Hi Chalres Thankyou for your time in making this video it's so helpful.... I have noticed that there's a certain kind of legato lick he does almost in his every song or improvised material which makes his musical idea flow better... Idk if I'm right but I always think that when he plays guitar it's the guitar singing the melody which is not the case with vast majority of guitarist out there not to shame anyone but it's a unique quality. "Luciano Gohsn" another flamenco guitarist is the only one other than vicente Amigo to have that legato lick kinda thing in his playing... I don't know if it's subconscious or intentionally but yea that's my analysis. Thankyou
vicente has all of the elements that a modern flamenco guitar composer needs it think he is at the top of the flamenco players after the paco , also he's playing his own flamenco style but as a player i should say playing with manuel reyes guitars is hard. this guitar dosent have brilliant some classical sound like flamenco ramirez guitars or conde guitars Although he could make sound like ramirez and conde, his body physic is so match with guitar . there is no wrong in his performance . the great point of his body is his right hand nails and his pulgar finger when hes performing Rasgueado. he is the purest artist . he's remarcable . he is an icon in flamenco . i think vicente sound writing thrick is that he write sounds and then he plays it with his inovative style and then makes it attractive and playing it with greatest performance technique . i live with his songs , specially paseo de gracia . thank you so much for this video i really enjoy it
The piece he played while switching guitars is called Estacion Primavera, what's fascinating is how he was able to change keys without sounding weird he almost played all keys, keeping the rhythm. And having a specific sens of melody, the only one I felt close to him in doing that is Antonio Rey
Thank you for taking the time to do this analysis. I’ve watched him quite a bit first time was in France back in the mid 90s when he was playing at Midem. What I noticed has he has developed as a guitar player is this kind of trampoline effect when he is anchoring his thumb on a bass string. O it’s almost like he’s moving the neck of the guitar slightly almost retuning the instruments for an almost unheard vibrato effect. very slightly by changing the tension on the neck with a string that he’s not actually playing so to speak.
Vincente Amigo anchors his thumb on the E (bass) string while playing _apoyando_ runs; and Robert Gutthie lets the thumb hang free. Both approaches have been touted as the secret to playing fast runs. Can't be both, unless it all depends on each individual (hand).
Actualy as a teenager Vicentes musical activities weren't always appreciated by his surroundings (there's that notice again). Most fortunately he found shelter in the house of a Dutch afficionado called Ad Rooymans and some of his Dutch flamencofriends who obviously didn't mind him to study at their residence. Recognizing his potential Ad even gave him his very expensive gerundino guitar for free. That's the one played in the 4:23 clip which was shot in 1984 when at the age of 16 he joined his Dutch friends to the Netherlands. Ad made sure his talent was exposed and as a result within a week he was special guest in the most wanted Dutch TV program of that time (Sonja's good news show), he had a radio interview), he opened an art exhibition and last but not least he gave a demonstration concert at Rotterdam Conservatory during which Vicente and I met for the very first time. Not having a clue yet of how good/famous he would become 10 years later I still asked him to sign the audiotape I made from the event. That concert actually triggered the director of the Conservatory to start the very first flamenco guitar academy in the wold which started in 1985 and lasted for 40 years (among the first students were 2 of Vicentes Dutch friends and me, I actualy auditioned playing the Tarantas Vicente played during his demonstration concert. At the time he played Soleares, granainas, Tarantas, bulerias, entre dos aguas and a few notes of Rondena. His flexible phalanges obvious are something he was born with and much of the later Vicente was already there munual wise, like playing the index apoyando when playing Ami arpegio (at the time I played both his soleares, Tarantas and granainas based on the audio and video tapes made of that concert). Most parts of his character still had to develop. Only small parts of that material popped up in his later compositions. Personally I think what shaped Vicente most (like all good players) is his obsession with sound. When you have a certain sound/flow in mind next thing is to find the techniques to match them. Like you I think his technique is just the result of what popped up over the years and worked for him. This includes both good and lesser good habits (the later seems to work for him and sometimes might even do the trick, who knows). I partly share Vicentes bendable phalanges and like him ended up playing with extremely short nails. In my experience if you have bendable phalanges and play that angle with extremely relaxed phalanges longer nails will make you get stuck into the strings. In my experience every molecule of nail visible behind the string is unwanted balast that forces you to put in extra power to overcome that disturbance. In my better days I had to file my nails on a daily base because the overnight grow would corrupt my relaxed way of plugging, killing both the flow and the sound in the process.
Excellent observations! One thing to consider is that one can't put in the hours and get as skilled as he is if they play stiff. They'll get tendonitis, etc. I agree that the flow he's in is probably the primary cause for his body movements and not resting on the guitar, but such repetitive motion requires intentional diversification of movement to keep circulation going and avoid injury.
