Today we bring some new data on how to measure the compass in the flamenco. The “Compass flamenco"It is nothing more than a kind of structure of rhythmic accents, a cycle that is repeated over and over again and on which the cante, the touch and the dance. In this case, we are talking about the famous 12-time beat. It is a way that the flamencos of measure the soleá or alegrías, a formula that baffles both classicists and non-classicists alike. This type of time signature flamenco, and the way of marking it, is not really the origin or trigger of any specific style, that is to say, it is not this way of measuring what originates the styles, but only a way of counting certain rhythmic structures of the flamenco, marking its main accents: five In this case, within the cycle of 12 pulses, in this way (in bold font those of greater weight or strength):
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
It is more correct to put it this way, in musical terms of time signature:
(12) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
And clearer, thus, in the form of alternating time signatures binary / ternary, in two cycles of 6:
(12) 1 2 3 4 5 / 6 7 8 9 10 11
Today it is said that soleares, alegrías, and bulerías have a 12-beat rhythm, and it is true, in a certain way, which does not mean that this is really what gives birth to this palo in question. Today, seguiriyas are also measured at 12, and even peteneras and guajiras, styles that weren't measured this way in the past, nor was there any need to be, since it's enough to feel the pulse of the alternating duple-ternary time signature (6/8-3/4) to avoid having to count. For us, it becomes completely unnecessary and, what's more, it prevents us from playing fluently and improvising, if we have to pay attention to a count, which, as we say, isn't the origin of the music being played, even though it can be counted that way.
When I approached the flamenco For the first time, I also counted the soleá in 12 beats, using scores written by classicists who never got the rhythmic key of the measure right. I had to indicate the accents in the score, since in 3/4 time, no one could nail the accents properly. Fortunately, I no longer do this. Since I learned the rhythmic cycle in a different way: in cycles of 6 beats.
If we go to the 19th-century soleares fountains that reflect this musical style, we can see that what really underlies what we call soleá and related rhythmic styles, such as alegrías and bulerías already in the 20th century, is a 6-note phrase, which in turn derives from a 3-note phrase, which is repeated over and over again. This 3/8 ternary form is still present in the bulerías' metering methods; look at Paco here:
Certainly, 12-note musical phrases often emerge, which are repeated, but not always. It's common to find repeating cycles of 6 notes, with different accentuations, which in turn derive from the ternary structures inherited from the jaleo rhythms of the 19th century.
Look at this score that he left us Eduardo Ocon between 1854-1867[1] of the oldest example of solea that we have at the moment, written in 3/8, in which we have incorporated the flamenco count in a section in which we can measure at 12 if we want (actually a 6+6), the rest is all at 6:
Here is another fragment:
And also this falseta of Gypsy polo or flamenco (also from Ocón) that comes from a structure of 6 (3+3) and that can then be measured at 12 equally:
Here is a part of the cante of soleá from the example of Ocón, still very close to what we understand as fandango, from which it takes melodic elements cante:
The structure in cycles of 6 pulses was frequent even in the soleares for guitar, we can see it in the first bars of the Solea de Julian Arcas in a two-voice version[2]:
Similar forms are also found in the guitar method of Rafael Marín of 1902.
The combinations of the different ternary phrasings of the jaleo in 3/8 could generate phrases of 6, 12, 18 beats, and even 9. We can see this in the guitar solos he recorded Ramon Montoya in 1936 in Paris, where he made phrases in 9, combined with other parts in 12, or in 6.
Compare the first system (12 pulses) with the second (9 pulses):
(Min. 0:55 of his soleá BAM 107 from 1936)
At this point, we might ask ourselves how long the soleá has been counted in 12 beats. Well, the key may be in Manolo from Huelva.
From the conversations noted by Virginia Randolph, wife Marius de ZayasIn his lessons with Manolo de Huelva, there are some memorable quotes. In one of their many meetings at his home in Seville, we have this, jotted down in 1970:
Huelva was the first to tell people that the soleá has 10 beats plus two rests. Some others have claimed credit for this...
He subscribes to other quotes from the Huelva native where he explains this peculiar way of measuring the soleá, also used in alegrías, the so-called 12-minute compass. flamenco:
A full revolution is 10 beats with 2 silent beats. The guitar doesn't have silent beats because it keeps playing until the end, completely closing. Yes, for the call. [1971]
And this other one:
Soleares, to make the call one has to leave the two times silent [11 and 12]. If the two silent beats are played or marked, it's time to continue. If the 11th and 12th beats are marked, the singer thinks the guitar is going to continue and doesn't join in. [1972]
As we can see, Virginia uses several of Manolo de Huelva's instructions to measure the soleá rhythm correctly, leaving the last two beats silent if you want to make a call, and if they are played, then it is to play falseta.
And now we ask ourselves a new question: since when did Manolo de Huelva come up with this way of measuring or counting the beat, if he was the one who created the count?
