Gypsy Jazz Chords

          Django, because of his injury, used chords that use just two or
          three fingers and he often muted strings with his left hand.
          Standard major and minor chords are not usually played and
          many major 7^th chords, major 6^th chords, and 6/9 chords are
          used. Gypsy jazz has a minor feel even if a song is in a major key
          by adding the 6^th note.
                         
          Gypsy jazz often uses what is considered closed-position chords
          in which there are no strings that are not touched by your fingers
          this allows you to pulse and stop the sustain as we mentioned earlier
          in the rhythm post. Gypsy jazz chords are also in most cases
          moveable so once you learn the position you can play all over the
          fretboard. By going through the chords, and progressions within the
          songs and charts listed below you should gain a good understanding
          of gypsy jazz chords.
                                    

    http://gypsyjazzworkshop.com/GJW/images/fbfiles/files/GJWchords.pdf -
    a good chart for chords, this particular pdf shows “G” but they are all moveable
    so by moving up and down the neck you can just use the positions as a key.

    http://anouman.net/blog/files/gypsyjazz.zip - has a file for 43 django pieces,
    this has the chords and notes, no tabs with these ones but you will get a good
    idea of the chord s. 
   
    http://www.visi.com/~mpv/charts/ - has the gypsy jazz chords to a lot of
    songs as well as chords for ii-v-I patterns and arpeggios.

Song To Hear - “Minor Swing” great version with Andy Leftwich and Cody Kilby
Song To Learn - “Minor Swing” Django Reinhardt 

Gypsy Jazz Rythm

          The strumming pattern used in Gypsy jazz is often called
          “la pompe”. The strum is a quick up-down strum followed
          by a down strum. This results in a very percussive sound and
          compensates for the lack of those percussion instruments.
          There are some variations and differences that I will try to
          describe.

          There are two ways to play this strum; wet and dry.  These
          terms refer to how long the chord rings after the strum.  A wet
          chord would allow the ringing while with a dry chord it is
          shortened by taking the left hand off to stop the sustain.
                            
          Strum with the picking hand and pulse with the fretting hand
          to set up a groove that propels the rhythm,  strum (wet) on the
          one and three beat and mute (dry) on the two and four after they
          are played.  The sound of cha-chuk, cha-chuk,  or try 1 and 2 and
          3 and 4 and = Boom Chick, Boom Chick, Boom Chick, Boom Chick.
  

                                       

John Jorgenson                                         

          Sometimes the boom is played on the bass notes and the chick is
          played on the remaining notes of the chord. Sometimes it is played
          with a up, down, down pattern having the first up down happen
          very quickly.  The particulars of this style of rhythm has many other
          elements than the ones listed above and I encourage you to listen to
          some music and try to copy the rhythm you hear.  I will link to some
          resources below.

                         Chord Changes and Tabulature for "Coquette".

                         "I’ll See You in My Dreams" chords and tab in pdf.

                         Great rhythm tracks to practice solos with and hear rhythm.

          Song to Hear - "It don't mean a thing" Django Reinhardt 

          Song to Listen to - "It don’t mean a thing” Django Reinhardt

Gypsy Jazz

          Gypsy Jazz guitar has influenced bluegrass, rock, blues, country, 

          and jazz guitar greats and is being seen more and more both in 

          new recordings from Nashville and around the acoustic guitar 

          community.   I hope to describe many of the elements of gypsy 

          jazz guitar in future posts but thought I would start by giving some 

          background on the founder of this guitar technique. 

                         

          Django Reinhardt was born in Belgium and was raised within a 

          gypsy tribe and caravan just outside Paris.  Django first began 

          playing violin and banjo but switched to guitar and was playing 

          around Paris by the age of 13.  When Django was 18 his right leg 

          was paralyzed and his third and fourth fingers of his left hand were 

          severely damaged by a fire in his trailer home.   He persevered and 

          now played with only two fingers on his left hand (above). 

                         

           Django became heavily influenced by American jazz musicians like 

           Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Eddie Lang, which led him to 

           move from playing just gypsy guitar to a new gypsy jazz guitar style.  

           After teeming with swing violin player Stephan Grappelli they formed 

           the “Quintette du Hot Club de France”, which quickly became a huge 

           hit.  Django survived World War II despite being in France and the 

           Nazi hatred for both gypsies and jazz.   In 1948 he came to the US to 

           tour with Duke Ellington but returned to France never to return to 

           the US again.  Django died in 1953. 

           Except for that brief tour with Ellington (where he played an electric 

           guitar) Django played an acoustic Selmer guitar.  I will post a great 

           Django song to hear and a tab for the song below.  I hope to expand 

           your knowledge and interest in this style and add a new flavor to your 

           playing no matter the style.

                        

          Song to Hear –  "Nuages" by Django Reinhardt

          Song to Learn – “Nuages” slower jazz song with his gypsy 

                                        influence coming out

DADGAD

            This is a great, and easy tuning for your guitar.  This tuning 
            change can be made quickly and will allow you to add a great 
            Scottish, Irish, or Breton pipe music sound to your repertoire.    
            This style has become very popular with fingerstyle and even 
            flatpicking guitarist some of the most well known for this style 
            are: Al Petteway, Tony McManus, Steve Baughman, and Robin 
            Bullock.

