The 'Ground Rithm' in bulerías, (compás de tierra)

When a flamenco guitar student start playing bulerías the first approach is a common rhythm patter as follows:

1 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 

As you might know, underlined beats are the accents of 'compás'. But when the student start listening to records, it is usually difficult to find these accents. Currently we can find very brainy explanations like this of nice José Tanaka's page about how guitar and claps fit in that pattern. http://josetanaka.com/lesson/palmas_bulerias.htm.

When you can see this kind of explanations, one should say chapeu!. But, in my opinion, it's a professional level and despite it is really interesting, even if you are simply a flamenco amateur it is tricky for beginners. The previous rhythmic pattern has to be, probably, the first approach to bulerias its really poor for beginners. It is frustrating when you listent to a good flamenco singer or guitar player and you are lost.

Internationalization and professionals of flamenco have produce this laudable skillful explanations. But does a four years-old Spanish Gipsy needs this kind of explanation? :))

First what you might realize is that flamenco is a popular music not an academic issue. Things cannot be so complicate. I am not gypsy, but they are the main source of flamenco and I allways learn from them.  I will try to give you a easy explanation about how to understand bulería with claps. A 4 years old child cannot count twelve easily and accent for them means  nothing, but they understand bulería. 

For this purpose, I invite you to discover true and ancient flamenco in this video where gipsy women, from the quarter called 'Las 3000' in Seville, they sing bulerías using only claps and voice. Is the first performance, the others are Tangos.

This is the true flamenco than Paco de Lucía loved. These are the primitive voices and sounds of flamenco. I'm sure that you can not find the 1 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 there (But it fit!). There are several clap patterns in the video but the basic and 'general' one is the compas that usually flamenco students has learnt as 'medio compas' (half compás) and it is profusely used in some styles of bulería.

1 2 3 4 5 6 

or

1 2 3 4 5 6  1 2 3 4 5 6 

For twelve beats.

Forget all you learnt before and simply try to listen to the previous video while clapping. It fits!. What's more, it fits with all bulerías and is one of the classical claps that you can hear on records. Most of the folk Spanish rhythms lay on 3/4. Before modern music the Spanish music was in the 3/4 rhythm and three of the major families of flamenco styles come from 3/4 rhythm (siguirillas, soleá and fandangos).

And what's more important. Singers commonly use this rhythm. This rhythm is commonly used as 'Ground Rhythm' or ‘ritmo de tierra’. It is a concept about the subjacent 3/4 of bulería and it is really important for understand bulería. For guitarists, here is a video where you can see a clear explanation in this sense with José Luis Rodríguez. 

As he said, bulería are not full of sound anywhere and strict accents: silences are really important, and of course, robust sound is only obtained if you do not forget the subjacent rhythm.

As José Luis said... do not count, feel it!. And I thing this approach is easier.