Listen and count along first, then practise on your own.
Back to the start pageTry it
What do you notice?
On which numbers does it sound louder than on the others?
What it's called
Accent – a beat that sounds louder than its neighbours.
Why
The loud ones here are 3, 6, 8, 10, 12. They split the twelve beats into groups: two groups of three, then three of two.
Count the loud numbers a little louder – then you feel the groups instead of counting them off.
Why does the count start at 12? That is how flamenco musicians count this rhythm: it starts on a loud beat, and that one is called 12. Then it goes on with 1, 2, 3 up to 11 – and back to 12.
Quick check
Another rhythm with four beats. Count from the first one: which are loud?
Try it
Start and count along for two rounds.
What do you notice?
What comes after 11 – and does the second round sound different from the first?
What it's called
Compás – the rhythmic cycle in flamenco: a fixed number of beats, with the same ones always accented.
Why
After 11 comes 12 again without a pause, and the accents fall in the same place every time. A circle like this is called a cycle – this one has twelve beats.
When you play along, you do not count to an end but round in a circle – so you always know where the next accent comes.
Try it
What do you notice?
What changes when it gets fast – and what stays the same?
What it's called
Palo – a style of flamenco – each has its own compás and its own tempo.
Why
Slow was Soleá, fast was Bulerías: the same twelve beats, the same accents – Bulerías is just more than twice as fast. Alegrías sits in between with the same compás.
Tangos, Tientos and Rumba have a shorter compás with four beats.
What each palo fixes is which beats are accented. When clapping (palmas), musicians play much more in between – that varies from school to school, so it is not included here.
Quick check
Listen: which palo is this?
Press Start and play along – set the tempo, palo or time signature below.
Standard for Soleá: 80 BPM