Spanish Music

 

For this blog, I decided to focus on the music of Spain. Throughout high school, I took five years of Spanish language and I was always very interested in the culture as I was learning it. My interest in this culture is the reason I chose to focus on it. In my Spanish class, we would translate a song every Wednesday, but we never went too deep into the music culture. I always liked the songs that were played and was interested in learning more.

Spanish music has influences from many different cultures. It has roots from music from Greece and instruments from that of Arabic music. In the Renaissance period, the music culture grew immensely adding different vocal features and other instrument influences. The Renaissance also brought some new influence from other European countries.

During the twentieth century, dictator Francisco Franco had the intent to create a more uniform country. He banned all regional literature, language and music. Although the music was banned and destroyed it was still able to continue on. The banned music was still passed around and continued to flourish being passed around by word of mouth.

Near the end of Franco’s reign, the popularization of pop music and rock n roll became so big that his ability to stop it was became pointless. The early Spanish-pop music imitated that of the French-pop music. Once the flamenco rhythms were added, Spanish music began to have its own touch and sound.

Made of different Spanish woods, the flamenco guitar is light and has a sharper, metallic sound. While playing the flamenco guitar improvisation and spontaneity are used rather than some other cultures that rely on written music. Typically, the musician taps the guitar while playing it adding another element to the sound. The music falls into three categories; deep, intermediate, and light.

The music and abilities are passed down between generations. In this video, you can see José Fernández Torres, or known by his flamenco nickname Tomatito, playing the flamenco guitar. He learned the skill from his father and then continued to pass it down to his daughter who became a flamenco singer. You can see the different way the guitar is played compared to other guitars.

Here is a clip of his daughter, Mari Ángeles Fernández singing alongside of his guitar playing.

While reading about the different aspects of flamenco culture I was intrigued to learn more about the flamenco dance. (When learning about new cultures and their music I am always very interested in the dance styles that are incorporated.) The music is typically accompanied by a guitar and a palo seco, or dry stick. The stick is hit off the ground making a beat for the dancers. The dance is a display of fluid motion with personal movements as well. Men typically focus on the footwork of the dance, whereas females, wearing ruffled dresses, will focus on the hands and upper body.

In the golden age period of flamenco, between 1780 and 1845, singing was the primary aspect of the style, where dancing was secondary to the singing. This compares to flamenco now, where the song is accompanying the dance, with the dance being the main focus of the art.

In modern days you can hear flamenco music played in the streets of Spain just as you would hear other popular music in other countries. It is a modern way to use expression and storytelling in a song. Some necessary elements withing the song are the singer, a guitar, clapping, foot tapping, and snapping. These elements give artists a baseline but have freedom to use them how they would want. In this clip from Spain’s Got Talent, you can see a teenage girl performing a flamenco dance. You can see the different elements in what the girl does, and also in what the musicians do in the background. I enjoyed watching this performance and seeing the intricacy of the movements and how it all works together nicely.

The dress that they wear during the dance can be called by a few names; flamenco dress, gypsy dress, and sevillana dress. It is one costumes that is recognizable and has defining elements. The ruffles, patterns, embroideries, and colors are important elements to these dresses. There are accessories that can be commonly seen accompanying the dress as well. These include flowers in the hair, jewelry, and shawls. Other accessories like heels or a fan can also be used but aren’t as necessary.

Although it may not always be common to listen to popular Spanish music, there are some examples that can be heard in our lives today. One especially big song, that was popular a few years ago is titles Despacito. The song originally by Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee was a success as soon as it was published, reaching almost eight billion views on the original video. When singer Justin Bieber created a remix adding his own vocals, the song spread even more earning Fonsi seven records. The new video featuring Bieber reached another almost one billion views.

 

“Inicio.” Learn Spanish, https://www.enforex.com/culture/flamenco-guitar.html.

“Inicio.” Learn Spanish, https://www.enforex.com/culture/spanish-music-history.html.

"Flamenco | Dance, Music, History, Artists, & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica, 2021,  https://www.britannica.com/art/flamenco.

Considine, Clare. “An Introduction to Spain's New Flamenco Scene.” Dazed, Dazed Digital, 6 Aug. 2019, https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/45526/1/spain-new-flamenco-artists-guide.

El Palacio Andaluz. “The Flamenco Dress: History of the Gypsy Dress.” El Palacio Andaluz, El Palacio Andaluz, 23 Jan. 2019, https://elflamencoensevilla.com/en/flamenco-dress-history/.

Roiz, Jessica. “Luis Fonsi Breaks Seven Guinness World Records Titles Thanks to 'Despacito'.” Billboard, 17 Oct. 2018, https://www.billboard.com/music/latin/luis-fonsi-despacito-breaks-guinness-world-records-8480426/.