The compás clock

A clock for the compás.

A metronome gives you a beat. Flamenco asks for the whole cycle. See every beat at a glance and follow the compás as it moves around the clock. The accents are right there in front of you, and everything you hear lights up as it sounds, so you can see the rhythm as you play it.

The clock in Con Compás playing Bulerías: beat 12 at the top with the triangle under it, beat 1 to its right, the accents on 3, 6, 8, 10 and 12 ringed and nothing else marked, every other beat lighting its place as it sounds, and the hand stepping from beat to beat round the number in the middle.

Edit mode

Open the lock. Shape the compás.

Tap to shape it. Accent a beat. Add a sub-accent. Leave it silent. Build the pattern exactly how you want it, then lock it in and play.

Palmas or cajón, the switch above the clock says which one you’re shaping. And the compás keeps playing while you do.

Bulerias de Jerez being shaped in Con Compás, a tap at a time: the lock opens and the voice switch above the clock stands on Palmas; beat 5 is tapped to an accent, a sub-accent and silent again; the switch goes to Cajón, where beat 5 is tapped to a bass, a sub-accent and silent; the switch comes back to Palmas, and the lock closes on the clock as it began.

The sound

Hear the compás your way.

A flamenco metronome that sounds like flamenco: real palmas and cajón, recorded by real players. Or keep it simple with a clean tone. Mix it. Shape it. Play it.

The settings in Con Compás: Sound on Realistic, with Tone beside it, the mix between Palmas and Cajón in the centre, and under Beats the number of beats and a subdivision for the palmas and one for the cajón.

Palos

Start with a palo. Make it your own.

Start with Bulerías, Soleá, Alegrías or Tangos, each ready with its own compás, accents and tempo. Change what you like, or start from scratch and create a compás of your own.

The compases in Con Compás: the presets Bulerías, Soleá, Alegrías and Tangos, each with its beats and its tempo, and + for a new compás.

Practice

Take away the clock. Keep the compás.

Once you know the pattern, turn on Blindfold and let the rhythm disappear from sight. The compás keeps playing, but the clock is gone, so you have to feel where you are. When you’re ready, reveal the clock and see how you did.

Train your ear. Test your timing. Stay in compás.

Con Compás playing Bulerías with the Blindfold on: the Eye struck through beside the lock, and in place of the clock one dot in the middle that pulses with every clap, an accent sending a thin ring out from it.

Vibrate on accents

Feel the accents in your hand.

Vibration turns the accents into short, distinct pulses, landing exactly with the palmas and the cajón. Sub-accents stay still, so you feel the structure of the compás without being told every beat.

Keep your eyes on your hands. Keep the count in your body.

Con Compás playing Bulerías, one compás from beat 12: the hand steps round the clock from beat to beat, each beat lighting its place as it sounds, and the accents on 12, 3, 6, 8 and 10, ringed, swell as they sound, which is where the phone vibrates.

Share

Send a link and the entire compás comes with it: its beats, accents, voices, tempo, sound and count-in. No account. No setup. Just tap the link and open it in Con Compás, ready to play.

From your phone to theirs.