My first guitar lessons in Jerez
Jerezflamenco.com will be a place for guitar lesson reviews, personal opinions and commentary on flamenco guitar teachers, and general information on guitar teachers in Spain.
So what better place to start than my own personal review of learning flamenco guitar in Jerez de la Frontera. It was a hot scorching summers midday in September that my bus pulled up to the terminal in Jerez. In the 42 degree heat, over a number of days, I approached locals and any tourists I could find to get some information on finding a flamenco guitar teacher.
I soon came across Escuela de Guitarra, Manuel ¨El Carbonero¨, one of the most well known teachers in Jerez. He´s a master of flamenco in his own right, and has a bunch of photos on the walls of the practice room to prove it. He doesn´t speak a word of English, and I a word of Spanish, but between his shouting in Spanish loud enough, and his continual pressing of my already raw fingers against the strings hard enough (when I play too softly) the lessons seem to flow. In a week I covered a full Tientos, and the compas and some falsetas of a Bulerias. My practice room is a chair in an old Spanish courtyard that has acoustics like a theatre, unlike anything I expected.
In fact El Carbonero is anything but a traditional teacher. His classroom has anywhere between 5 and 10 students at a time, and he works with each one individually, workshop style, until they are able to replicate almost exactly the ‘block’ of guitar playing that he had just shown everyone. This method, learning block by block, allows you to digest each falseta and compas without confusion, and ensures that you learn it properly before moving to the next ‘block’. It was tremendous in helping me learn both accurately and quickly.El Carbonero is also one of the cheapest flamenco guitar teachers I found. In fact the cost for guitar lessons (2 hours a day, one in the morning one in the evening), as well as a (very) basic room close to the center of the city (25 euro a night), adding food and living expenses, came to no more than 450 euro a week. Amazing.
Overall, I’d highly recommend El Carbonero for people seeking a relaxed approach to learning a great deal of flamenco. His teaching method and classroom setup allows you time to practice technique and get his feedback all in the one lesson, which in my opinion is a great way of solidifying what you’ve just learnt immediately. El Carbonero would also be great for people seeking lessons with a timeframe of 1 to 2 weeks.
I’d love to hear about experiences others have had with El Carbonero, or any other flamenco guitar teachers in Spain. In compiling reviews of guitar teachers in Spain, other individual’s opinions are essential. A great approach would be to discuss the teachers technique, cost and your overall opinion.
I also had lessons with El Carbonerro. A great teacher and a good laugh too - his practice workshops with local Jerez students are worthwhile, try to get in on one if you can.