Without this exchange of musical ideas and the rich cultural influences also transmitted, music would rest compartmentalized. Tethered and bound to one location. One cultural heritage One Historical identity.If this were to be the case, music would not be exposed to a wider audience. Just the region of it's creation. St. Francis' words "Life is a book. If we don't travel, we only see one page" apply equally to Music.

This is especially true in the case of the Spanish Flamenco Guitar and it's music.To fully appreciate the evolution of this instrument, we must travel back in time to Cordoba, Spain. The essential date is 711. Just after the Islamic invasion. Accordingly, Cordoba had became a focal point for Islamic musicians.

The Spanish Flamenco Guitar had it's beginnings in Cordoba during that period. It originated as the Oud, to which a fifth string was added.The musical hybrid that resulted from this cross-pollination was the "Andalucian Nuba." Also known as the "Moorish Guitar."

The European Lute and the Guitar Latina were the next instruments to contribute their unique elements to the continuing developement of the Flamenco Guitar. Centuries later elements of the "Moorish Guitar" were combined with these two instruments. The result was the Vihuela.

In it's most developed form, the Vihuela had six double-strings (paired courses) made of gut. Vihuelas were tuned almost like a modern guitar, with the exception of the third string, which was tuned a semitone lower. Viheula bodies were usually made from cypress, with a spruce or cedar top.

After the creation of the Vihuela, there would be three more stages of evolution necessary to arrive at the Flamenco Guitar. The first descendant of the Vihuela was the Baroque Guitar.It became the precursor to the Classical Guitar. From which the Flamenco Guitar evolved.

Equally, if not more fascinating, is the History of Flamenco guitar music and it's original innovators. As difficult as it obviously is to say with concrete certainty who was most responsible for any style or movement, it is possible to have a general agreement on the people of significant importance.

Three of those people,each of whom created a legacy on which those to follow would build upon, were Ramon Montoya, Sabicas, and Nino Ricardo. Montoya, the son of gypsy cattle traders, was the first to perform solo on the Flamenco guitar. Thus elevating it from it's background role accompanying singers and dancers in cafes - to the concert stage.

"Sabicas" - noted for his amazing technique and flawless sense of rhythm, further refined and evolved Montoya's accomplishments. History also remembers Sabicas as the first guitarist of his genre to introduce genuine Flamenco Music Internationally.

The most sober note in that period's History was sounded with the untimely death from liver failure of Nino Ricardo. "Little" Ricardo, hailed as the foremost guitarist of his day, began his career composing and playing in the bars of his native Seville. Those long years, in those conditions, quite probably contributed to the illness that was to claim him at age 68. Nino's upwardly curving fingernails produced a truly individual tone that other guitarists, try as they did, were unable to duplicate.

So the next time you hear Flamenco Guitar, remember that it is the legacy of these "Flamenco Pioneers" that is the foundation on which today's Flamenco Guitar Music is built.