Nylon Guitarist-Bulerias

Bulerias

This is a loosely structured Bulerias with some original falsetas and some bits and pieces I learned from other people. It's not the sort of thing you read from sheet music while you play to make sure all the strokes are in just the right place. You could say that although I have a preset idea of where I'm going structurally, the actual rhythm variations I am using are improvised. In other words they are chosen on the run, more by instinct than a pre-formulated formula of strokes.

The 12 beat compás is solid and unchanging if you count it right through but it may confuse beginners who expect there to be accents always on 12, 3, 6, 8 and 10. For example, I like to accent the 7th beat instead of the 8th. There are also places where the compás seems to stretch over 24 beats or 2 standard compasses. This is where it get really hard to explain and why a good teacher is essential. What I mean by a good teacher is one who not only understands the compás structure but can break it down and analyze it in plain English for the student. The flexible nature of Bulerias is what makes it so dynamic. While the 12 beat compás MUST always be there in the background, it is allowed to hide for a while. The "standard" 12, 3, 6, 8 and 10 accents do not always have to be in your face. That's boring and unimaginative and just dilutes the dynamic possibilities of Bulerias.

Bulerias
(Song and dance form) The words barullo (noise) and burla (joke, jest) both apply to the character of Bulerias, but no one really knows how the name came about. It is believed to have evolved as a faster version of Alegrías in Jerez. Full of fun and frivolity, Bulerías is considered the ultimate expression for the skills of both dancer and guitarist.Although the compás is unvarying within its 12 beat structure, Bulerías is rhythmically very flexible, and open to sudden bursts of spontaneity and melodic variations. It occupies a central position in any dance or guitar repertoire and is usually reserved as the flashy final number in performances. Alegrías and Soleá will often build up in speed and change into a Bulerias to finish off. This is referred to as ending the dance por Bulerias. The words Buleria (singular) and Bulerias (plural) are commonly interchangable and mean exactly the same thing.

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