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Rumba Technique Variations PDF

There are many variations of the basic rumba technique in flamenco guitar. The golpe is a fundamental technique where the fingerpad is struck against the soundboard. It produces strong accents when combined with downstrums of the thumb. Over time, heavy use of the golpe can damage the guitar. Guitarists sometimes apply a thin plastic protector called a golpeador. The most common rumba variation alternates the golpe with strumming and fingerpicking patterns. A percussive style mutes the strings between chords. Finally, a melodic one note rumba focuses on single notes played with variations of the thumb and fingers.

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Raaghav Singhania
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617 views6 pages

Rumba Technique Variations PDF

There are many variations of the basic rumba technique in flamenco guitar. The golpe is a fundamental technique where the fingerpad is struck against the soundboard. It produces strong accents when combined with downstrums of the thumb. Over time, heavy use of the golpe can damage the guitar. Guitarists sometimes apply a thin plastic protector called a golpeador. The most common rumba variation alternates the golpe with strumming and fingerpicking patterns. A percussive style mutes the strings between chords. Finally, a melodic one note rumba focuses on single notes played with variations of the thumb and fingers.

Uploaded by

Raaghav Singhania
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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8.

Rumba Technique Variations


____________________________________________________________________________________

There are many different ways to play rumba and the variations presented in this chapter are
used to enhance any rumba accompaniment, making them richer and more colourful.

There is one basic technique required to be able to perform many of these variations. It is called
the golpe.

8.1. Golpe
Golpe (a Spanish word meaning “to strike”) is a technique of striking the soundboard of the guitar
body below the strings with the ring (a) finger. The best way to do this is to have some nail on
the ring finger (but not too long, since a nail which is too long can easily break). Performing this
technique without some nail is not desired because it can produce a weak sound. The symbol in
this book for the golpe movement is:

Xg
X stands for hit, g for golpe.

The traditional notation looks like this:

Golpe and the thumb: To produce a strong accent the best practice is to strum down with the
thumb and hit a golpe with the ring (a) finger at the same time. This movement is similar to
catching or grabbing something with these two fingers. The symbol for this movement is:

Xg (p)
X stands for hit, g for golpe, and (p) for the thumb. This signifies that the hit consists of using the
golpe and thumb at the same time.

Warning: protect the guitar! If this technique is used a lot, the guitar can become damaged after
a period of time. It can even result in holes forming in the wood of the guitar body. To avoid this
problem some people use a guitar protector called a Golpeador.
A Golpeador is a thin piece of white or transparent plastic that people glue to the soundboard of
the guitar near the strings to protect the instrument from being damaged or scratched. It can be
glued both to the upper soundboard and/or the lower soundboard, but some guitarists only use
it for the lower part of the soundboard. Luckily, there are many golpeadors available
commercially for a reasonable price.
8.2. The Most Common Rumba Technique
This technique is the most common variation used by guitarists. It gained international
popularity in the 1980s thanks to the French band The Gipsy Kings, who are still active
performers today.

The sequence: golpe, down (all fingers), up (p), hit, up (all fingers or i finger), down (all fingers
or i finger), and up (p).

Xg (p)↑all↓p X↓i↑i↓p
In this pattern there is an accent on the golpe, so it takes twice the amount of time as each of the
other movements. The rhythm is written as follows:

Tips:
• Practice slowly and do not attempt to go fast until you are performing the movements
with confidence. Once you are confident, it is great to combine this technique with other
variations such as the flamenco triplet or the basic rumba.
• Try to practice with a metronome. Set it up to a slow speed first and only speed up when
you feel that you can keep up with a more rapid rhythm.
• Before starting this exercise, it is very important to warm up the wrist and keep it relaxed
while playing. Otherwise, it is difficult to go fast. Please go to Chapter 7 to follow a warm-
up exercise routine for your wrist.
Exercise 8.2.1. Most common rumba chord progression
This chord progression is repeated from Chapter 7, but the right hand technique and the rhythm
are different.
□ in the following chart stands for the golpe hits.

TAB 8.2.1. Most common rumba chord progression


8.3. Percussive Rumba
In this variation, the sequence is the same as the last technique: golpe, down (all fingers), up (p),
hit, up (all fingers or i finger), down (all fingers or I finger), and up (p). But, the difference is with
the left hand fingering technique. As the chords are played, several instances of muting are added
to make the sound especially percussive. To create the muting, the chord is released just after
strumming it, but the fingers remain lightly touching the strings. Again, the right hand strumming
pattern is:

Xg (p)↑all↓p X↓i↑i↓p
And again the rhythm is:

Exercises:
The exercise and strumming patterns are exactly the same as with the most common rumba
technique (exercise 8.1.1.). The only difference is that the muting’s are incorporated into the right
hand technique.

8.4. One Note Rumba


The sequence: One note down (p finger), down (all fingers), up (p finger), hit, up (i finger), down
(i finger), and up (i finger). This variation is similar to the previous versions except that the first
movement is not as percussive. Additionally, the last sequence is played with the index finger not
with the thumb. When the index finger is used, do not plant the thumb on the low E string (as is
customary with some other flamenco techniques).

↑p (one)↑all↓p X↓i↑i↓i
The traditional notation looks like this:

After performing the first movement with the p finger, the thumb ends up resting on the next
string. This technique is called pulgar. It is a softer way to play rumba, but it can sound amazing
and can be a more melodic way to accompany somebody. It is often used in or written into a solo
guitar piece (by adding bass or melody lines).
Exercise 8.4.1. One note rumba exercise
The last bar of the TAB can be played either with the i finger or all the fingers.
TAB 8.4.1. One note rumba

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