A. J. Rodriguez speaks to managing editor Emily Everett about his story “Papel Picado,” which appears in The Common’s most recent issue. A.J. talks about the process of writing and revising this story, which explores a fraught moment in the life of a Latino high schooler struggling under the pressures of family, friendship, and expectation in Albuq…

🎸GET TABS + BACKING TRACKS: https://www.Patreon.com/Flamenco4U 📱TEXT BEN 4 HELP: 👉🏼 (949) 992-1102 👈🏼 _______________________ Struggling with a particular falseta for years or even decades is not uncommon for flamenco guitarists. If this sounds like you, don’t fret (pun intended)! In this guitar tutorial, I’ll dive into five reasons why your progre…

🎸GET TABS + BACKING TRACKS: https://www.Patreon.com/Flamenco4U 📱TEXT BEN 4 HELP: 👉🏼 (949) 992-1102 👈🏼 _______________________ In this lesson, we dive deeper into "Entre Dos Aguas," focusing on the extensive use of picado throughout the piece. If your fingers are starting to develop calluses, you’re not alone! We’ll be tackling some interesting and …

Learning how to improvise on flamenco guitar with the song"Entre Dos Aguas," by Paco De Lucía is actually easier than you might expect—especially if you are already a jazz or blues guitarist! Jazz and blues elements are introduced into this section through the incorporation of a pentatonic scale in the key of E minor. By using you prior knowledge a…

Mayada Ibrahim speaks to managing editor Emily Everett about her translation of “Symphony of the South,” a short story by Tahir Annour that appears in The Common’s most recent issue, in a portfolio of writing in Arabic from Chad, South Sudan, and Eritrea. Mayada talks about the process of translating this piece, including working with the author an…

Amanda Mei Kim speaks to managing editor Emily Everett about her essay “California Obscura,” which appears in The Common’s most recent issue, in a portfolio of writing and art from and about the immigrant farmworker community. Amanda discusses how the essay changed and developed over many drafts. The finished piece explores her childhood growing up…

If you've ever delved into flamenco guitar technique and rhythm, you'll know that mastering the compás of rumba is a cornerstone skill. Yet, no matter how you approach it, you may have encountered a common challenge: the rhythmic patterns can feel repetitive and lackluster, leaving you yearning for more dynamism and flair in your playing. But don’t…

If you've ever tried to play the rumba on the flamenco guitar, you've probably realized that no matter how you choose to play the rhythm, there's a particular pattern that repeats itself every bar. Through your own experience, you may have found that your playing sounds dry and repetitive, which can be quite frustrating. No matter how well you play…

Nayereh Doosti speaks to managing editor Emily Everett about her story “The Little One,” which appears in The Common’s most recent issue. Nayereh talks about the many inspirations behind this story, which follows an older Iranian man coming to America, where he feels out of place with his family members, the community, and the younger generations. …

The rumba is a delightful rhythm to explore when initially learning flamenco guitar. As you may have already noticed, there are various variations of the rumba, including different strumming patterns. Honestly, it can be a bit overwhelming to decipher all the variations and intricate techniques involved in this particular flamenco compás. ...Howeve…

Leo Ríos speaks to managing editor Emily Everett about his story “Lencho,” which appears in The Common’s most recent issue, in a portfolio from the immigrant farmworker community. Leo talks about the process of writing and revising this story, which explores the friendship between two high school seniors in a rural community in California’s Central…

Vix Gutierrez speaks to managing editor Emily Everett about her essay “Don’t Step Off the Path,” which appears in The Common’s most recent issue. Vix talks about writing this essay, a coming of age story about her teenage years spent in the Balkans immediately after the Yugoslav Wars, where she lived with a very small humanitarian aid organization.…

Christopher Spaide speaks to managing editor Emily Everett about his poem “Closure?,” which appears in The Common’s most recent issue. Chris talks about how his curiosity for language and wordplay often lead him into deeper themes in his poems. He also discusses taking his first poetry class at Amherst College, and, now, teaching poetry classes him…