David Monge[3] pointed out a few years ago an example from 1967 by the guitarist Peter Tottenham, who in the BMG Magazine From January 1st of this year, he explains the toque por alegrías and bulerías with this account.
The explanatory text of the bulerías says:
The fourth measure includes a broken rasgueado and, like alegrías and soleares, is based on a count of ten with the eleventh and twelve beats silent.
Magazine cover with an image of Mario Escudero:
Faustino Nunez[4] He pointed out some time ago that he sensed that he had left the environment of Pilar Lopez. He certainly tuned well, although we should go back a little further and turn to our admired Incarnation Lopez the little argentinian, who on his tour of the United States with the help of Sol Loop He had already integrated this way of measuring, which he transmitted in his teachings to other artists.
Following the line of Argentinita, Bernat Jiménez of Cisneros brought back the memory[5] of the Mexican dancer Manolo Vargas, who tells in a documentary how Argentinita wanted to test his dance skills before hiring him for her company in early 1942:
But the first rehearsal begins. I had to know. And what did I know about time signatures and all that? Then she said to me: "Count from one to twelve. Let's see how you would count from one to twelve?" "Well: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven... eleven, twelve" [Vargas counts without proportion or measure]. "And what other way could you count?" And I said: "one and two and three and four..." [he repeats still without time signature]. "Well, that seems a little better, but no. Look, you listen to me and I'll count you, and you, by ear, tell me." Then she said to me: "one, two, three, four, five, six, seven and eight, nine, ten, one, two [La Argentinita counts regularly and in good rhythm, changing "eleven, twelve" to "one, two," as is still done]. You see, there are twelve." Well, I had never heard that. (…)[6]
But we can go back further. As we say, on the tours sponsored by the American businessman Solomon HurokLa Argentinita published a soleá zapateado score in the programs of her 1938-1939 tours, which we share here:
No numbering appears, but the rests on beats 11 and 12 at the end of each phrase are clearly visible. This document was part of an unpublished book by Argentinita on dance. The score leaves no doubt that by then a 12-beat dance cycle seemed well established, as Manolo de Huelva explained to Virginia Randolph.
Manolo de Huelva was the guitarist of the Argentinita at least since 1933, the year in which he premiered his version of Love the Witch, The Streets of Cadiz, and Christmas Eve as a closing number. In these shows, the guitarist participated in the final part, in numbers por alegrías, tangos from Cádiz, and bulerías. So We could go back to the 30s as the time when the form of the 12-note count of the soleá was probably structured., very useful for constructing dance steps and tapping in symmetrical cycles on which to deploy the different dance movements and choreographies.
We must remember that, when designing a complete dance for exhibition, it is necessary to provide it with a structure and a construction of steps based on a specific rhythmic cycle. This rhythmic cycle must be long enough to allow for expressive movements within it. If it is too short, there is no time to say anything, and if it is too long, there is no sense of closure. In dance, as in the construction of language and also music, places are established where we breathe, pause, end phrases, or begin new ones that give continuity to the discourse. Therefore, Establishing a repeating cycle helps build the steps that give meaning to the dance., and a 12-beat cycle is very common, just as in classical music, where it is most typical to build 4-bar phrases. If we are in a ternary time signature, then 4×3 = 12 beats. This is what the flamenco in dances based on ternary time signatures.
Since then and until now, we believe that this count associated with the way of measuring the dance has subsequently conditioned all those who have wanted to play soleá, directly constructing phrases of 12 beats, when the proper ones were 6 + 6 or multiples of 3 in the examples of the 19th century, heirs of the ancient jaleos, from which the soleá comes.
The 12-note soleá count spread to other styles, based on similar rhythmic cycles, such as guajiras, peteneras, teahouses, or with the inverse accentuation, like the Seguiriya, although in these cases, this way of counting was not used, nor did it originate these styles, as we mentioned before, nor did it really distinguish or identify the styles flamencos in themselves. Another thing is whether we want to measure them like that, and in that, each one will do their own thing, as Manolo de Huelva and Argentinita did. ♦
[1] His work Spanish Songs It was published in 1874, but his song collections were made earlier.
[2] Complete works of Julián Arcas in Ediciones Soneto, 1993, edited by Melchor Rodríguez.
[3] Released on Facebook on May 8, 2021.
[4] Personal conversation.
[5] Jiménez de Cisneros Puig, Bernat. 2024 (2020). The palmas flamenco. Approximation musicological through phonography and contemporary praxis (p. 203); LecternFlamenco (https://atrilflamenco.com/app/reader/Ot1k6rdj4t).
[6] “Manolo Vargas. A Life with a Star,” produced by Pilar Rioja and directed by Arturo Pérez Velasco. National Endowment for Culture and the Arts of Mexico, 2009. The quote is at minute 26:51. https://youtu.be/DADFfxzaSEc?si=58zLM7ctnapHxebb
Thank you for pointing this out.