palo (flamenco)

A palo is the name traditionally given in the flamenco environment for the different musical forms that constitute the traditional musical heritage of flamenco. Each palo is characterized by a variety of musical features such as its rhythmic pattern, its mode, its characteristic motifs, or the type of stanza used for the lyrics, and comprises a series of traditional melodies or songs, generally called estilos (styles) in the flamenco jargon. The meaning of estilo here has nothing to do with the general meaning of "style" as a series of characteristics that define a musical period, a trend, a genre, or the particular manner of an artist: it refers to a particular composition or song which was created in the past, either anonymously or attributed to a particular singer, and was developed by generations of singers. Any newly composed, non-traditional songs or compositions following the general form of the palo are also usually called by the name that palo.
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