Jake Lancaster speaks to managing editor Emily Everett about his story “Grace’s Folly,” which appears in The Common’s most recent issue. Jake talks about writing stories that lean into the offbeat, uncomfortable, and sometimes grotesque parts of his characters and their lives. He also discusses his writing and revision process—carving away at long …

Ala Fox speaks to managing editor Emily Everett about her essay “Ramadan in Saint-Denis,” which appears in The Common’s most recent issue. Ala talks about weaving together the threads of her experiences living in Paris into an essay that explores a lot of questions but doesn’t try to answer them. The piece dives into the dynamics between neighborho…

Matt Donovan speaks to managing editor Emily Everett about his prose poem “Guy with a Gun,” which appeared in The Common’s fall issue. Matt talks about the conversation that inspired the poem—an encounter with a Sandy Hook parent that highlights the complex gray area around guns and gun ownership. He also discusses how his poetry collection about t…

☎️Book a FREE Call w/ Me: https://bit.ly/2VgD0Df 🎸TABs 🎼 + Backing Tracks for this lesson: https://www.FlamencoGuitarClub.com 🔥My Flamenco Arpeggios Mini-Course: https://www.LearnTheFlamencoguitar.com ________ Welcome to "Flamenco Guitar Podcast," a show dedicated to the passionate world of flamenco guitar. In this episode, we take a little dive in…

Gerardo Sámano Córdova speaks to managing editor Emily Everett about his story “Iceberg, Mine,” which appears in The Common’s fall 2022 issue. Gerardo talks about combining the real and the surreal in this story, and using both to show the power of a brief moment of connection. He also discusses the risks and rewards of writing about the fantastica…

Robin Lee Carlson speaks to managing editor Emily Everett about her essay “Reading the Ashes,” which appears in The Common’s fall 2022 issue. Robin talks about the many-year process of observation, illustration, and writing that went into the essay, which explores the cycle of fire and rebirth in Cold Canyon. She also discusses how her work balance…

I’m joined today by Mario Febres and Annie D’Orazio with the National Institute of Flamenco. Annie and Mario are here sharing important information about the Festival Flamenco Albuquerque in New Mexico, taking place June 9-17, 2023. It’s sure to be an event unlike any other in the U.S., with outstanding performances from top-level flamenco artists …

👉🎸TABs 🎼 for this lesson: https://www.Patreon.com/Flamenco4U 👉FREE Flamenco Guitar MiniCourse: https://LearnTheFlamencoguitar.com One strumming hand. Five fingers. So many possibilities for rasgueos, right? Here, in this tutorial, I will present to you 12 rasgueos that I think you should be familiar with. In fact, if these were the only rasgueos yo…

Sindya Bhanoo speaks to managing editor Emily Everett about her story “Tsunami Bride,” which appears in The Common’s new fall issue. Sindya talks about her experience reporting from India after the 2004 tsunami, and how that experience eventually became a story about a journalist in the same position, told from a local’s perspective. She also discu…

This is the first video tutorial in a series titled, "Fretboard Familiarity." In this tutorial, I will show you the chromatic scale; it's called that because fretting finger follows a chromatic path (i.e., C, C#, D, D#, E, F,F#,etc.). After completing this exercise, your fingers become more accustomed to the distance of the frets on the guitar--par…

Meera Nair speaks to managing editor Emily Everett about her essay “The Desire Tree,” which appears in The Common’s new fall issue. Meera talks about the long process of writing this piece, which explores loss and longing through a visit to a banyan tree in Kerala, India that is said to grant prayers. She also discusses writing from memories, findi…

Ellen Doré Watson speaks to managing editor Emily Everett about her poem “In Which Raging Weather is a Gift,” which appears in The Common’s spring issue. Ellen talks about the importance of letting a poem surprise you as the first draft comes together. She also discusses her thoughts on the revision process, her work translating poetry and prose, a…

Although most flamenco palos originated from the Southern portion of Spain in Andalusia, there are some exceptions. The palo (flamenco style) of Farruca is from in the northern region of Spain in Asturias, and was adapted into the flamenco repertoire by flamenco artists. The Farruca can be a solo piece for the guitar, and can also be played for can…

