Flamenco Graf-Martinez
Flamenco Graf-Martinez
2020
4 days: Thursday to Sunday.
Unfortunately, the course had to be cancelled at short notice due to the Corona pandemic.
2019
Review
In Clase
After 25 years, it was great fun to be a lecturer again at the Schorndorf Guitar Days*). No more participants would have fit into the course room. There were very pleasant participants from all over Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Founded by me in 1990.
My classes at Villa Arnold (VHS).
Fotos: Lela de Fuenteprado
The final concert of the course participants. Unfortunately, more than half of my students had already left on the last evening.
Photos: Martin Minner
Selfies with the lecturers: Gretchen Menn, Stuart Hamm, Wolfi Schmid.
2018
Review
This year's theme was the Soleá and Soleá por Bulerías. The first lessons were about the different styles of Soleá, the rhythm (Compás), the Palmas (hand clapping), as well as the forms. In the following days, the vocal accompaniment was explained and practiced with the help of note animations. In addition, a 16-page soleá was rehearsed.
On Friday we went again for the obligatory visit to the Tablao Cortijo in Stuttgart.
Some participants are already the fourth, fifth, sixth time.
Participants' comments:
The days in Schorndorf were again very inspiring and interesting! Many thanks again! I learned a lot again!
H.W. (Chiemsee)
Thank you very much for the workshop. If you - like me - have only learned flamenco from books, it is sometimes not easy to find out what is important in the sense of irrevocable and what can be improvised. During the days in Schorndorf I started to get a feeling for it.
A.B. (Starnberg)
A beautiful course 2018!
R. from Dortmund
Lots of fun, inspiration and enrichment! Thank you!
N. from Heilbronn
Muchas gracias Gerhard y Lela.
T. from Esslingen
Thanks for the inspiration and the great tips!
J. from Fulda
2017
Review
This year's theme was the Alegría. The first lessons were about the origin of the Alegrías / Cantiñas, the rhythm (Compás), the Palmas (hand clapping), as well as the structure. In the following days, vocal accompaniment (when does the tiritritan begin, on which count does the first tercio begin)? What is the desplante, the escobilla, the cambio, the bulería de caí, etc.? And - of course, beautiful falsetas and chord progressions.
The "who-wants-who-must" concert took place this year at Coco (CaféBar). In a familiar round we experienced again top-class guitar- , nay- and oud-music. We even spontaneously formed a band - the "Tarara Band".
On Friday we were again for the obligatory visit in Stuttgart Tablao Cortijo, with a super group. At a late hour, even our little Ida, who was kind enough to participate in the "Tablao Libre" alongside other students from the Lela Flamenco Studio (thanks also to Sabine and Angelika), was brought on stage.
Participant Comments:
Thank you very much for the course. It was a great pleasure for me.
Grand grand merci pour le cours!
Bernard from Brussels (Belgium)
The Workshpo 2017 has shown me what still needs to be done - thank you.
Richard from Wiesbaden
Like every year a great time
Rainer from Pforzheim
Was again nice with you!
Rainer from Dortmund
It was nice, next year will be nice.
Manfred from Augsburg
Pure joy! Thank you!
Rose from Bielefeld
I have found the connection again. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Alex from Wiesbaden
Very nice flamencotage!
Steffen from Chemnitz
Thanks for everything. Nice greetings from Bosnia.
Edis Bahtijari from Novi Grad (Bosnia)
2016
Once again, it was a beautiful day with very, very pleasant participants from all over Germany, as well as Austria and Switzerland. The participants from Kiel and Brione/Lago Maggiore probably had the longest journey. This year's theme was the Bulerías. New this year was the big screen on which the compás, palmas and chord change exercises could be followed very well by means of animations. The "who-wants-who-can" concert was also a novelty this year. In a famliar round we experienced hockarätige guitar, Nay and Oud music. On Saturday we went to the obligatory visit to the Tablao Cortijo in Stuttgart, where live flamenco has been offered daily for almost 35 years.