Thanks heaps for this! I have quite similar hands to Vicente (including the thumb and finger hyperextension), and interestingly I've found that my fingernails naturally gravitated to be really short - the angle of attack I've found most natural and efficient naturally wears them short, and it is FAR more easier and more dynamic (I actually get more volume) to play with them short. Also I end up with a much more shallow nail angle than most players. I've only fully embraced this nail shape in the past year - it flies in the face of much advice I received when I sought teachers some years ago. Interestingly I've found myself doing the exact same apoyando arpeggio technique lately, and I didn't know it was one of Vicente's tricks. I highly enjoy apoyando on arpeggios and occasionally tremolos. Something about the physical feedback you get from the fingers hitting the next string is really enjoyable, and I feel makes for a more embodied playing experience. One thing I struggle with due to my hands is barre chords - my first left index knuckle is less than two thirds the width of my middle knuckle, and there is a severe dip under the first knuckle and a large bulge under the first. This makes it impossible to hold the finger perfectly flat, and very difficult to play many full barre chords. I can play for instance the F major and B minor barred shapes no problemo, but when doing ligado passages while barred I'm liable to muffle a string. (I find half-barring an A shape incredibly easy, however - and that's something not physically possible for many players.) This to me feels obviously related to the hyperextension. Thankfully I find it far more fun to play interesting shapes with some open strings, and it's only an impediment when I'm trying to replicate things played by people with different hands. I bring this up because I notice Vicente seems to use full barre chords much less than old-school players like Sabicas, and I wonder if his experience is similar (or is this true of modern flamenco in general?) I hugely appreciate your deep dive into his body posture. I've played with my right leg crossed over my left ever I discovered Vicente, and I'm going to pay more attention to the fowards tilt and the lift relative to my chest. His style in general seems compatible with my body, so it's worthwhile to experiment emulating him further and see what develops. Have you considered Jeronimo Maya? He has the same sort of flow-state body motion thing going on, and his technique and sound are phenomenal. My favourite player beside Vicente. Thanks again!
Since writing this I've been watching him carefully, and I notice he often brings his middle finger in to reinforce the index on certain barre shapes. I was told this is a technique for beginners who haven't developed arm strength for barres. The "rules" are written for people with a normative hand shape! I feel liberated
Your analysis is very interesting! I wonder, when he was growing up, if people told him he wasn’t using the proper technique. He’s a great example of the proper technique being whatever works best.
Actualy he is playing ami arpegio there in the way he has done whole his life. As noticed in the video he has extremely flixible fingers so when playing sufficiently relaxed his index top phalange will bend to the very max when facing string resistence (like when landing on the neighboring string). As long as I know him (40 years now) he plays the index apoyando when playing ami arpegio. He did so when that early video was shot (actualy the week we fist met in 1984, he was 16 at the time) and continued doing to so his whole life. That apoyando index in arpegio is one of the things that makes him unique, highly influences his characteristic sound and every now and then even inspired some of his musical lines (placing the melody on that place/finger).
Usually, you don't wanna bend you fingers in picado and that's how you can achieve a good controlled speed and solid picado and that's how paco de Lucia did it, the last most important observation for me cause I 've been learning almost 80% of vicente piece and tho it's still bitting my ass to play em in a respectful way without loosing or trying to sound exactly like, is to look at the modes he uses and how he modulates when he' s composing and improvising.
Vicente's features make him look like he's built and not built for the guitar all at the same time. It's paradoxical how his limbs make him look gracious, but also uncanny... I liken it to an image of a spider with very long legs.
Great video. I have met Vicente and we had some drinks after a concert. He told me he had some back pain. And to me it seems, it is because of his unorthodox position (without doing some exercises for his back). I think he told me that he had or should have sone surgery-can‘t remember for sure. But seems obvious.. he was very stiff in his back and shoulders.
Wow that is amazing info!! I have wondered about people like him because I can’t sit that way at all without it hurting my back. Not happy to learn he suffers from back pain (it is no joke) but very interesting to know the price that great musicians pay.
Thx Charles I play classical guitar and some basic flamenco (Paco Peña) since 30+ years.. just a hobby besides a sitting IT job, but I always did some stretchings and yoga (twice a day) and never had any kind of issues😉
Nice. I’m into the stretching and exercises now, keeps me in much better shape. Plus I have to play with both feet flat on the ground, that really helps.
I would be interested in seeing you analyze Raphael Feuillatre's technique. He has super round nails and he moves his whole hand from the elbow, side swiping the strings almost like a violin bowing up and down. So much of what I was taught was minimal efficient movement and then you have this guy throwing his arm wherever he wants and sounding better than anyone else. Other one you have to do is Bream although that might be quite the project.
