Glossary of flamenco terms
Encyclopedia
This is a glossary
of terms relating to flamenco
.
aflamencao: flamencoized
a golpe: sung to the rhythm of only a stick hitting the floor, or knuckles on the table.
alborea: the Gypsy wedding song sung in the solea compas
alegrías: compas of the cantinas group; one of the cantes chicos
alzapua: guitar-playing technique that uses the back of the thumbnail
ángel: see duende
a palo seco: without accompaniment
apodo: nicknames that Gypsies receive for life
arranque: spontaneous outbursts of uncontrolled emotion that a performer may show
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
bailaor, bailaora: flamenco dancer, as opposed to 'bailarin', which is any other dancer.
baile: flamenco dance; other (non-flamenco) types 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 (literally: "gown [with] a tail")
bonito: "pretty"; in other words, not good flamenco
braceo: a dancer's use of the arms
bulerías: song form; an evolving rhythm that started about a century ago
bullanguero: festive; adjectival form of bulerias
café cantante: prime venue for flamenco in 19th century
cambio: change of key and lightening of tone to end 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"
cantaor, cantaora: flamenco singer; other singers are often called a 'cantantes'
cante: flamenco song; other (non-flamenco) songs are cantos
cante pa'adelante: literally, "singing from in front"; singing not done for dancers, often with the singer seated [pa = "por"]
cante pa'atras: literally, "singing from behind"; singing for dancers, often with the singer standing [pa = "por"]
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: a song form which started in zarzuela (a 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: capotaster or capo, used by guitars to raise tone of all strings; a mechanical 'barré'
chufla: any festive and frivolous song
cierre: close of a series of steps or a line of song
coba: flattery, often with something false in it
coletilla: a short form of estribillo
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 cante flamenco, as against the cuple of (non-flamenco) canto
coraje: a way of performing that shows impetuosity or daring (lit. "courage")
corrido: ballad, or also a romance
corte: the way the singer ends a musical phrase
crotalo: Phoenician and Roman form of castanets
cuadro: a flamenco troupe
dejes: the way the singer ends a phrase
desgarro: literally "tear, rip"; wilderness, heartbreak
desplante: technically, a point 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
ducas, duquelas: Calo (Romany or Gypsi) word for "sorrows"
duende: literally, "spirit" of "demon"; suggesting possession. Flamencos prefer the word angel or el age
escuela bolera: a graceful and balletic form of the old bolero; dance in 3/4 time popular in the last century
estampa: look, appearance by the stance, positioning, form, and dress
estribillo: short phrases sung repeatedly at the end of a song; the last section of a dance done with singing, where the cantaor/a sings while the baile is danced; see 'coletilla'
fandangos: a old family of song forms; thought to be of Moorish in origin; very popular in the early/mid 20th century
farruca: folk song adopted from northern Spain (Galicia), now 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
granaína: form of Fandango in free rhythm that in many ways stands apart, from Granada
guajira: an ida y vuelta song; now meaning "girl", word from Yucateca, a native language of Cuba
guasa: joking in bad taste, rustic trickiness
guitarrero: guitar builder
jalear: to stimulate, encourage with words and/or palmas
jaleo: vocal encouragement given to performers when the audience calls out such phrases as ezo!, arsa!, olé!, toma!, vamo
jarana: "spree" when a group enjoys themselves doing flamenco
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
malaguenas: characterized by its sad, elegiac tone. The city and province of Malaga are virtually the home of the flamenco fandango
mutis: the exit off the stage of the bailaor(a)s
marcar: to mark time, done by bailaor(a)s, usually while the cantaor(a) is singing; 'marcajes'; see desplazamientos
martinetes: songs of the blakcsmith, can be performed to the rhythm of hammers beating on anvil; in compas like the siguiriya
melisma: series of notes sung on a single syllable of the coplas. To the ear unaccustomed to it, the sound may seem like unmusical wailing
milonga: a type of folk song from the Río de la Plata area of Argentina, where it is still very popular
mineras: best described as watered-down tarantas
mote: see apodo
mudanza: see punteado
palmas: hand 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; also called palmas claras and palmas agudas
palmas sordas: muted clapping done with cupped hands (often by the singer); also called palmas graves
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 Calo (Romany or 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
peña: 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, including 'paseo' (walking steps) and 'mudanzas' (more complicated movements, lit. "variations")
remate: way of ending a song, either by raising a pitch, changing to the major, or simply speeding up, in a strong decisive manner
roas: Sacromente form of the albordea (wedding song)
romances: songs (ballads) in a form of toná, now when done with a guitar, it is usually played in a solea rhythm
romeras: songs of a girl on a pilgrimage
rumbas: song form from Cuba
salida: start of the baile (literally, going or coming out)
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 cante jondo (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 siguiriyas and tona. As dance, it stands alone--at least for women
son: all sound accompanying the flamenco song: guitar, palmas (clapping), pitas (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"
