Although many variations are possible, the most basic form of the Tientos is as follows (including a full performance of guitarist, singer and dancer):

1. Guitar introduction: The guitarist sets the basic tempo and key

2. Temple: the singer sings fragments – estribillos – (le le, la, etc.) to establish the
key, pulse and mood of the piece.

3. The dancer’s llamada – call/cue – the guitarist performs double time here. The dancer generally performs footwork.

4. Letra - 1st verse – the singer sings the first verse, and the dancer interprets this
impressionistically and rhythmically. After the 1st line of the song, the singer may take a 1 or 2 compás break – the respira – and the dancer usually inserts footwork here.

5. Guitar falseta – a short melodic phrase that the dancer interprets lyrically.

6. Escobilla – the dancer’s 1st prolonged footwork section. This ends with a
llamada to call in the 2nd verse.

7. Letra - 2nd verse – Similar or identical to the 1st verse.

8. 2nd escobilla – the dancer’s final long footwork section.

9. The macho – it is common for a flamenco song to end in a faster song/rhythm, and it is usually the Tangos for Tientos. The most traditional Tangos lyrics performed here are the song, "Triana."

Depending on how you choose to think about it, the compás of Tientos can seem deceptively simple or deceptively complex. Both views are correct.

Viewed simply, tientos is a simple four-count rhythm with an added beat on the 'and' count of the second beat.

Viewed slightly less simply, each beat is broken into triplets, and that added beat after beat two is on the "a" of the triplet .

Viewed with more complexity, the "a" of beat one is added and beat three is left silent, but the "a" after beat three is added.

The standard palmas for both Tientos and Tangos are:

As with most flameno forms, the dancer's role is to interpret the underlying feel and rhythm of the Tientos as expressed by the singer and the guitarist. However, the presence of a dancer brings some important additions to the overall structure and pulse of the Tientos.

The first of these is in the dancer's llamada, which the dancer, guitarist and palmista perform at double time in relation to the slow introduction and letras. This moment is marked by fast footwork that ends abruptly on the first beat of a bar (on count 1). The guitarist resumes at the original tempo before the singer begins the first letra. Listen to the example below:

EX

During the first letra, the singer will take a break - a respira - between the first and second lines of the letra. The dancer will often insert double time footwork here. This is referred to as a remate for the dancer (thus, a one or two compás respite from singing where a short, quick burst of footwork is added before the singer resumes). Listen to the example below:

Please see the FORM description above for a break down of the traditional dance structure.

Al Baile

Al Toque

Al Cante