Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: How do you learn Spanish guitar?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 44 posts

Re: Ask HN: How do you learn Spanish guitar?

#21

Post by monster_truck »

shermantanktop wrote: post #19

If you're on HN, you've probably experienced the dopamine rush of encountering something new, understanding it well enough in short order, applying it, and seeing results; or building something that others engage with in the same way. Or being especially good at math, or science, or computers, seemingly without much effort. Music is (for most people) not like that. For getting proficient at instrumental music, the sk…

This is a great answer.

The whiz kids might not even think to mention it, but they wanted it enough to drill scales & chords every day. You can make big investments into physical dexterity long before you understand what's going on, and it will pay off if you stay with it.

Re: Ask HN: How do you learn Spanish guitar?

#22

Post by polishdude20 »

shermantanktop wrote: post #19

If you're on HN, you've probably experienced the dopamine rush of encountering something new, understanding it well enough in short order, applying it, and seeing results; or building something that others engage with in the same way. Or being especially good at math, or science, or computers, seemingly without much effort. Music is (for most people) not like that. For getting proficient at instrumental music, the sk…

As a guitar player of 15 years myself, when I was learning to play, I never thought of the exercises as boring or tedious because I learned in order to play a specific song. Getting good at that song made me motivated enough to continue learning the fundamentals.

Re: Ask HN: How do you learn Spanish guitar?

#23

Post by ramses0 »

My beginners journey: http://www.robertames.com/blog.cgi/entries/so-you-want-to-le...

From "Noad" there's a Spanish Study that is on track with your goals: https://youtu.be/p_YHVf_pan4

Flamenco (traditional) uses a unique rhythm called a "compas", 12 beats, and "should" be practiced with dancers stomping the counterpoints.

Flamenco Guitar Basic Techniques (Juan Serrano)

Flamenco Guitar Method (Gerhard Graf-Martinez)

...it's a loooong road, and the climax of it has you buying a new (specifically for flamenco) guitar, as it resounds better in a crowded dance hall or theater.

You have to decide to learn to play by ear, by tab, or by notes, and as I mentioned in my blog post, you have to struggle through a long period of time "nobody thinks I sound like anything worth a damn".

As an adult student, you may end up in a recital going up against 11 year olds and thinking to yourself "Damn! Their twinkle twinkle little star is kicking my versions ass!"

It's a loooong road, I've been an off and on student for ~15 years, mostly self-taught, classical with Spanish/Latin influences.

Malagueña (Juan Serrano) - https://youtu.be/18rSqD5My40

Guardame las Vacas - https://youtu.be/O-LzDvRRxNU

Antonio Briebesca, Paco de Lucia, Johannes Linstead (Para La Habana), Gypsy Kings (of course), Rodrigo y Gabriela are all (non-flamenco), and some are slightly more modern flavor of the direction your question was probably in.

Shoot for the stars and you'll eventually be able to bang out a few decent tunes after a year or two. Good luck!

Re: Ask HN: How do you learn Spanish guitar?

#24

Post by r14c »

bradgranath wrote: post #13

If you gave up on scales, you aren't going to learn any kind of guitar other than churchband boomchunk.

harsh but true take. building the foundation for playing guitar requires a lot of repetition. especially for flamenco and related styles. you have to be able to do different complex movements with both hands at the same time without thinking about the details. everything has to become second nature, and you only get there by doing your drills.

Re: Ask HN: How do you learn Spanish guitar?

#25

Post by windowshopping »

shermantanktop wrote: post #19

If you're on HN, you've probably experienced the dopamine rush of encountering something new, understanding it well enough in short order, applying it, and seeing results; or building something that others engage with in the same way. Or being especially good at math, or science, or computers, seemingly without much effort. Music is (for most people) not like that. For getting proficient at instrumental music, the sk…

learning to play wonderwall gave me a lot of joy, and i actually didn't really find it to be trivial for a total beginner either. maybe i'm just bad but it took me like six weeks of practice to play the song smoothly.

Re: Ask HN: How do you learn Spanish guitar?

#27

Post by r14c »

A teacher is helpful, but they will make you do scales too. Honestly though learning the tradition from someone directly is the best way to learn an art style. Plus a person can explain better to you why scales matter and push you to get through the tedium so you can start doing fun stuff like playing songs.

Re: Ask HN: How do you learn Spanish guitar?

#29

Post by sgwizdak »

I've been playing classical guitar for a bit. A teacher who specializes in that style is your best option, but teacher quality can vary quite drastically and can be hard to manage if you're a busy professional. For an online, asynchronous resource, https://classical.guitarcorneracademy.com has been great for along with occasional check-ins with an online teacher.

Re: Ask HN: How do you learn Spanish guitar?

#30

Post by nacho-daddy »

nacho-daddy wrote: post #28
superconduct123 wrote: post #8

I just play english guitar and run it through google translate

I just prompt the google music model and I can just play along. https://blog.google/technology/ai/musiclm-google-ai-test-kit...

All snark aside, ways to learn (already listed) include teachers, books, videos and the most difficult of all your ear. If music theory isn’t your bag, pick a song and learn to play the first phrase. Then the next phrase, then the next. That’s how they did it in the old days. One song at a time. One bit at a time.

If you want shortcuts to playing guitar enough to impress many, you can skip (some) theory and learn a few chord shapes. To play like the masters will require dedication to craft impossible for most. I applaud your efforts.

Post reply on HN