Spanish and Latin American music often uses a rhythmic pattern which is know as the Spanish hemiola because the rhythm of the bars alternate between the time signatures of three-four and six-eight. Siguiryas uses that alternation, but the pattern starts mid-bar.
There are various systems used for counting. One system is to count it with its five accents thus: 1 & 2 & 3 & a 4 & a 5 &.
8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7.
Alain Faucher has just published a book with 100 Siguiriya falsetas transcribed for the guitar, as part of his Calle de Flamenco series (Editions Affedis).
These siguiriya falsetas are taken from recordings by Paco de Lucía with Camaron de la Isla, Vicente Amigo with El Pelé, Enrique de Melchor with José Mercé, Moraíto with with Carmen Linares,…the list is long and impressive.
Watch some of flamenco’s finest performers, the dancers Antonio Gades and Cristina Hoyos dance a siguiriya with El Lebrijano singing and Emilio de Diego accompanying on the guitar. The film clip dates from 1970 and has Cristina Hoyos dancing in a white bata de cola (flamenco dress with a frilled train) and playing the castanets.