Glossary of flamenco terms
# Glossary of flamenco terms

This is a glossary of terms that relate to flamenco arts.

* Top
* A
* B
* C
* D
* E
* F
* G
* H
* I
* J
* K
* L
* M
* N
* O
* P
* Q
* R
* S
* T
* U
* V
* W
* X
* Y
* Z
* See also
* External links

## A

### aficionado

    one interested in flamenco ('afición' a liking for)

### aflamencado

    flamencoized

### a golpe

    A tap, it can refer to a particular footstep by the dancer or a tap on the guitar, but it can also just refer to any tap (i.e. tapping the table in compás)

### alboreá

    the Gypsy wedding song sung in the soleá compás

### alegrías

    festive compás of the cantiñas group; one of the cantes chicos

### alzapúa

    guitar-playing technique that uses solely the thumb

### ángel

    see duende

### a palo seco

    without accompaniment

### apodo

    nickname, which Gypsies receive for life

### arranque

    spontaneous outbursts of uncontrolled emotion that a performer may emit

### 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 words

### bailaor, bailaora

    flamenco dancer (male, female), as opposed to 'bailarin', which is any other dancer.

### baile

    flamenco dance; other (non-flamenco) types are referred to as 'danza'

### baile de mantón

    a dance with a shawl

### balanceo y vaivén

    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 [of/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 the 19th century

### cambio

    change of key and lightening of tone to end a song

### campanilleras

    songs that originally came from a religious brotherhood who would go to prayers to the sound of handbells - hence the name, which means "bellringers"

### cantaor, cantaora

    flamenco singer (male, female); 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 as a street snail-vendor's song in Zarzuela (a popular Spanish form of operetta)

### cartageneras

    song form derived from the taranta, with a florid vocal line, more "artistic" and decorative than forceful and rough

### castañuelas

    castanets

### cejilla

    capotasto or capo, used by guitarists 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

### compás

    a measure or bar; flamencos use the word to mean both (a) the name of the type of 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 a (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

### crótalo

    Phoenician and Roman form of castanets

### cuadro

    a flamenco troupe

## D

### debla

    a form of toná. It is an old song form, now seldom used

### 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
    desplazamiento: see marcar

### diapasón

    the neck or fingerboard of the guitar

### ducas, duquelas

    Caló (Romany or Gypsi) word for "sorrows"

### duende

    literally, "spirit" of "demon"; suggesting possession. Flamencos may prefer the word ángel or el age

## E

### escobilla

    literally "broom"; the section of a dance in which the bailaor/a does an extended zapateados

### 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'

## F

### falsetas

    solo passages on the guitar, short melodies played at the start and between verses of a song

### fandangos

    an 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; once "only performed by men"

### figura

    a star; a performer who has achieved a name and fame

## G

### gachó

    Caló (Gypsy 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

### garrotín

    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

## I

### ir con tiento

    to move slowly

## J

### jaberas

    form of Fandango from Malaga

### jalear

    to stimulate a performer, to 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 simply put into the middle of a song

### jondo

    the Gypsy pronunciation on hondo (deep); formerly applied to the song forms, but now used often to describe a manner of singing

### juerga

    a lively flamenco party, often 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 tercios

### ligado

    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 key

### malagueñas

    song form characterized by its sad, elegiac tone. The city and province of Malaga are considered the home of the flamenco fandango

### mutis

    the exit made off the stage by 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 blacksmith, can be performed to the rhythm of hammers beating an anvil; in compás similar to 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

## N

### nanas

    lullabyes

## O

### oposición

    refers to the asymmetry of flamenco; e.g., in dance, if the arms are going one way the face will look the other

## P

### Palillos

    flamenco name for castanets

### palmas

    hand clapping. It is intricate 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. Palos fall into two main categories: those done in free rhythm (sin compás) and those done in rhythm (con compás)

### paso

    step or a series of steps

### payo

    sometimes 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 gachó

### pellizco

    literally, "nip, pinch"; that quality (usually in a dancer) that turns you on

### peña

    flamenco club

### peteneras

    Legendary or real, la Petenera was a girl from Cadiz, notorious for her beauty and hardness of heart. A 19th century writer mentions hearing 'peteneras' 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 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

### rasgueado

    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

    Sacromonte form of the alboreá (wedding song)

### romances

    songs (ballads) in a form of toná, now when done with a guitar, it is usually played in a soleá rhythm

### romeras

    songs of a girl traveling on a pilgrimage

### rumbas

    a song form influenced by Cuban rumba

## 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 its own

### salida

    start of the baile (literally, going or coming out)

### saeta

    a song of passionate devotion to Christ or the Virgin, often aflamencao

### sevillanas

    non-flamenco song that has been flamencoized in various ways due to its popularity, including the hand and arm movements of the dancers

### siguiriyas

    heart of cante jondo (deep song). It expresses anguish, lament and despair, and has been described as an outcry against fate and the quintessence of tragic song

### soleares

    As song, the soleá lies at the heart of flamenco, together with siguiriyas and toná. 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 show

### 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

    a 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 convulsión

    stages, usually in the soleá, wherein the dancer reaches a more or less ecstatic state

### trémolo

    on guitar, playing high notes with the fingers (or bass notes with the thumb) 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 word

### vito

    Andalucian folk song and dance in fast 3/8 time (non-flamenco)

### voz afillá

    hoarse voice like that of El Fillo, a 19th-century singer; this quality is also known as rajo

## Z

### zambra

    (a) a form of Sacromonte tangos, (b) a noisy fiesta originally of the Moors

### 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'
