LGM Podcast Ep 2: Solea
Welcome back to the LGM podcast! Today we’ll chat with Adam Del Monte about the Solea. I will also be updating you on my latest offerings on the blog and YouTube channel.
Adam: The Solea is a very fundamental form that informs many other styles. Both technique and rhythmic understanding and the way of the land of the fingerboard and so on.
Sergio: Can you briefly explain the form.
Adam: It’s a 12 beat pattern with the accents falling on 3 – 6 – 8 – 10 and 12. That would be the skeleton, so to speak, of this form. Every bit of music has to follow this shape, one way or another. Sometimes it’s more implied and sometimes it’s more literal. The character of the Solea is (as follows) it’s not a very fast dance, its actually medium-slow and the character is very introverted and contemplative. It’s not meant to be flashy it’s meant to be profound.
Sergio: Is it generally in E or can it be in other tonalities.
Adam: Nowadays in the modern flamenco world any form can be done in any tonality, but traditionally, yes, it’s in the shape of E, I wouldn’t call it the tonality of E. It’s an E Phrygian of sorts. There is the Andalusian cadence involved where the complete flamenco scale includes G and G# and also D#. In my book because of the E chord acts as a tonic it is worthy oif a leading note which is D#.
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