Flamenco guitar

Traditionally, luthiers made guitars to sell at a wide range of prices, largely based on the materials used and the number of decorations, to cater to the popularity of the instrument across all classes of people in Spain.

[4] The traditional flamenco guitar is made of Spanish cypress, sycamore, or rosewood for the back and sides, and spruce for the top.

A typical cypress flamenco guitar produces more treble and louder percussion than the more sonorous negra.

Classical guitars are generally made with spruce or cedar tops and rosewood or mahogany backs and sides to enhance sustain.

Flamenco guitars are generally made with spruce tops and cypress or sycamore for the backs and sides to enhance volume and emphasize the attack of the note.

Some jazz and Latin guitarists like this punchy tonality, and some players have even discovered that these guitars’ wide-ranging sound also works well for the contrapuntal voicings of Renaissance and Baroque music.

Flamenco is commonly played using a cejilla (capo) which raises the pitch and causes the guitar to sound sharper and more percussive.

However, the main purpose in using a cejilla is to change the key of the guitar to match the singer's vocal range.

Because Flamenco is an improvisational musical form that uses common structures and chord sequences, the capo makes it easier for players who have never played together before to do so.

Flamenco uses many highly modified and open chord forms to create a solid drone effect and leave at least one finger free to add melodic notes and movement.