title: Glossary of flamenco terms
text: # 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'
  