A listening guide
Flamenco styles, explained
What a palo is, how the slow, solemn forms differ from the fast, festive ones, and what to listen for in a show at the Museo del Baile Flamenco.
Book your flamenco night ↗What a palo is
A palo is one of the traditional forms of flamenco, a bit like a genre. Wikipedia explains that each palo is identified by a mix of features: its rhythmic pattern, its mode, characteristic motifs, the type of verse and its place of origin. The classification isn't rigid. For example, a song counts as bulerías purely on its rhythm. Some palos hold dozens of traditional songs, while a few hold only one. When the museum says a show may include a seguiriya, a taranto or tangos, it is naming palos.
Deep song and festive song
Soleares and seguiriyas are strongly tied to Romani music culture, and because of their solemn character they are sometimes called cante jondo, or deep song. Seville's tourism office uses the same term for flamenco as a whole. In contrast, tangos and bulerías are fast and festive. A good rule for first-timers, who often can't yet tell one palo from another, is to notice the mood: if a number feels heavy and slow, you are probably hearing the deep end, and if it makes you want to clap, you are at the other.
Soleá and seguiriya
Both are central to the cante jondo. The soleá belongs to a family of palos that all use a twelve-beat cycle, known as the compás, that many other forms share. The seguiriya is the solemn one, and the museum itself describes it that way. If your show includes one, expect a heavier mood than the lively numbers around it.
Tangos
Flamenco tangos are a lively form in binary or quadruple metre, and they are a separate Andalusian palo, not Argentine tango. Wikipedia notes that the Instituto Andaluz del Flamenco places their early development between Cádiz and Seville. The museum calls its tangos sensual. Tangos are closely related to tientos, which use the same basic compás at a slower tempo. They are among the basic styles of flamenco, and their simple two or four beat metre makes them a good one to start with.
Bulerías
Bulerías is a fast rhythm built on a twelve-beat cycle. It began among Romani communities in Jerez in the 19th century, originally as an upbeat way of ending a soleá, and it is among the most popular and dramatic palos. It is normally played at around 195 to 240 beats per minute. Wikipedia says it often ends a flamenco gathering. The museum lists a soleá por bulerías, a slow form that speeds into bulerías.
Putting it together at the show
You don't need to name every palo to enjoy one. Pay attention to the mood first: heavy and slow, or quick and bright. Then follow the rhythm, which the clapping and the guitar make clear. UNESCO describes the voice, the dance and the guitar as three arts fused into one, with handclaps and foot-stamping adding to the rhythm. When the cast changes the next day, so does the programme, which is why the same museum can offer a very different evening on a second visit.
Sevillanas and the taranto
Sevillanas are the folk music and dance of Seville and its region, and they are danced at fairs, including the April Fair. People who intend to dance flamenco usually learn them first. The taranto is something else: it belongs to the fandango family of forms, and the museum describes it as tragic. You may not see either at a given show, since the cast decides the programme each day, but knowing the names helps.
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