Flamenco guitar

A flamenco guitar is a guitar similar to a classical guitar. Flamenco guitar also refers to toque, the guitar-playing part of the art of Flamenco.

Brief history

The luthiers of Andalusia made instruments in a wide range of prices, largely based on the materials used, and the amount of decoration. The cheapest guitars were often simple, basic instruments made from the less expensive local woods such as cypress, rather than imported rosewood. Antonio de Torres, one of the most renowned luthiers, did not differentiate between flamenco and classical guitars.: Only later, after Andres Segovia and others popularized classical guitar music, did this distinction emerge. (See José L. Romanillos "Antonio De Torres: Guitar Maker-His Life and Work" (1987, 1997).

Construction

The traditional flamenco guitar is made of Spanish cypress, sycamore, or rosewood for the back and sides, and spruce for the top. This (in the case of cypress and sycamore) accounts for its characteristic body color. Flamenco guitars are built lighter in weight than classical guitars, which produces a “brighter” and more percussive sound quality. Builders achieve the lighter weight by reducing the amount of internal bracing and the thickness of body and top construction. The top is typically made of either spruce or cedar, though other tone woods are used today. Volume has traditionally been very important for flamenco guitarists, as they must be heard over the sound of the dancers’ nailed...
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