Ay Ay Ole!

It's not often that I am genuinely blown away by something that I stumble across on the internet. On those occasional times when this does happen, it is usually the graphic design and interface that leave me speechless. I was thus particularly stunned last night to come across one of the best web sites I have found in years and find myself liking it not for its graphic design (which was functional), or for its interface (mediocre), but for its content. Flamenco Guitar Transcriptions was obviously a labour of love. Despite that the site is in some sense advertising for a set of two books that the author has put together (one for Soleares, the other for Siguiriyas—both very reasonably priced at 30 Euros), there is still a wealth of information available that is wonderfully organized. My favourite parts trace the historical evolution of different falsetas (fancy guitar licks that fit within a particular compas (rythmic structure, of which Soleares and Siguiriyas are two examples)). There are only a handful of examples online (many more are available in the books), but they are worth checking out for the short recorded examples, even if you don't play or listen to much flamenco. Start with the evolution of a Soleares falseta, and then check out variations in the alzapua technique throughout history. From the latter, I especially enjoyed the little snippet of Montoya from 1936.