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Guitar isn't my main instrument, but I reckon nailing a few diminished runs over dominant 7th chords (eg. a# dim over a7, g#dim over g7), will get you some of the way there. Diminished chords and minor 6ths have that kind of sound. A lot of it is just down to that rather bouncy rhythm which is very difficult to get right, plus a little vibrato at the end of phrases.
Django's left hand, as you probably know, was fucked, so any chord voicings he actually played were very simple (inversions of root, third, seventh). You could do a simple backing for yourself (his brother usually did the background stuff on recordings) and then solo over the top.
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Hey Apone - I started trying my hand at gypsy jazz around a year ago and started here http://www.djangobooks.com/forum/categories/gypsy-jazz-101
Getting 'la pompe' nailed is a must. This video helped me, there's a longer one by Dennis Chang you might be able to find/ 'acquire' if you look around
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl56Mm_6EZg
You don't need a selmer/macaferri copy- but getting a thick pick (3.5 mm wegen for example) really helped me 'whip' through the strings. Bit spendy, but cheaper than a guitar! http://www.wegenpicks.com/#gypsy
For the twiddly bits..... fast and ornamented arpeggios will get you 2/3rds of the way there. Vanneau's advice looks good too!
If you're worried about having to improvise, learning a waltz style piece is a cheeky way of getting the right sound as the melodies are usually 'scripted' and sound very impressive:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kF9j25NDG8
That said, most people start with minor swing (that's what I did) - easy chords/structure and relatively simple to improvise over/learn Django's original solo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2H15GWNmeE
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Thanks man! Did a rough rhythm track last night. Will post it when it's done.
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^ awesome. Where do I get one?
^ awesome. Where do I get one? I need moar fuzz in my life.
On the gypsy jazz thang: Thanks for the tips and clips chaps. The commission I have is for a short doc about a retired mineral collector (it's better than it sounds). It's in French with subtitles. I pitched half a dozen things assuming the director didn't want anything overtly French sounding. After two meetings (read: drunken dinners) it became apparent he DID want something overtly French so I went back to the drawing board.
I had a nice little country/blues instrumental thing that had been kicking around for ages that I wanted to use. I tweaked it and added some 9ths on the 5 chords and passing a diminished under an new tweaked melody for that (in)authentic gypsy flava. That really made a big difference actually. So with that as the base, I proposed doing: a sparse slow version for the reflective moments, a mid-tempo picked thing as the main theme and a nicely up-beat Django-esque version for the up-beat ending.
He dug the slow one and that is recorded, done, accepted and in in the film. He didn't dig the picked one at all and wants something else which I'll have to come up with next week. It wasn’t the best rendition to be honest and he wants more textures than just guitar so perhaps a new version with upright and accordion might fit the bill. We shall see.
So that left the gypsy version to knock up. I spent a week watching videos and practicing the rhythm till I was comfortable with it. I also listened to nothing but Django all week. I sat up late drinking wine and recording on Weds and ended up with a rhythm track I'm happy with. Widdly bits will be attempted on Sunday. I have a "head" motif and a melody which alternate. By slightly embellishing the melody I can fill 3 mins without sounding too repetitive or having to rely on my non-existent jazz impro skills. Sweeet!
^^^The version of la pompe that worked best for me was to have the full chord on the 1 and 3 and muting the fretted chord on the 2 and 4. I thought that completely choking it off (fnar fnar) to just a rhythmic chop on the 2 and 4 (as suggested in that vid up there ^^^) didn't sound right at all. Totally agree that the key seems to be keeping it straight and clean however. Trying to add any kind of fancy upstrokery in the rhythm track almost always sounds messy. Actually, the hardest bit for me was to check my natural inclination to add root/fifth bass after years of playing country rhythm. I kept catching myself doing it and having to start over. Anywhere, got there in the end I hope. Although to be honest I haven’t listened to it sober yet…
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Just listened back and it's actually ok! Who knew?
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Sounds interesting - post it up if you get the chance! On 'la pompe' front, there are so many different ways of doing it: Dennis Chang posted an interesting article about variations in style that's worth a read - http://www.djangobooks.com/blog/the-secrets-of-authentic-gypsy-jazz-rhythm/ (intro probably a dig at Robin Nolan, I'd guess)
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That's a great article. Got about halfway through. Will finish tonight. Cheers. Will def post my faux-pompe when it's done too.
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Damn, wish I'd known about this:
http://www.timeout.com/london/blog/did-you-spot-nile-rodgers-busking-on-the-south-bank-this-morning -
Yep. You tap them to find the duff one. Yr welcome.
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Use a 2B pr softer for more of a squashy compressed sound or a 2H or harder for more of a metal edge.
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The gypsy things are coming along. I've decided to do a minor version of the main theme as the missing link between the slow one ane the "full-pelter" as it's become known. The full-pelter features two rhythm guitars pomping out la pompe and an overdubbed solo and awaits an upright bass overdub from my flaky bandmate. That should do it I think.
The minor swing version was played a bit slower with much simplified minor chords and added dramatic stops (in order to frame punchlines in the dialogue). That was recorded without a click and just one rhythm guitar. It alternates between minor key melody, some guitar widdles and a none-more-French melodica motif. I need to nail that tonight really. Time's a wasting.
Then it's just mix and i'll be done.
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If that all sounds a bit muso and pro I should probably point out that i've recorded the whole thing on my wife's old 3/4 size student classical guitar which features a plywood top, an inch high action and is covered in flowers drawn in garaish teenage girl nail varnish. *slick
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Thanks man, it's a Squier Tele 'Cabronita' with stock Fidelitron humbuckers, it's nice. It's from the Squier Vintage Mod range. The pickups seem to be the same as on the proper Fender model, the bridge is also Fender branded and the finish and feel of the guitar is immaculate. I honestly don't known how it could be made better to justify having the Fender badge and price tag on it.
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^^Niiiiiice!
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danny gatton.
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leg-end
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I now have a nice little steel-string 'parlour' acoustic so I can once again augment the inept Hendrix impersonations with inept John Fahey impersonations, or Mississippi John Hurt impersonations.
Now I just need to get used to a thumb pick - my thumbnail is still basically ruined from past fingerstyle efforts. Either that or it's fake nail time
Vanneau
DanS
Dooks-Fatberg
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bq
Haino
rpm
Alkali
jonuxuk-
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Guitar Nerds Anonymous
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@dooks
^^Soz, Apone. Am playing in Balham’s famous Balham.