Tientos, a slow cante jondo music and dance in a four-count rhythm, was first developed by the singer Enrique el Mellizo (1848 -1906) as an expressive variation of the Tangos. Poet Federico García Lorca considered the Tientos to be almost liturgical in its solemnity. Traditional Tientos lyrics – letras – set a dark mood, and have to do with loss, unrequited love, imprisionment, longing for freedom and other serious messages. Dancers strive to capture this mood in their solos. The most notable aspect of the slow Tientos tempo is the beat structure. Where the first beat in Tangos is subdued, it is strongly emphasized in the Tientos, as is the “and” of the second beat.

Although many variations are possible, the most basic form of the Tientos is as follows :

​Guitar introduction – The guitarist sets the basic tempo and key

​Temple – The singer sings fragments – estribillos – (le le, la, etc.) to establish thekey, pulse and mood of the piece.

​The dancer’s llamada – call/cue the guitarist performs double time here. The dancer generally performs footwork.

​First Letra – The singer sings the first verse, and the dancer interprets thisimpressionistically and rhythmically.

After the 1st line of the song, the singer may take a 1 or 2 compás break – the respira – and the dancer usually inserts footwork here.

​Guitar falseta  – a short melodic phrase that the dancer interprets lyrically.

​First Escobilla – The dancer’s 1st prolonged footwork section. This ends with a llamada call in the 2nd verse.

​Second Letra – Similar or identical to the 1st verse.

​Second Escobilla = The dancer’s final long footwork section.

​Macho – It is common for a flamenco song to end in a faster song/rhythm, and it is usually the Tangos for Tientos. The most traditional Tangos lyrics performed here are the song, “Triana.”