizontal lines, and numbers on the lines indicate the frets at which notes are played.

compás - a repeated pattern of accented/unaccented beats, which gives the characteristic rhythm of each type of flamenco.

cuerdas - guitar strings.

fuera de compás - out of compás

gitana - female Spanish gypsy

gitano - male Spanish gypsy

golpe - in footwork this is when the full sole of the shoe strikes the floor. In guitar playing it refers to striking the golpeadores plate on the front of the guitar, usually with the right hand añular finger nail or the medio knuckle.

golpeadores - thin tapping plates fitted to the guitar front (usually above and below the strings), which protect the surface from damage when performing golpes.

guitarra - guitar

guitarrero - guitar maker

guitarrista - guitarist

indice - index or 1st finger indicated by i in guitar playing

ligado - (tied) refers to notes being linked together as a slur, as in “hammering on” and “pulling off” techniques.

medio - middle or 2nd finger indicated my m in guitar playing

meñique - little or 4th finger indicated by e in guitar playing.

palmas - rhythmic hand-clapping. This may be loud and clear (claras) with the hands in line, or muted and low-pitched (sordas) with the hands cupped

payo - non-gypsy

pitos - finger-snapping, usually between the thumb and middle fingers of each hand

planta - taps with the front part of sole of the shoe, i.e. the ball of the foot without using the heel

pulgar - thumb, indicated by p in guitar playing

punta - footwork using only the toes of the shoe

rasgueo - general term for strumming the guitar strings using one or more fingers of the right hand.

tacón - footwork using the heels of the shoes

tacón raspado - raising the foot and striking the floor with the back part of the heel

voz - voice