Seguiriya

Seguiriya (plural: seguiriyas; also spelled siguiriya) is a form of flamenco music belonging to the cante jondo category. Its deep, expressive style is among the most important in flamenco. Seguiriyas are normally played in the key of A Phrygian with each measure (or compás) consisting of 12 counts with emphasis on the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 8th and 11th beats as shown here:


 * [1] 2 [3] 4 [5] 6 7 [8] 9 10 [11] 12

This rhythm can be contrasted to the rhythmic pattern of the soleá, which also has 12 beats, but the accents fall differently. Taking the unusual accenting into account, it can technically be seen as a measure of 3/4 (counted in eight notes) starting on "2", then a measure of 6/8 followed by the "1 and" of the 3/4. It should be noted that every note is evenly spaced apart. For example:


 * [2] and [3] and [1] 2 3 [4] 5 6 [1] and

However, this presents difficulties in counting and is counted more simply in 5 beats, with three "short" and two "long" beats:


 * [1] and [2] and [3] and uh [4] and uh [5] and

In this case, the 1, 2, and 5 are the short beats and the 3 and 4 are long beats.