Participants' comments:
Dear Gerhard, thank you very much for these great flamenco days. We enjoyed it and profited a lot, and we met many valuable and interesting people.
Monika from Bern (CH)
Me ha gustado mucho.
Ingo from Zwickau
The best Flamenco with Graf-Martinez & Company.
Bruno from Brione, Lago Maggiore (Italy)
De nuevo, era un evento maravilloso. Gracias a Lela y Gerhard de solidaridad.
Alex from Wiesbaden
Era un gran curso. Hoy tengo una ida de la Bulería - Gracias
Richard from Wiesbaden
... and at the end my blinker grooved in the Compás .
Kuno from Limburg
Was absolutely great!
Ben from Schwäb. Gmünd
A great inspiring time. Thank you. Attention: Flamenco can be addictive. About any side effects ask ... bla bla.
Herbert from Tyrol
It doesn't always have to be Jeréz - so Bulería is also fun in Schorndorf! Muchas gracias.
Jörn from Munich
2015
Review
3-day flamenco guitar course in Schorndorf 2015
It was again very nice days with pleasant participants from all over the country. This year's theme was the Taranto. But also some theory was treated, the Bulerías and Alegrías, which were besides Fandanguillos and Tangos also the topic in Tablao Libre. During the lunch break and in the evening we talked shop in a relaxed atmosphere and on Saturday we paid the obligatory visit to the Tablao Cortijo in Stuttgart, which has been offering live flamenco every day for almost 30 years.
Here are a few comments from the participants:
Schorndorf can be the navel of the world ... Lived passion!
Thank you Lela + Gehard. Full of respect and grateful
(M. + W from Hannover)
Many heartfelt thanks! The flamenco course was a very nice inspiration. Best regards and see you soon again.
(N. from Backnang)
Dear Lela, dear Gerhard. You have opened a door to a wonderful new world for me. Thank you very much.
(R. from Wiesbaden)
Great Taranto and a lot of info. Thank you.
(T. from Stuttgart)
Para Lela y Gerhard. Sin el Flamenco todo es nada. Muchas gracias
(A. from Wiesbaden)
2014
Review
4-day flamenco guitar course in Schorndorf 2014
Despite the football World Cup, enough participants have registered, so that the course could take place. For my part, the course was very pleasant, completely stress-free with a pleasant, cool atmosphere. The participants were also very satisfied:
F.G. from Cologne:
The course was very stimulating and motivating for me to continue on the long road to the realization that this music still has a lot of potential in it, and of course in four days you can only see the tip of the iceberg .... I would like to thank Lela once again for her work with her students at Tablao Libre, it was an unforgettable experience for me and also for my wife.
T.K. from Munich:
I got to know Schorndorf for the first time and felt very comfortable there. Also in the Pension Moritz the atmosphere was very pleasant. The evening at the Cortijo was the highlight for me. I took away a lot of ideas from the course and I am happy that I have now found access to the Siguiriya as well as the Guajira. It was also very exciting to get to know the danced sequences, of which I had no idea before.
R.H. from Dortmund:
First of all, many thanks for the workshop, which was very instructive and sympathetically presented for me as a "classical guitarist". After my trip home, I first got your textbooks, which I will work through soon, in order to get a more complete overview of the clear differences to the classical guitar. My students interested in flamenco guitar should also benefit enormously from this.
2013
Review
Flamenco vacation in Andalusia
Lanjarón
At the end of August guitarists from Austria and Germany flew to Andalusia for Gerhard Graf-Martinez' flamenco course. The meeting point was Frankfurt, from there they went to Málaga and then by minibus to the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, the Alpujarra, to Lanjarón, where the most famous mineral water in Spain comes from. There the group was accommodated in a beautiful hotel, where also the lessons took place. Even at breakfast, we course participants enjoyed sitting together to discuss flamenco music.