Thanks for the suggestions Joe! I do love Raphael’s playing, he would be a great one to study. So far my thoughts about the series are to cover a lot of players that have been around for awhile first, and then get to some of the younger players later on. I actually was going to cover Bream next but got sidetracked and ended up doing Vicente instead. But Bream did so many weird things, he’s going to be fascinating to study.
If you ever want to do a video on estas tonne, 'I'll be glad to help you cause I know his story and everything everything about his style techniques etc, with kind regards
The flamenco arpeggios requires the thumb to be sticking out of the way of the fingers. For picado the thumb is not used and relaxed so it can hang behind the palm of wherever it naturally falls
Its his backyard. Guitars were made not by Cordoba. They are Vicente Amigo brand guitars made by luthier Francisco Navarro. I have purchased my flamenco guitar from Francisco Navaro and these Vicente brand guitars are available for purchase.
I enjoy your videos. The word you’re looking for when someone is “acting” is called “indicating” and is also used for actors when they are acting badly. A good acting teacher or director will rightly crucify an actor for doing it. You either are in the moment feeling the emotion or you’re indicating emotion. Although a very skilled actor can indicate emotion if not feeling it and/or without being caught for the most part. The bs detector in all of us can see it. Some people don’t have it, the bs detector that is nor the ability to relax, be centered and let the emotions flow naturally. In flamenco the Spanish call that “flow state” as you call it, “duende.” I dedicated years of my life making a flamenco documentary film called VIAJE AL DUENDE. (JOURNEY TO DUENDE) A big part of my selection process when looking for good guitarists, dancers and singers was exactly what you see, if someone is in a natural state or indicating false emotions. I’d prefer a less technically skilled musician or dancer with genuine feeling to a better technical artist but falsely expressive. I still haven’t released the documentary. Check out the trailer of you like.
@@CharlesAlexanderAllred Thank you for reading them. As a guitarist, fan of Vicente Amigo, Julian Bream, once an actor and director, I find your analysis are very perceptive. My trailers: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-FGM2o8oE__c.htmlsi=JsSPaab8pmoeedVl
this video shows why you shouldn't imitate the hands shape of a virtuoso guitarist. that's been said I've learnt a lot from your videos. I wonder if you could make a video about fingernail shapes. With your maticulous observation it will be very educational. thanx upfront 😅
Thanks for posting. Next step is to work through Claude Worms’ Maestros contemporaneos de la guitarra flamenca book on VA’s pieces. Also study the music of his mentor Manolo Sanlucar. Hard work, will at least give you some insight into the music itself.
The most influential flamenco guitarrist after Paco de Lucia. However, having said that, there is another brilliant guitarrist named Anotonio Rey that is very influential as well.
Very nice content!!! Congrats!! I'll try to add to the conversartion: About the retracting pinky: after Paco, many players realized or was told so how he (Paco) have overworked his left hand pinky. I believe Vicente and Antonio Rey have followed this recipe. Jeronimo Maya also have a fierce pinky for creating innovative music with flawless tecnique. About the picado and the right hand moving side to side: many players realize, after long and focused attention to the I M scale playing that I and M hit notes in different parts of the string, hence, not controlling fully the desired tone. Or so, having this discrepancy of tone unwillingly. This toggling movement might be the result of practicing to hit both I and M in the same spot of the string(or at least, closer) I'm not a flamenco player but I have been thaught some tecniques and have always practiced these. Nowadays I try to incorporate some rumbas and farrucas to my repertoire. And I do practice picados trying to avoid this tone discrepancy that our fisiology leads to. Regards from Brazil Love Flamenco Love Music Sorry for any spelling mistakes
Flamenco players don't play guitars the same way as classical players. So lots of these techniques aren't so much Vicentes techniques more so than being a Flamenco general techniques. I've played with classical guitarists and we bump heads often because classical players try to play flamenco while holding the guitar in a classical way and it just doesn't sound right. If you want to play flamenco, you have to also change your approach as if you are going to play a while new instrument. Classical guitar techniques aren't for flamenco.
Ponte ami primo Antonio rey tocando el zirya de pacooo en solera flamenca Antonio rey es el que inptovisa la segunda vez y me cuentas ya es ora de Acer un estudio lo que sabemos de l'ok es una buena técnica velocidad creatividad limpieza sonido etc.
A lot of the great players will relax the tip joint in picado, but this is a technique that will come with time. At first they will almost all practice with the tip joint straight. Manolo Sanlucar said "never to let the end joint collapse."
ton analyse est ridicule ! fait une analyse contrapuntistique et harmonique et ensuite on pourra comprendre mais là tu ne fait que décrire une observation ! cela ne sert à rien !
