Make a traditional flamenco guitar Woman with guitar craftsmen's skill

" Flamenco " transmitted to the Andalusian region in the southern part of Spain is a performing art by singing and dancing, but " flamenco guitar " is indispensable for its performance. The flamenco guitar is lighter than a regular guitar, designed to match the fierce dance, the response of the sound is quick, the finish is shorter. Making this flamenco guitar Bloomberg has released a movie in close contact with the first female guitar craftsmen of Spain history.

How a Flamenco Guitar Is Made - YouTube


"I always make a guitar with my soul," says Maria Conde, who works as a guitar craftworker in Madrid, Spain.

The timber used for guitar was dried over 30 years and mostly Mr. Maria's grandfather purchased it.

First we will cut out the neck.

Then cut out the body of the guitar from the mold.

And carefully doing sandpapering ... ...

We will process the sound hole that echoes the sound of the guitar. Decorations to be applied around the sound hole are called rosettes (roses).

Wood wrapped according to the design. Maria says that rosette production is particularly difficult even in the guitar production process.

Rosette cut evenly ... ...

Lay them side by side around the sound hole, fix them.

Once the file has been sanded many times and fixed, attach it to the molded neck and fix it.

As fixing the parts greatly affects the quality of the guitar, it is said to apply moderate pressure with a special clip.

Next, it starts on the side of the body. I will slowly bend while pressing the cedar board softened with water for several hours while pressing it against the iron.

Taking the time to prepare one board into a guitar shape.

After arranging the board on the side into a guitar shape, put a brand name of "F" which is the initial of Maria's workshop " Felipe Conde ".

Maria's workshop is a historical guitar workshop launched by Maria's grandfather's uncle in 1915.

As of 2018, Maria's father, Maria, and two artisans are turning the studio.

Next, I fix the side with the historic burn mark on the body.

This adhesion affects the sound, so you must do it firmly.

Once the body is bonded, attach the finger board. The material is ebony from Africa.

And I will insert a fret to decide the pitch. If this fret deviates even 1 mm, the pitch becomes messed up, and once it is plugged in, adjustment can not be done, so careful work is required.

Next, polish the whole guitar with varnish ... ...

Paste the label indicating the workshop and the producer inside the body.

Pegs for winding strings ......

After attaching the nut supporting the string, the guitar is nearly completed.

Finally, Maria himself adjusts the guitar. It may take a day to adjust the string tension. "No matter how much you adjust it is not perfect because the completeness of the guitar depends on the performer."

Made by Felipe Conde, Maria handcrafted traditional flamenco guitar is a price range of $ 8,100 (about 910,000 yen) to $ 11,000 (about 1,200,000 yen).

"Flamenco music is a thing that can be played from the heart of mind, it can be said that it is my home to himself", Mr. Maria said.