Chord & FretFlamenco · Guitar
Sevillanas rasgueado (3/4)
Sound summary
Flamenco is played with a rasgueado — 3/4, straight (even subdivisions) — for the guitar: the rasgueado (R) leads — the fingers sweep the chord in a roll. In practice it sounds: A↓ — AR A↑ AR A↑.
How to count it
In 3/4, each bar has 3 beats, counted in eighth-notes (two per beat). Count out loud: 1 e, 2 e, 3 e. Tap your foot on the strong beat and read the grid above: each cell is one subdivision.
The rhythm grid
A = chord · ↓ down-stroke · ↑ up-stroke · R = rasgueado (finger roll) · — = rest
The ↓/↑ direction follows the bowed-string arcada convention (ᴨ down, V up; Ribeiro 2017).
How to play it
Right hand
The signature stroke is the rasgueado (R): roll the fingers in a fast downward fan — pinky, ring, middle, index — each finger a separate attack, one just after the next, landing on the beat. Don’t stop the arm on the rests — it keeps moving in the air, it just doesn’t touch the strings.
Left hand
Keep the chord well pressed through the whole pattern — the left hand rules pitch, the right rules the bar. Only release the shape at the end of the bar, moving the hand ahead to the next one.
Example in E
Grab an E and play the full strum over it: each stroke is the same chord. To carry it into any song, change only the shape in the left hand — the right hand’s rhythm doesn’t change. Listen below.
Common mistakes
- Up-strokes as hard as down-strokes. The up-stroke (↑) is lighter and catches only the treble strings — equal force thickens and drags it.
- Running the subdivisions. The faster the pattern, the easier to push ahead — lock the tempo on the metronome before speeding up.
- Freezing the arm on a rest. It should keep going in the air, off the strings, and land on the next hit — the continuous motion is what holds the time.
Guided practice
- Open the fan slowly. Play just the rasgueado (R), feeling each finger fire in sequence.
- Set the roll in place. Play the rasgueado on its beat and complete the bar with the plain strokes.
- Close with the metronome. Go slow first and raise the BPM only once the pattern comes out clean.
You’ve got the theory; now the time has to enter the body. Play along with the audio, follow the count and raise the metronome bit by bit until the roll lands cleanly on the beat — Chord & Fret runs that drill with an adjustable tempo.
Practice in Chord & Fret →Variations & related patterns
With the strum steady, take it to actual Flamenco progressions: rhythm, chord changes and voice-leading in one exercise. That’s the Progressions by Rhythm feature in Chord & Fret.
Apply to progressions →Understanding the groove is the first step; the full practice — repetition, metronome, audio, progressions and review — happens in Chord & Fret. There this pattern stays saved in your study, to revisit later, play offline and track your progress.
Start training →