Classes
Lessons were held in the Sala de Conferencía, which was available to us throughout the day. Here, during the morning lesson in the conference room from 10 am to 12:30 pm, we struggled together and individually on the special techniques of the flamenco guitar, under the always very helpful guidance of Gerhard Graf-Martinez, who does the teaching with great passion. In detail and with infinite patience he shows what makes a palo, how the special flamenco tone can be achieved on the guitar and plays himself again and again for clarification. No question remains unanswered. The previous knowledge on the instrument and also in the Flamenco were somewhat different. We were really a motley bunch. Everyone struggled in a different place and in turn practiced together with the others in equal measure, which added up to endless fun.
In the evenings, the maestro's wife, Lela de Fuenteprado rounded off with half an hour of rhythm, each appropriate to the topic previously covered. Sometimes we practiced Palmas to the Bulerías, sometimes to the Sevillanas or to the Guajiras. We found it especially exciting to have to use the foot as well, as Gerhard had already instructed us to do when playing the guitar, and finally we even learned the first steps for the Sevillanas. On another day we practiced a simple Paseo in 12. So we actually came, piece by piece, a little bit closer to our ambitious goal "Understanding Flamenco - Playing Flamenco" every day.
Bis zum Abend war dann nur noch recht wenig Zeit, denn schon bald fanden wir uns wieder zum gemeinsamen Abendessen ein. Die Speisekarte mit den Menü-Vorschlägen war jeden Abend erneut eine Überraschung. Die kunstvoll und blumig formulierten spanischen Speisenamen bedeuteten eine Extraübung für unser mittelmäßig-bis-gar-kein Spanisch. Angenehme Überraschungen bei den servierten köstlichen Speisen waren die Folge: Atún a la plancha (Tunfisch), merluzza (Seehecht),Kulinarisches oder trucha (Forelle), leckere Gemüse und phantastische Süßspeisen zum Nachtisch. Allabendlich ein Menü vom Feinsten, das wir bei spanischem Bier oder Vino des Hauses mit anregenden Gesprächen über Musik, unsere Instrumente, oder auch Erzählungen aus unserem Leben würzten. Bis wir ziemlich ausgepowert vom Lernen, vom stets leichten Bergwind und der üppig scheinenden andalusischen Sonne ins Bett fielen.
Granada
One day we went by bus to Granada, 30 km away, to visit the Alhambra, the important city castle and one of the most beautiful examples of the Moorish style of Islamic art is considered. Through the profound knowledge of the Spanish guide, this architectural splendor appeared in a completely new light for some who already knew it, as well as the Muslim faith of the time. In the afternoon, Graf-Martinez took us to the old workshop of his long-time friend, the guitarrero (guitar maker) Manuel Bellido, which is now run by his son Jesús Bellido. Besides admiring the high-quality, handmade instruments, they learned a lot about the traditional art of guitar making in Andalusia. The day was rounded off with a visit to a flamenco concert in the old town of Granada, in a cultural center run by artists.
Guitars
Friday there was still time to visit the well-known guitar maker couple René Baarslag and Ana Espínosa in their beautifully located house. After a long walk, first through the long village and then with a strong climb up to the guitar maker residence, René and Ana welcomed us with delicious tapas and refreshing drinks. Since René speaks German, participants were able to talk directly with him about his beautiful instruments.
Final eveningOn Saturday evening there was a small, intimate farewell concert in the Salón Música, which was interrupted with a shared dinner and continued later, in one of the secluded rooms of one of the participants. All guitarists, without exception, were totally enthusiastic about the trip, the guitar course, and the brilliant idea of combining the two, and will definitely be back next year.
Farewell
On Sunday we went again with our minibus to Málaga Aeropuerto. Fortunately, we were all allowed to take our guitars as hand luggage on the plane, just like on the outbound flight (thank you Lufthansa). In Frankfurt we had to say goodbye quickly, because everyone had to continue his or her journey. Everyone agreed - see you next year.
Lessons
Site Owner
Gerhard Graf-Martinez
Theodor-Baeuerle-Weg 9
73660 Urbach
Fon +49 (0)7181 480 90 25
Imprint | Privacy policy
© Copyright 1995 - 2022 · Gerhard Graf-Martinez