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; not the same as "el tango argentino"
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: a short section (musical phrase, line of verse); lit. "third"
tientos: song form, similar to the tango
tocaor, tocaora: guitarist; from "tocar" (to play)
toná: oldest flamenco, gypsy-Andalusian song, probably from romances or corridas
toque: guitar playing
torsión y convlusión: stages, usually in the solea, wherein the dancer reaches a more or less acstatic state
trémolo: on guitar, playing a bass note with thumb and/or high notes with the fingers in quick succession (back and forth) to make a continuous sound
Triana: the traditional Gypsy quarter of Sevilla, now yuppified
vito: Andalucian folk song and dance in fast 3/8 time (non-flamenco)
voz affilá: hoarse voice like that of El Fillo, a 19th century singer; this quality is also known as rajo
zapateo, zapateado: the form of "tap" dancing peculiar to flamenco; from zapato [shoe]
zorongo: an old song and dance in 2/4 time (not flamenco), revived by Federico Garcia Lorca; also called 'zarongo'
Glossary
A glossary, also known as an idioticon, vocabulary, or clavis, is an alphabetical list of terms in a particular domain of knowledge with the definitions for those terms...
of terms relating to flamenco
Flamenco
Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....
.
A
aficionado: one interested in flamenco ('aficion' a liking for)aflamencao: flamencoized
a golpe: sung to the rhythm of only a stick hitting the floor, or knuckles on the table.
alborea: the Gypsy wedding song sung in the solea compas
alegrías: compas of the cantinas group; one of the cantes chicos
alzapua: guitar-playing technique that uses the back of the thumbnail
ángel: see duende
a palo seco: without accompaniment
apodo: nicknames that Gypsies receive for life
arranque: spontaneous outbursts of uncontrolled emotion that a performer may show
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
B
babeo: repeated meaningless sounds such as 'bababa' in the middle of wordsbailaor, bailaora: flamenco dancer, as opposed to 'bailarin', which is any other dancer.
baile: flamenco dance; other (non-flamenco) types 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 (literally: "gown [with] a tail")
bonito: "pretty"; in other words, not good flamenco
braceo: a dancer's use of the arms
bulerías: song form; an evolving rhythm that started about a century ago
bullanguero: festive; adjectival form of bulerias
C
cabal: final version of the siguiriya; literally, honest, exact, complete.café cantante: prime venue for flamenco in 19th century
cambio: change of key and lightening of tone to end 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"
cantaor, cantaora: flamenco singer; other singers are often called a 'cantantes'
cante: flamenco song; other (non-flamenco) songs are cantos
cante pa'adelante: literally, "singing from in front"; singing not done for dancers, often with the singer seated [pa = "por"]
cante pa'atras: literally, "singing from behind"; singing for dancers, often with the singer standing [pa = "por"]
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: a song form which started in zarzuela (a 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: capotaster or capo, used by guitars to raise tone of all strings; a mechanical 'barré'
chufla: any festive and frivolous song
cierre: close of a series of steps or a line of song
coba: flattery, often with something false in it
coletilla: a short form of estribillo
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 cante flamenco, as against the cuple of (non-flamenco) canto
coraje: a way of performing that shows impetuosity or daring (lit. "courage")
corrido: ballad, or also a romance
corte: the way the singer ends a musical phrase
crotalo: Phoenician and Roman form of castanets
cuadro: a flamenco troupe
D
debla: a form of tona. It is an old song form, now seldom useddejes: the way the singer ends a phrase
desgarro: literally "tear, rip"; wilderness, heartbreak
desplante: technically, a point 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
- desplazamiento: see marcar
diapason: the neck or fingerboard of the guitar
ducas, duquelas: Calo (Romany or Gypsi) word for "sorrows"
duende: literally, "spirit" of "demon"; suggesting possession. Flamencos prefer the word angel or el age
E
escobilla: literally "broom"; the section of a dance in which the bailaor/a does an extended zapateadosescuela bolera: a graceful and balletic form of the old bolero; dance in 3/4 time popular in the last century
estampa: look, appearance by the stance, positioning, form, and dress
estribillo: short phrases sung repeatedly at the end of a song; the last section of a dance done with singing, where the cantaor/a sings while the baile is danced; see 'coletilla'
F
falsetas: solo passages on the guitar, short melodies played at the start and between verses of a songfandangos: a old family of song forms; thought to be of Moorish in origin; very popular in the early/mid 20th century
farruca: folk song adopted from northern Spain (Galicia), now above all a dance, "only performed by men"
figura: a star; a performer who has achieved name and fame
G
gachó: Calo (Gypsi or Romany) word for non-Gypsy (compare payo)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
granaína: form of Fandango in free rhythm that in many ways stands apart, from Granada
guajira: an ida y vuelta song; now meaning "girl", word from Yucateca, a native language of Cuba
guasa: joking in bad taste, rustic trickiness
guitarrero: guitar builder
J
jaberas: form of Fandango from Malagajalear: to stimulate, encourage with words and/or palmas
jaleo: vocal encouragement given to performers when the audience calls out such phrases as ezo!, arsa!, olé!, toma!, vamo
jarana: "spree" when a group enjoys themselves doing flamenco
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.