Jane Satterfield speaks to managing editor Emily Everett about her poem “Letter to Emily Brontë,” which appears in The Common’s spring issue. Jane talks about her longstanding interest in the Brontë sisters, and why this pandemic poem is directed to Emily in particular. She also discusses letter-writing as a structure for poetry, and reads another …

🎸TABs 🎼 for this lesson: https://www.Patreon.com/Flamenco4U FREE Flamenco Guitar MiniCourse: https://www.LearnTheFlamencoguitar.com Book a free call with me: ☎️ https://bit.ly/2VgD0Df In this lesson for the flamenco guitar, I will show you how to play two very energetic falsetas for the compás of rumba! I will warn you, it’s going to be a gople fre…

🎸TABs 🎼 for this lesson: https://www.Patreon.com/Flamenco4U FREE Flamenco Guitar MiniCourse: https://www.LearnTheFlamencoguitar.com You’ve probably heard this iconic falseta (flamenco riff) for the malagueña before; in fact, you may already know some iteration of it. It seems like—at least in my experience—that when someone is asked to play somethi…

☎️Book a FREE Call w/ Me: https://bit.ly/2VgD0Df 🎸TABs 🎼 + Backing Tracks for this lesson: https://www.FlamencoGuitarClub.com 🔥My Flamenco Arpeggios Mini-Course: https://www.LearnTheFlamencoguitar.com ________ I've made a lot of different videos on the Rumba over the years. The most popular video by far has been the very first video tutorial I ever…

Liesl Schwabe speaks to managing editor Emily Everett about her essay “The Marching Bands of Mahatma Gandhi Road,” which appears in The Common’s spring issue. Liesl talks about the time she spent in Kolkata, India listening to the mostly-Muslim marching bands perform at Hindu weddings and religious ceremonies, and what drew her to this subject. She…

Ben Stroud speaks to managing editor Emily Everett about his story “Three Omens of Federico da Montefeltro,” which appears in The Common’s spring issue. The story fictionalizes a moment in the lives of historical figures from fifteenth-century Italy. In this conversation, Ben talks about finding his interest in writing stories set in ancient and me…

Anu Kumar speaks to managing editor Emily Everett about her essay “The Woman in the Well,” which appears in The Common’s spring issue. Anu talks about the vivid memories from childhood that inspired this essay about ghosts, fear, family dynamics, and violence against women in India. She also discusses the revision process for the essay, her interes…

¡Hola! Peteneras is a palo in the flamenco repertoires that is a bit melancholy--to put it mildly; and in this in-depth lesson, you will not only be learning Peteneras, but you will also learn the centuries-old Spanish folkloric song, "El Vito," which I have arranged together for you to enjoy. So grab you guitar and a cup of coffee, and let's get t…

When flamenco guitar students hear about the compás of Bulerías, they are usually told that this is the “hardest” of all the palos, but is this really the case? Is Bulerías the hardest palo in the flamenco repertoire? Well, if you ask me, I’d say that, “it depends.” Sure, the time signature of Bulerías (12/8) might seem strange at first, but if you…

Palestinian writer Suhail Matar speaks to managing editor Emily Everett about his story “Granada,” translated by Amika Fendi. The story appears in The Common’s new spring issue, in a special portfolio of Arabic fiction from Palestine. Suhail talks about the inspiration and process behind the story, which explores the complex ways in which Palestini…

You may have heard the beautiful guitar intro for the 2000 hit song performed by Toni Braxton, “Spanish Guitar.” This solo was performed by renowned studio guitarist, Dean Parks. Although Parks played this solo with a pick, I am going to show you how to play it with your fingers while using common flamenco guitar techniques, such as arpegio, picado…

Mark Kyungsoo Bias speaks to managing editor Emily Everett about his poem “Adoption Day,” which appears in The Common’s new spring issue. Mark talks about the inspiration and process behind the poem, which looks at issues like memory, immigration, and racism in post-9/11 America, all through the lens of a family experience. Mark also discusses his …

