Easy Steps to Flamenco Guitar

I am a self-taught guitar player who is newly venturing into the Flamenco genre and purchased Aaron's DVD after reading about it on a Classical Guitar Forum. It is fun and easy to follow along with. The style is easy-going and not intimidating at all. It's a private lesson with a master.I am new to the DVD but as it sinks in, I am having fun. Recommended for newbies to Flamenco who have some guitar experience.

I'm an beginner/intermediate level guitar player, mostly folk and bluegrass style. This DVD introduces you to, and has you playing, Flamenco style quickly. It's fun. You should probably have a nylon string guitar.

This DVD is very easy to follow. Gilmartin does an excellent job at guiding you through all the basics. I popped this DVD into my laptop and learned how to play the flamenco piece very well in a matter of hours!

excellent

no

Aaron's DVD and tab/standard notation DVD booklet is great for the beginning guitarist who is interested in flamenco. He uses simple chord fingering so there's no need for dreadful barre chords* that usually give beginner's trouble. I'll list a breakdown of the DVD:1. Intro to flamenco. Short history on flamenco terms and what they mean. Less than 3 minutes of your time.2. Intro to different right hand flamenco movements. Rasguedo, picado, and compas. He goes slowly demonstrating each technique. He also gives practice exercises, tips, and close ups of the movements. The entire DVD expands on the use of the techniques. He doesn't rush the student to play in time and encourages the student to play at a speed that is comfortable until he/she masters the basic technique until he/she can play in time without stumbling for the next chord or rhythm.3. Playing different rhythms, chords, and flamenco right hand movements with a few extra tricks of playing chords with subtle note changes on the left hand.If you know how to play the basic chords and smoothly change chords at a reasonable tempo, this DVD is great for you! You will not be disappointed.* The only barre chord ("F" chord) used is later in the DVD when you should be able to play a barre easily.

Aaron Gilmartin is not a flamenco guitarist. He is a classical guitarist dabbling in flamenco & he doesn't do a very good job of it. His explanations of compas are okay, but his technique is awful. You will find in time that as you get better you will dismiss his instruction as that of an opportunistic hack! There are lots of flamenco instructional DVD's out there by awesome Spanish flamenco guitarists (Oscar Herrero, Juan Serrano)that teach the true flamenco. If you are a beginner guitarist you should not be concerned with flamenco yet, it's hard enough as it is. Learn to play guitar at a reasonable level (ie bar chords competently) & then get into flamenco. Have a look at Adam Del Monde for example - his instruction is clear, concise & broken down, & he is a terrific flamenco guitarist.

If I was a complete beginner I would no doubt give this 5 stars. The only reason I'm giving it three is that Gilmartin, decent player as he is, isn't totally immersed in Flamenco. After playing folk, rock and R&B on guitar for years, I wanted to know a bit more about Flamenco's complex background - two or three minutes would have sufficed. That said, the DVD does exactly as intended; it provides you, through four or five chords, an 'easy introduction' . As any competent player not far past beginner stage will find, the brief chord progression he concentrates on will have you sounding a bit 'Flamenco-ish' by the end of the course. Yet there's so much to this music; the complex copas, the different rhythms, rhumba, for example - the strumming on that deserves a DVD of its own. All this will do is whet your appetite for something which is not just music, but a whole culture - and remember, the guitar is a minor part of it all - the singers and dancers are far more important. Gilmartin is a good, clear and precise teacher, and I got along fine with this. But you should listen to Paco De Lucia (and weep) and read Jason Webster's book, Duende, and thesetwo tasks alone will remind you of what you're up against - the most complex range of guitar styles in the world.

a comprehensive book.