Chord & FretFlamenco · Guitar
Soleá rasgueado
Sound summary
For the guitar, Flamenco uses a rasgueado, in 12/4 straight (even subdivisions): the chord comes out as a rasgueado (R) — the fingers open in a fan, one after another. To the ear: — — AR — — AR — AR — AR — AR.
How to count it
The meter is 12/4: 12 beats per bar, counted in one strum per beat. Count out loud: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12. Foot on the beat, follow the grid above — each cell is one beat.
The rhythm grid
A = chord · R = rasgueado (finger roll) · — = rest
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
The left hand gives the harmony: hold the whole shape clean from start to finish, leaving the right hand to the rhythm. Make the change on the last beat, the hand already heading to the next chord.
Example in Am
Grab an Am 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
- Stopping the arm on the rests. The hand never stops — it keeps swinging in the air and only touches the strings on the next hit. That’s what holds the time.
Guided practice
- The roll, slowly. Practice the rasgueado (R) on its own: feel each finger open the fan, one at a time.
- Set the roll in place. Play the rasgueado on its beat and complete the bar with the plain strokes.
- Take it up on the metronome. Start slow, keep the pattern clean, and add a few BPM at a time.
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.
Train with the metronome →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.
See the genre’s 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.
Continue in Chord & Fret →