Spanish Sounds

The guitar became the national instrument of Spain long before it spread around the world, and some of its sounds are unmistakably Spanish. Here are three of them.

1. The Andalusian cadence

Four chords stepping down: A minor, G, F, E. The bass walks A, G, F, E, and the last chord, E major, feels like a resting place and a question at the same time. It’s named after Andalusia, the region of southern Spain where flamenco grew up.

Over these chords, melodies love the step from F up to G♯: a step and a half, wider than usual, which gives the music its eastern color. Listen for it in the last bar of each phrase of the Andalusian Study.

2. A first rasgueado

Flamenco players strum with the backs of their fingernails, flicking the fingers out one after another. A simple first step: curl the fingers into the palm, then flick out only the index finger, down across the strings, on each beat. Then try flicking out the ring, middle and index in quick order (a, m, i) for one rolling strum. Keep the wrist loose and the movements small; go slowly and stop if the hand tires.

3. The triplet arpeggio: Spanish Romance

This anonymous 19th-century piece is one of the most famous in the guitar repertoire. Every beat is three notes: the ring finger (a) plays the tune on string 1, then the middle (m) and index (i) play strings 2 and 3, over a slow bass from the thumb. The left hand travels: up to the 12th fret in bar 5, a barre at the 5th fret for A minor, a stretch at the 7th fret for B7. Learn it in first position (bars 1–4 and 11–16) before the barres.