Of course it is possible to learn flamenco online! Many people take lessons remotely because it has many advantages.
Convenience and Versatility: Online lessons offer a level of flexibility that's hard to match. You can learn at your own pace. To concentrate without feeling the pressure of an hour slot, or a group waiting for you to place your fingers on a chord, is a wonderful thing.
Access to Diverse Instructors and Material: The online world connects you with instructors from around the globe. You can find a teaching style that works for you, preview a lot of content and get to know your flamenco teacher before committing to lessons.
Wide Range of Resources: The internet is a treasure trove of flamenco guitar tutorials, courses, and written materials. It offers an abundance of learning options tailored to different skill levels and preferences.
Cost-Effective: Online lessons often come with a smaller price tag compared to traditional in-person instruction, as you're not paying for studio space or travel expenses. You also save travel time and don't have to carry your precious guitar.
But that is not for everyone- at the beginning you want to make sure your technique is right before you form bad habits, so having someone to look at your technique (even if on a video call) is important.
Some of the things you need to keep in mind, if you are learning online is that self-discipline is essential. There is less external accountability to your practice.
Keep yourself enthusiastic and motivating by listening to music, going to see live music and jams and keep up your practice – ideally for at least for 20min each day. You will soon notice how you are getting better and better and you will be start making plans to jam with other people :)
Online lessons may lack immediate feedback, making it challenging to correct mistakes or receive personalised guidance. So practice slow and deliberately, keeping the correct guitar posture. Be aware of your speed, that you are repeating every exercise slow so you can keep your fingers relaxed enough so they start to build muscle memory.
Since learning online has limited interaction and fewer opportunities for collaboration with other musicians, you need to learn to spend time with yourself. You can look for some play-alongs on youtube and practice along to it, and try to visit places where you are able to jam with other musicians. Although it seems that you are alone when you are studying, you are really not – the music is always accompanying you.
Online lessons provide you with a structure learning and practice. One example is Rafael's flamenco course which is broken down into posture, left and right hand techniques and different palos or 'genres' of flamenco.
Below is a fun beginner's exercise to start learning the Rumba rhythm. Practice it with a slow tempo many times. Enjoy the process of learning, relax your hands and let them move the way of the rhythm. You will notice how each time is going to come out better and better; more fluent and faster because you will start to develop muscle memory.
