''Tarantas'' and ''Taranto'' are two related styles ('' palos'') of

Flamenco Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and ...

music, that originated in the ''

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...

n'' province of

Almería Almería (, , ) is a city and municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of the same name. It lies on southeastern Iberia on the Mediterranean Sea. Caliph Abd al-Rahman III founded the city in 955. The city gr ...

. Each is characterized by a shared

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(F-sharp Phrygian) and harmonic progression (Bm–A7–G–F-sharp), but differ significantly with respect to rhythm and meter. ''Tarantas'' is a cante libre (or toque libre, if played as a solo), meaning that it lacks both a regular rhythmic pattern ( ''compás'', in flamenco terminology) and a regular rhythmic unit (or

beat Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery (c ...

). It can be sung or played, but not danced. ''Taranto'', conversely, has a regular 2/4-meter, and is danceable. When played on, or accompanied by, the

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

, both ''palos'' have a unique and characteristic sound that is created, in part, by dissonances that result from the use of the guitar's first three open strings (E, B, and G, respectively), in combination with harmonies and melodies based on the F-sharp Phrygian mode.

References

{{Music of Spain Flamenco styles