Gypsy Jazz Guitar Q & A: Part 2

A series of posts designed to answer common questions about gypsy jazz guitar. From Studygypsyjazz.com’s head tutor, Harry Edwards.

• Gypsy Jazz Guitar Q & A: Part 1
• Gypsy Jazz Guitar Q & A: Part 2
• Gypsy Jazz Guitar Q & A: Part 3 

You may also want to start by reading Harry’s guest post, “An Introduction to Gypsy Jazz Guitar“.

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Q1: Why did Django Reinhardt only use two fingers of his left hand to play guitar?

A1: Django suffered severe burns during a caravan fire at a young age, which was an unfortunate accident caused by a bunch of highly flammable celluloid flowers catching fire.

The entire left side of his body was injured in the fire, including his left hand, which sustained severe damage to his pinky and ring fingers.

Contrary to popular belief, Django did not lose any of his fingers, however he did lose the ability to perform intricate tasks with the ring and pinky fingers of his left hand.

Django adapted to his injury, and utilised the index and middle fingers of his left hand to develop his unique horizontal lines on the guitar.

He did still use his ring finger on occasion, but not for lead playing. Rather, this finger was used in conjunction with the index and middle fingers to voice chords.

Django’s story is one of overcoming a severe injury and forging a truly unique style and guitar technique.

Q2: What brands/makes of gypsy jazz guitars do you own and use when you perform? How can I find different makers of gypsy jazz instruments?

A2: The guitar I am currently using for gypsy jazz live performances was made by the excellent luthier Oliver Marin, who lives and works in Granada, Spain.

I love this instrument. It is a longer-scale petite bouche guitar, with great projection and quality of tone across the neck. I’ve only had this guitar for roughly a year, so it is still developing, but it is shaping up to be a very reliable and fun to play guitar.

I also own and play a guitar by Lyon-based maker Antoine Prabel. I commissioned this instrument from Antoine whilst I was studying gypsy jazz in Paris in 2014.

The guitar is the warmest sounding instrument I’ve ever played. I especially love using it to perform and record my original compositions, which draw on gypsy jazz, but also modern jazz and classical music.

How can I find different makers of gypsy jazz instruments?

The best resource I’ve come across for finding makers of gypsy jazz instruments is this comprehensive luthier directory.

On this page, you can search for makers by country, allowing you the best chance to find a quality guitar builder whose instruments you can actually seek out and try.

Q3: What are some gypsy jazz standards that are often overlooked, but are great to play?

A3: There are heaps!

It is great to develop a repertoire of the more commonly played gypsy jazz standards, so that you can easily jam with other musicians, but don’t forget to explore some of the lesser-known tunes this genre has to offer. Django wrote a lot of music.

Here are just a few of my favourites:

• Anouman (D. Reinhardt) – Ballad
• Lentement Mademoiselle (D. Reinhardt) – Ballad
• Peche a la mouche (D. Reinhardt) – Up-tempo swing
• R Vingt Six (D. Reinhardt) – Med/up-tempo swing
• New York City (D. Reinhardt) – Up-tempo swing blues

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I hope you’ve found that all useful! Please visit Studygypsyjazz.com to explore this style further, and to find free lessons, backing tracks, and premium gypsy jazz courses!

Harry Edwards (Head tutor @ Studygypsyjazz.com)

The post Gypsy Jazz Guitar Q & A: Part 2 appeared first on The Guitar Journal.

Gypsy Jazz Guitar Q & A: Part 1

A series of posts designed to answer common questions about gypsy jazz guitar. From Studygypsyjazz.com’s head tutor, Harry Edwards.

You may also want to start by reading Harry’s guest post, “An Introduction to Gypsy Jazz Guitar“.

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Q1: I’m familiar with Django Reinhardt, but who are some contemporary gypsy jazz guitar players I should check out?

A1: There are a number of great contemporary gypsy jazz guitar players. Many of these players are pushing the genre to new areas both in their playing and original compositions. Check out these guys on YouTube to get you started:

• Stochelo Rosenberg (Netherlands)
• Sebastien Giniaux (France)
• Adrien Moignard (France)
• Gonzalo Bergara (Argentina/U.S.A.)

Q2: What picks are most commonly used for playing gypsy jazz guitar?

A2: This can depend largely on the player and their approach to sound and technique. In my experience, there are two types of pick-builds that seem to be the most popular for achieving a strong gypsy jazz sound, both for rhythm and lead playing.

The first is to opt for a thicker pick, such as a Wegen 3.5mm. Django used picks at least this thick to achieve his sound, and using a thick pick can make the rest-stroke picking that is typical in gypsy jazz easier to execute. Contemporary players such as Tcha Limberger favour picks like this.

The second option, which has become popularised by the virtuoso Bireli Lagrene, is to use a thinner pick, namely a Dunlop 1.5mm or 2mm.

When using thinner picks however, most players opt to use the rounded edge of the pick, and to use this edge at an angle. This allows the pick to make more contact with the string during a stroke, and as such in a way emulates the contact of a thick pick.

Contemporary players who opt for this thinner and more modern pick-choice include Sebastien Giniaux, Adrien Moignard, and Gonzalo Bergara.

If you’d like to learn more about how to use these thinner picks to create a big gypsy jazz sound, please check out the courses at studygypsyjazz.com. Both our current courses begin with an explanation of how to effectively hold and attack with these types of picks.

 

Q3: What does a typical setlist of gypsy jazz standards look like? How can I balance the set to provide some nice variety for the audience?

A3: When putting together a setlist of gypsy jazz standards for a gig, it is always a good idea to take into account the choice and order of tunes to provide the best experience for your audience.

In gypsy jazz, there is quite a bit if sub-stylistic variety amongst different standards. When putting together a setlist, you can consider the following rhythmic variations when choosing the order of songs:

– Slow swing
– Medium Swing
– Fast Swing
– Ballad
– Bolero
– Gypsy Bossa
– Rhumba
– Waltz

Whilst you don’t need to include a song from each rhythmic category, it is nice to at least have a few that sit outside of straight swing, to provide some variety.

Here are some examples of 40-50 minute sets that take this into account, with a breakdown of the sub-style of each tune:

• Minor Swing (medium swing)
• J’attendrai (slow swing)
• Troublant Bolero (bolero)
• Avalon (fast swing)
• Nuages (ballad)
• Caravan (rhumba / swing)
• Blues en Mineur (slow/medium swing)
• Joseph Joseph (fast swing)
• Dark Eyes (medium/fast swing)
• It Had To Be You (slow/medium swing)
• Montaigne St Genevieve (waltz)
• Danse Norvegienne (ballad)
• Swing Gitan (medium/fast swing)
• For Sephora (bossa)
• What Is This Thing Called Love (medium swing)
• Cherokee (fast swing)

It’s also a good idea to have some extras up your sleeve, so make sure to write out a list of at least five tunes that you could play to extend your performance if need be.

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I hope you’ve found that all useful! Please visit Studygypsyjazz.com to explore this style further, and to find free lessons, backing tracks, and premium gypsy jazz courses!

Harry Edwards (Head tutor @ Studygypsyjazz.com)

 

The post Gypsy Jazz Guitar Q & A: Part 1 appeared first on The Guitar Journal.