El Muciano: The Powerful Use Of Playing Technique

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Technique
Francisco Rodriguez from Granda or better known as El Muciano (1795-1848) was a famous performer in the early days of cafés cantantes. The playing technique during the time period was vastly limited and the rasgueado and the thumb method was used to play the melody. "The frequent characterization of this method as 'primitive' obviously overlooks the extremely skillful use of the thumbs, which many a professional today might well learn."
Most artist viewed Flamenco guitar playing as an accompaniment to a song or a dancer, and it wasn't considered glamorous if you're not accompanying a singer or dancer, until El Barbero (1840-1910) turned a new chapter for Flamenco Guitar when he got the opportunity to showcase his musicality by... …show more content…

In addition, the extended ring finger of the right hand presses against the tapping plate when the melody is being playing with the thumb; this counterpressure steadies the hand and helps control melodic intonation. In this case the tapping plates also serves as a protection for the soundboard.
• Rasgueado: The Spanish verb ‘rasguear’ means ‘to stroke’ the strings. So rasgueado indicates the stroking or stilking of whole chords, usually involving five or six strings. There are so many ways of doing this that the guitarist is really only limited by his sense of discovery and invention. Whirling fingernails go unchecked by the fingertips, creating an extremely sharp harmonic and rhythmically percussive sound.
• Tremolo: Rapid repetition of a single treble note, often following a bass note. Flamenco tremolo is different from classical guitar tremolo, it is usually played with the right hand pattern p-i-a-m-i which gives a 4 note tremolo. Classical guitar tremolo is played p-a-m-i giving a 3 note tremolo. Or it may be used as an ornament to a chord, in which case it is done on the highest chord string finishing with a thumb across all the strings that make the chord. This creates a very quick trill followed by a full bodied

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