''Martinetes'' (, sing. ''martinete'') are a

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 an ...

palo Palo may refer to: Places * Palo, Argentina, a village in Argentina * Palo, Estonia, village in Meremäe Parish, Võru County, Estonia * Palo, Huesca, municipality in the province of Huesca, Spain * Palo, Iowa, United States, a town located wi ...

'' belonging to the group of the '' tonás'' or ''

cantes a palo seco The Spanish term Cantes a palo seco refers to a category of flamenco palos (musical forms) traditionally sung a cappella or, in some cases, with some sort of percussion. The category comprises the following palos: * Tonás * Martinetes * Debla ...

''. As the rest of the songs in this group, it is sung with no accompaniment. In some dance shows for the stage, though, it is accompanied by percussion played with the

compás 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 ...

of siguiriya. The percussion instruments chosen for this are frequently a hammer and anvil, to evocate the origins of this ''palo'', attributed to Gypsy smiths. It is not probable, though, that they were real work songs: they demand too much effort and faculties to be sung while carrying out a heavy task like that of a smith. They were more probably sung in family gatherings. Although martinetes are often classified under the toná group on the grounds that they share its a cappella nature, the melody types differ strongly from the rest of tonás, so it is now generally considered to be a different ''palo''. A characteristic that differentiates them from the tonás, normally in major mode, is their modulating character, constantly going from major to

phrygian mode The Phrygian mode (pronounced ) can refer to three different musical modes: the ancient Greek ''tonos'' or ''harmonia,'' sometimes called Phrygian, formed on a particular set of octave species or scales; the Medieval Phrygian mode, and the moder ...

. The stanza of the martinete is the cuarteta romanceada: four eight-syllable lines, rhyming in assonance abcb. The subject matters often contain allusions to persecution, prison, and the environment of the forges. Carceleras are usually considered a subclassification of martinetes, with prison as the subject matter of their lyrics. The debla, a rather rare style, is considered by some flamenco fans as a type of martinete, while other consider it as a

on its own.

Sources

* Álvarez Caballero, Ángel: ''La discoteca ideal del flamenco'', Planeta, 1995 * Martin Salazar, Jorge: ''Los cantes flamencos'', Diputación Provincial de Granada * Rossy, Hipólito: ''Teoría del cante jondo'', Credsa, second edition, 1998 (first edition 1966) Flamenco styles Spanish music Andalusian music Vocal music Spanish folk music Spanish dances {{music-genre-stub