In the Romantic era Spain, and Andalusia in particular, like a magnet, attracted artists, writers and innovators from near and far. Spain projected an exotic, authentic image, and this, with its long, rich history, was exactly what many Westerners were looking for in an epoch when the Orient and its flavours were the fashion of the day.

Andalusia was the Orient within the West. The prevailing Western society, bored with the stagnation of the times, reached across its borders to the foreign in order to embrace a return to the past in which people saw different ways of life and refreshing attitudes formerly considered vulgar, thus considerably widening their experience and ideas. This digging into roots far and wide also helped to assert inchoate nationalisms. Another side effect of all this was a vision confounded by stereotypes, a confusion that has come down to the present day in which, for example, the Gypsy is confused with the Andalusian, and Flamenco with folklore.

In the Classical Music world there are and have been many composers who, enchanted by the rich Andalusian folklore, have, in their musical writings and compositions, attempted to explain and imitate for musical posterity (both Spanish and international) just what Flamenco is about, but they do not come close to grasping Flamenco's essence or form.

These composers' opinions on Flamenco have been used by many Flamencologists, but unfortunately none of them has done any serious study of analysis and research as they view the material sideways, as it were, allowing it to remain wrapped in the folklore "paper", thus unthinkingly maintaining the reigning confusion.

A serious study of Flamenco Guitar has to include the normalization of its melodic, harmonic and formal aspects, so that its traditional concepts must be learned first, with the consequent understanding of true Flamenco, its history, and where it's at today.

The purpose of these current volumes is the creation of complementary studies for the guitar within the conventions of the Conservatories and Schools of Music, said conventions formalized years ago in the Superior Conservatory of Music of the School of Barcelona (Conservatorioo Superior de Musica del Liceo de Barcelona).

My most sincere thanks to Jaume Doncos, Rafael Ramirez, Dani Maso, Jean Huth, Andres Montes, Josep Gomez and Toni Pelegrin, as well as all my students of the Conservatory for their enthusiastic support of this project, without which it could not have been done.