Improvisation is a commonly recognised marker of flamenco. Sinceflamenco is a musical practice that was traditionally transmitted aurallyand often acquired rather than explicitly taught, there is no widelyaccepted teaching methodology for the increasing number ofparticipants in this style, and even less guidance on improvisation.The aim of this study is to show what the structural aspects of a flamencopiece are, and which of these aspects are open to improvisation. It alsoexamines how improvisation is conceived of by practitioners, and howit is practised and taught. The observations and findings here are drawnfrom fieldwork centred on learning the flamenco guitar and consequentethnographic notes.