                   

            This tuning takes a “D” chord and adds to it a suspended fourth 
            note ( the “G”).  This tuning can also help emulate a banjo sound 
            by having the same two notes ringing out after playing the melody 
            note.   Play a simple melody in “A” then follow each note by playing 
            the “A” and “D” string. 


            I will put a link at the bottom to both hear and learn  a great celtic 

            tune by Al Petteway that will really showcase this tuning.  Here is a 

            written out list for the common chords in DADGAD.

                                   Major Chords: (majors are barred)

              A:  7,7,7,9,7,7      B: 9,9,9,11,9,9      C:  10,10,10,12,10,10

              D:  0,0,0,2,0,0   E:  2,2,2,4,2,2       F:  3,3,3,5,3,3    G:  5,5,5,7,5,5

                                    Other Chords:

              Amin:x,0,2,2,3,2      A:x,0,2,2,0,2     Gmin:0,1,0,0,1,0

              Bmin:x,0,4,4,5,4      A7:x,0,2,0,0,2   E7:0,2,2,1,2,0

              Dmin:0,0,0,2,0,3    D7:0,0,0,2,3,0   C:x,3,2,0,3,x

              Emin:x,x,2,0,2,2      G:0,2,0,0,2,0    

pantheonguitars.com

            For a great file with some chords, scales, and picking patterns 

            in DADGAD go to http://www.boegershausen.com and then 

            downloads.  

            Song to Hear - "West Wind" by Al Petteway, played by Sungha Jung

            Song to Learn - "West Wind" by Al Petteway

Guitar Shapes

               Guitar makers are always making changes and adjustments to 
               guitar shapes and dimensions but here is a quick guide to the four 
               most common shapes, and a little bit about each to help narrow 
               down your next guitar choice.


               The Grand Concert is a good choice for fingerstyle guitarists.  It is 
               good for medium strumming and also because of its smaller size a 
               good choice for smaller men or women.  The tone on these guitars 
               are usually very good.

Taylor Grand Concert

                The Dreadnought is the shape of choice for flatpickers.  This is a large 
                guitar and has a lot of volume.  This shape is good for accompanying 
                loud instruments in a band.  This is probably the most popular size and 
                shape in guitars and is good for those who strum from light to heavy.

Martin Dreadnought

                 The Super Jumbo has a deep resonance and a lot of volume because of 

                 the very large sound chamber.   This guitar is good for those who strum 

                 very heavy.  With the Jumbo there is a little extra base and is good for 

                 rhythm guitar playing in a group.

Gibson Super Jumbo

                 The Auditorium is also a good choice for fingerstyle guitarists.  This size 

                 and shape is good for medium strumming and usually has a little extra 

                 treble.  These guitars are usually very good in all around tone and works 

                 will when mic’d.   This is also a smaller size guitar. 

Taylor Auditorium

                 Each guitar will have different sounds and benefits but hopefully this will 

                 help you start to decide which shape of guitar will be your next.  


                        Song to Hear - "Billie Jean" played by Sungha Jun and Trace Bundy
                                                          (love this and this kid is amazing)

                        Song to Learn - "In Your Arms" Laurence Juber

 

IBMA Recap

                          I just wanted to mention some of the winners from the IBMA Awards 

                          that I mentioned a few posts earlier.  Josh Williams again won the IBMA

                          guitarist of the year for the third year in a row.  Josh Williams is a great  

                          musician with a number of instruments but can most often be found playing 

                          rhythm and lead guitar and singing.  

                           In 2008 Josh announced his new band "The Josh Williams Band".  Josh
                           has dates scheduled on his web site and currently has three solo albums.
                           Josh also plays several dates with "The Tony Rice Unit" "and the
                           Traveling McCoury's".  I am going to put Josh in the Player of the week
                           to the right and I will place a link to his CD in the Amazon box. 

                          Another winner of Entertainer of the year, Album of the year,  and
                          Vocal Group of the year were "Dailey and Vincent" who have a great
                          sound with some great gospel tunes.  I encourage you to take a listen,
                          the vocals on some of their songs is pretty amazing, I will put a link at
                          the bottom to hear one of their songs.


                          Song to Hear - "Winter's come and gone" Dailey and Vincent

                          Song to Learn - "Cherokee Shuffle" a song on Josh Williams CD
                                                   (this is not the tab for his version)

Pick'n Picks

                        There is a myriad of picks out there with different shapes and materials.  
                        While my pick choices change as I try new things I am just going to mention 
                        what I am using now and what I am gravitating to.  For fingerstyle guitar I 
                        usually play with no picks at all but to achieve better sound I have incorporated 
                        some very interesting Fred Kelley picks.  I use the Fred Kelley speed pick for my 
                        thumb usually using their light guage.  (I started using this thanks to seeing 
                        Doyle Dykes)

                                       

                   For my other fingers while playing fingerstyle I am using Fred Kelly’s Freedom 

                         Finger Picks.  These picks are the closest to real fingernails that I have found and 

                         are very comfortable and easy to play with.  I would suggest getting a size up as 

                         they seem to run small.  I also tend to turn them slightly on my finger to straighten 

                         out the strike of the pick.   These come in delrin (below) and poly.  The poly is clear 

                         which is nice but I think the sound from the delrin is better.

