Guitar Schools in Spain
- Playing Spanish flamenco guitarguitar image by sasha from Fotolia.com
Alongside tapas, siestas and bull-fighting, Spain will forever be associated with the distinctive sound of the flamenco guitar. Though most of the best players hone their skills in working class districts of the country's biggest cities from an early age, dozens of schools offer natives and foreigners alike the chance to learn flamenco in Spain, with all abilities well-catered for. - The city of Granada in SpainGranada and mountains image by nw7.eu from Fotolia.com
Though the guitar style is popular in many Spanish regions, it is Andalusia that is widely held to be the home of flamenco, and the Carmen de Las Cuevas School offers students the chance to hone their guitar-playing skills in historic Granada.
Alongside language classes, the school offers intensive guitar courses for players of intermediate and advanced abilities, as well as classes for complete beginners. Group classes are capped at a maximum of eight students per group, though individual lessons are available and focus on teaching different types of the style of music and helping students be confident enough to accompany dancers and singers.
Escuela Carmen de las Cuevas
Cuesta de los Chinos 15
18010 Granada
011-34-958-221062
carmencuevas.com - The Alhambra in Granada, Spainalhambra in granada image by Ivonne Wierink from Fotolia.com
Another school offering language and culture classes in the historic city of Granada is Escuela Montalban. Both private and group guitar lessons are available, with students taught both the technical and theoretical aspects of flamenco guitar in classrooms surrounding the courtyard of a traditional Andalusian townhouse. Classes start every Monday of the year and all language and playing abilities are catered for.
Escuela Montalban
Calle Conde Cifuentes 11
18005 Granada
011-34-958-256875
escuela-montalban.com - Barcelona's iconic architectureBarcelona image by Grzegorz Sikora from Fotolia.com
The Flamenco Guitar School Joaquin Herrera offers students of all abilities the chance to learn flamenco guitar in the heart of Barcelona. Overseen by Joaquin Herrera, who has been playing since the age of nine and who has accompanied some of the biggest stars in the world of flamenco over the past few decades, the classes focus on guitar playing techniques, harmony and rhythm.
Additionally, the school promises to provide its pupils with an understanding of the history of flamenco, as well as presenting the different types of the style, such as fandango, Sevillana and rumba.
Pupils have the choice of taking occasional classes over the course of several weeks or signing up for intensive courses, with graduates able to take home a memento of their time there, thanks to the in-house recording facilities.
Passeo Fabra i Puig 443, Local 2
08042 Barcelona
joaquinherrera.com - Madrid's historic city centermadrid image by Stanisa Martinovic from Fotolia.com
Opened in 2010 by the acclaimed guitarist El Entri, the Academia de Guitarra Flamenca "Cañorroto--el Entri" offers both group and one-on-one classes in Spain's capital. The classes focus on every aspect of playing guitar in a Spanish style, namely, improving technique, learning the distinctive rhythms and playing solo as well as in a group.
The school's teaching staff list is almost a who's-who of the Madrid flamenco scene, meaning students are able to make use of their contacts to play alongside established musicians, singers and dancers.
As well as its flexibility and personal approach to teaching, this Madrid guitar academy is also ideal for students who are far from fluent in the local language, as translators are on hand, and El Entri himself has years of experience in teaching non-Spanish speakers.
academiaelentri.es