☎️Book a FREE Call w/ Me: https://bit.ly/2VgD0Df 🎸TABs 🎼 + Backing Tracks for this lesson: https://www.FlamencoGuitarClub.com 🔥My Flamenco Arpeggios Mini-Course: https://www.LearnTheFlamencoguitar.com This lesson is set to be an exciting one…and an interesting one too! What you will learn in this lesson is how to play the Andalusian cadence in the …

Would you like me to show you how to get faster picado technique on the flamenco guitar? …Particularly in the fast picado section of “Entre Dos Aguas”? After completing this lesson, you’ll see the exact method I use to achieve faster picado on the flamenco guitar. The late, great, Paco de Lucía’s “Entre Dos Aguas” demonstrates his incredibly fast p…

Adrienne G. Perry speaks to managing editor Emily Everett about her essay “Flashé Sur Moi,” which appears in The Common’s new spring issue. Adrienne talks about the questions that inspired this essay: questions about memory and friendship and coming of age, questions about what it means to desire someone and be desired, and what we do to appear des…

I’m very excited to share with you this mega-ultra-awesome flamenco/Spanish guitar scale in E minor, which is so intense that it will give you HULK HANDS after you’ve mastered it! What’s this scale called? Well, I call it the “Escala de Gerardo” (Gerardo’s Scale), because I always heard that it was written by Gerardo Núñez; it may or may not have b…

In this lesson, I want to show you a very popular falseta for the compás of Soleares; it’s a rather basic falseta—that is, “basic” to the extent that its a falseta that most flamenco guitar players learn when they are first learning Soleares; it’s also basic in the sense that its a bit of a stock falseta, but the truth about this falseta is that it…

Cheryl Collins Isaac speaks to managing editor Emily Everett about her story “Spin,” which appears in The Common’s new spring issue. “Spin” is about two Liberian immigrants making a new life in Appalachia. In this conversation, Cheryl talks about the inspiration behind this story: writing from music and toward beautiful, sensual language. She also …

Nathan Jordan Poole speaks to managing editor Emily Everett about his story “Idlewild,” which appears in The Common’s new spring issue. In this conversation, Nathan talks about doing seasonal work at Christmas tree farms, the workers from all walks of life he met there, and how those experiences and those people helped to inspire this story. He als…

Romeo Oriogun speaks to managing editor Emily Everett about his poem “The Sea Dreams of Us,” which appears in The Common’s fall issue. In this conversation, Romeo talks about his life as a poet in exile from Nigeria, and how that experience of exile appears in his poetry. He also discusses his writing process, the themes he often returns to in his …

🎸TABs 🎼 for this lesson: https://www.Patreon.com/Flamenco4U FREE Flamenco Guitar MiniCourse: https://www.LearnTheFlamencoguitar.com Have you ever wanted to learn a beautiful-sounding falseta (riff) on the guitar that has that signature Spanish or Flamenco sound? Well, in this lesson I’ll show you how to play a falseta in A minor that you’ll not onl…

Shubha Sunder speaks to managing editor Emily Everett about her story “A Very Full Day,” which appears in The Common’s fall issue. In this conversation, Shubha talks about writing stories set in India, and how she built out the insular world of Indian retirees that “A Very Full Day” centers on. She also discusses teaching creative writing to underg…

Tom Sleigh speaks to managing editor Emily Everett about his poems “Last Cigarette” and “Apology to My Daughter,” which appear in The Common’s fall issue. In this conversation, Tom talks about his time as a journalist in Syria, Lebanon, Somalia, Kenya, Iraq, and Libya, and how that experience comes out in his poetry. He also discusses the process o…

🎸TABs 🎼 + Backing Tracks for this lesson: https://www.Patreon.com/Flamenco4U My Flamenco Arpeggios Mini-Course: https://www.LearnTheFlamencoguitar.com In this fourth lesson on how to play the “Danza Mora,” you’ll get the chance to use your octave skills again, and you’ll learn a beautiful arabesque legado falseta. Get ready, because there will be m…