Flamenco · Guitar
Flamenco guitar rhythm: tangos flamencos
The flamenco guitar rhythm in 4/4: a rasgueado roll (R) marks the accents, the strum goes down (↓) and up (↑) and muted strokes (x) keep the groove. Beat by beat, one mark per eighth note, with · where there is no stroke: x↑ R↑ ↓↑ R↑ | x↑ R↑ R· ··. Play the audio here in your browser, set the tempo anywhere from 50 to 200 BPM and follow the grid, which marks every subdivision.
Sound summary
The Flamenco pattern is a rasgueado for the guitar, in 4/4 straight (even subdivisions): the fingers roll the chord in a fast fan (R), the rasgueado that defines the bar. In practice it sounds: x A↑ AR A↑ A↓ A↑ AR A↑ x A↑ AR A↑ AR — — —.
How to count it
In 4/4, each bar has 4 beats, counted in eighth-notes (two per beat). Count out loud: 1 e, 2 e, 3 e, 4 e. Foot on the beat, follow the grid above — each cell is one subdivision.
The rhythm grid
A = chord · ↓ down-stroke · ↑ up-stroke · x = muted · R = rasgueado (finger roll) · — = no stroke
The ↓/↑ direction follows the bowed-string arcada convention (ᴨ down, V up; Ribeiro 2017). The muted and ghost strokes follow Cantalice 2022.
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. The (x) hits are muted, the hand stopping the strings. On the rests the arm keeps going: it stays in motion in the air and lands again on the next hit.
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. For the (x), loosen the fingers without lifting off the strings — they go silent but stay put, ready to ring again.
Example in Am
With an Am held, let the same chord ring under every stroke — close your eyes and follow just the right hand’s rhythm. Then change only the left-hand shape to take it into any song.
Common mistakes
- Letting the (x) ring like a note. It is percussion, not chord — if you don’t mute, the groove loses the “chka” that drives it.
- Weighing down the up-stroke. The up (↑) should just graze the thin strings; matching the down-stroke’s force thickens it and drags the time.
- Rushing. Fast subdivisions are easy to run. Start slow with the metronome and only speed up once the pattern is clean.
- 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.
- Bring in the (x). Lay the hand on the strings on those hits so the percussive “chka” enters the groove.
- Take it up on the metronome. Start slow, keep the pattern clean, and add a few BPM at a time.
You already get the logic of the groove. Now put it in time: hear the pattern, follow the count and practice slowly until the roll lands cleanly on the beat. In Chord and Fret, the Metronome and the Rhythm Trainer help with that drill, free.
Practice in Chord and Fret →Variations & related patterns
Once the strum is steady, play the same pattern over Flamenco progressions: rhythm and chord changes in one exercise. In Chord and Fret, Progressions by Rhythm plays progressions from many styles, with diagrams and audio, free.
Train with progressions →