Palo – meaning “branch” in Spanish, this refers to a branch of flamenco form (also called toque from the guitarist perspective). See my page on flamenco forms (palos/toques) for more information.
Compás
Compás – has many meanings in flamenco, but generally refers to the rhythmic cycle of the palo and the accented beats.
Cifra
Cifra – also known as “tablature”, a numeric notation system with a six-line staff representing the six strings of the guitar. Tabs indicate which fret and which string you should play a note.
Rasgueado
Rasgueado – also called rasgueos, refers to flamenco strumming technique, typically executed by flicking the pinky (e), ring (a), middle (m), and index (i) fingers out in successive fashion. However, it should be noted that thumb (p) can also be included directly at the end of a rasgueado strum in certain dramatic instances.
Trémolo (flamenco)
Trémelo – a right hand technique found in both classical and flamenco guitar styles. Flamenco trémolo is played using the following right hand sequence: apoyando thumb stroke on a bass string (p), followed immediately by four notes played tirando on a treble string (i-a-m-i). These five notes are notated in one beam as a quintuplet.
The trémolo technique gives the listener the sense that they’re hearing two instruments at once, as the bass and treble parts have independent qualities of sound that blend together into one. The flamenco five-note trémolo was introduced by the revered flamenco concert guitarist Don Ramón Montoya.
Tapado
Tapado – playing the guitar as a percussion instrument while the left hand fingers are damping the strings.
Por Arriba
Por Arriba – one of the most common voicings in flamenco, playing por arriba corresponds to playing in E-phyrgian mode.