L
letra: copla of a song taken at its literary value; section of a dance when the cantaor/a is singing the lyrics, doing the terciosligado: in guitar, sounding the note with the fingers of the left hand only
llamada: literally "call"; the opening of a dance
M
macho: usually a three-line verse used as remate to the siguiriya; usually in a major keymalaguenas: characterized by its sad, elegiac tone. The city and province of Malaga are virtually the home of the flamenco fandango
mutis: the exit off the stage of the bailaor(a)s
marcar: to mark time, done by bailaor(a)s, usually while the cantaor(a) is singing; 'marcajes'; see desplazamientos
martinetes: songs of the blakcsmith, can be performed to the rhythm of hammers beating on anvil; in compas like the siguiriya
melisma: series of notes sung on a single syllable of the coplas. To the ear unaccustomed to it, the sound may seem like unmusical wailing
milonga: a type of folk song from the Río de la Plata area of Argentina, where it is still very popular
mineras: best described as watered-down tarantas
mote: see apodo
mudanza: see punteado
O
opposición: refers to the asymmetry of flamenco; e.g., in dance, if the arms are going one way the face will look the otherP
Palillos: flamenco name for castanetspalmas: hand 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; also called palmas claras and palmas agudas
palmas sordas: muted clapping done with cupped hands (often by the singer); also called palmas graves
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 Calo (Romany or 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
peña: 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, including 'paseo' (walking steps) and 'mudanzas' (more complicated movements, lit. "variations")
R
rasquado: on guitar, a drumroll effect created by using the backs of the fingers, i.e., the fingernails, striking the strings one after another (held back by the thumb)remate: way of ending a song, either by raising a pitch, changing to the major, or simply speeding up, in a strong decisive manner
roas: Sacromente form of the albordea (wedding song)
romances: songs (ballads) in a form of toná, now when done with a guitar, it is usually played in a solea rhythm
romeras: songs of a girl on a pilgrimage
rumbas: song form from Cuba
S
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 ownsalida: start of the baile (literally, going or coming out)
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 cante jondo (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 siguiriyas and tona. As dance, it stands alone--at least for women
son: all sound accompanying the flamenco song: guitar, palmas (clapping), pitas (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"
T
tablao: the venue for a tourist-oriented flamenco showtablas: 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; not the same as "el tango argentino"
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: a short section (musical phrase, line of verse); lit. "third"
tientos: song form, similar to the tango
tocaor, tocaora: guitarist; from "tocar" (to play)
toná: oldest flamenco, gypsy-Andalusian song, probably from romances or corridas
toque: guitar playing
torsión y convlusión: stages, usually in the solea, wherein the dancer reaches a more or less acstatic state
trémolo: on guitar, playing a bass note with thumb and/or high notes with the fingers in quick succession (back and forth) to make a continuous sound
Triana: the traditional Gypsy quarter of Sevilla, now yuppified
V
vibrato: repeated meaningless sounds uttered during the song, such as jajaja, but unlike babeo, not within a wordvito: Andalucian folk song and dance in fast 3/8 time (non-flamenco)
voz affilá: hoarse voice like that of El Fillo, a 19th century singer; this quality is also known as rajo
Z
zambra: (a) a form of Sacromente tango (b) a noisy fiesta originally of the Moorszapateo, zapateado: the form of "tap" dancing peculiar to flamenco; from zapato [shoe]
zorongo: an old song and dance in 2/4 time (not flamenco), revived by Federico Garcia Lorca; also called 'zarongo'