The spirit of Tarrega’s tradition carried on throughout the twentieth century, thanks to the work of Andres Segovia (1893–1987). Though not Tarrega’s student, Segovia took the idea of virtuosity as a performer to the next level, introducing people all over the world to guitar music, as opposed to the modest Tarrega, who preferred the intimacy of small crowds. Segovia showed music enthusiasts that the guitar is worthy indeed of serious study, his collaboration with composers inspiring the greatest part of the repertoire that guitarists play even to this day. The guitar continues to hold its place of respect in the academic world of music today. Many conservatories and universities offer a degree program in which the guitar is the major instrument – unheard of even fifty years ago.
Folk music for the guitar progressed at about the same rate as did ‘classical’ guitar music. Since ancient times, guitars and their prototypes had accompanied dances. Furthermore, vocalists used the instruments quite extensively to accompany themselves in song. An outgrowth of this long history in folk music was the development of the distinctly Spanish style of music called Flamenco, which had its greatest spurt of growth in the nineteenth century. Andalusian gypsy (Gitano) music blended with traditional folk from the region to produce this lively music. Flamenco guitarists, full of competitive spirit, worked hard to come up with original material and the technical firepower to play the new music. Interestingly enough, Flamenco players, as a rule, play ‘by ear,’ with no written music. Hence, Flamenco music’s development grew by imitation, sharing ideas, and experimentation.
Ramón Montoya (1880–1949), a legend among Flamenco enthusiasts, developed a large number of the embellishments called falsetas, used to fill in between the verses of songs, as well as to give dance accompaniments artistic flair. At the outset, Flamenco was primarily a style of music whose main purpose was to accompany songs and dances. Not until modern times were Flamenco pieces played as guitar solos. These days, however, solo Flamenco guitarists give concerts, playing improvisations that delight their fans with their dazzling skill on the guitar.