                                              

                   For standard strumming and flatpicking I used to use a very light pick but as I play 

                   and read I am moving to thicker picks.  Generally I will use a Dunlop Tortex in 

                   medium thickness but my next pick will be the Dunlop Delrin in .96mm (red one 

                   below).  Many players are now using Michael Wegen’s picks (Bryan Sutton often 

                   uses his 1.4mm bluegrass pick) these picks look and have reviewed great but they 

                   are pricey (a link is to the right).  If you haven’t experimented lately with new picks go 

                   give a few new ones a try; you may be surprised with the different tone you can achieve. 

         

        Song to listen to – "How Great Thou Art" Vince Gill and Amy Grant

        Song to learn -  tab for “How Great Thou Art” Vince Gill and Amy Grant

                  

Doyle Dykes

           Many may not have heard of this great fingerstyle guitarist.   

           The first time I heard “Jazz in the Box” I knew I had to find out 

           who this guy was.   His music has pushed me to become a better 

           guitarist and despite many of his music being difficult to learn I

           am playing things that when I heard them I never thought I would.  

           I have seen him in person and his playing was so on point, perfect.  

            Doyle is an endorser and clinician for Taylor Guitars and has his 

            own signature model the DDSM.  He plays in a huge variety of styles 

            and I would suggest listening to these songs to hear his range: “Jazz 

            in the box”, “Martha’s Kitchen”, “How Great Thou Art”, and “White 

            Rose for Heidi”.  His daughter, Haley Dykes, often travels with him and 

            is also a great musician and singer, her CD “The Mystery of Her” won’t 

            disappoint.  I own, and love, his book “virtuoso fingerstyle guitar” and 

            have been challenged by learning  just some of the songs in it, the book 

            also comes with a CD of the music (it's in the amazon box to the right).  

            I will put a link at the bottom of the post to both hear and learn “Jazz in 

            the Box”.

           Great DVD to check out with Doyle on it, he plays with some

           greats like Duane Eddy and Tommy Emmanuel -

                                           Live Sessions – people, places, and pick’n

           Some of Doyle’s CD’s to check out – Songs of Faith+Freedom, Chameleon

                     Song to Listen to – "Jazz in the Box" (this is not Doyle playing it)

                     Song to Learn -  Jazz in the Box tab

Guitar Tops

          Here is a brief guide about the basics of guitar tops.   I will briefly 

          discuss five things to consider for your guitar top:  construction, 

          cut, wood, finish, and grain runout. 

          A Solid top vibrates much easier than a laminated top and will 

          also “age” with playing over the years.  Ageing means that the more 

          a solid top is played the easier it will vibrate and the better sound 

          it will produce.  A top must also be tightly grained to improve the 

          strength when being pulled by the strings.  

          For the cut you want a “bookmatched” top.  This starts with a single 

          piece of wood which is cut in half then opened like a book and glued.  

          This process helps to keep a consistent grain throughout the entire top.

         

seagullguitars.com

          There are a handful of woods used for guitar tops but I prefer spruce 

          (specifically sitka).  Cedar is also a great wood and is often considered 

          more “mellow”.   I like the sound of a cedar topped nylon string guitar,

          the combination of the strings and the top create a very smooth sound.  



Spruce



Cedar



          When looking at a new guitar be weary of the finish that is on your guitar.  

          A finish that is too thick will hamper the vibration and therefore the sound 

          of the guitar.   “Grain Runout” is also something to think about.  Simply, 

          this is when the wood grain is not straight when it goes down into the wood.  

          A guitar top that has grain runout will appear darker on one of the 

          bookmatched sides than the other.  This does not automatically mean the 

          guitar won’t sound good or fall apart but I would stay away from this because 

          the wood can be less strong.  Hopefully this information is helpful.

          Song to Hear -  "Neon" John Mayer

          Song to Learn -  John Mayer Acoustic "Neon" tab

I'm a Bluegrass Fan

          The musicianship exhibited by the guitarists and other

          instruments within bluegrass is stunning.  The more I listen

          the more I put time and effort into becoming a flatpicker

          myself.  The speed, clarity, and expression that the bluegrass

          greats play with their trusty flat top acoustics are more impressive

          to me than any distorted, delayed, or crunched electric.  Don’t get

          me wrong, amazing guitar playing in any genre is impressive but the

          two that I gravitate to is fingerstyle and flatpicking guitar.   

          The 21^st annual International Bluegrass Music Awards is scheduled

          for Thursday, September 30, 2010, at Nashville, Tennessee’s historic

          Ryman Auditorium.  IBMA states that “The IBMA Awards will be broadcast

          live on Sirius XM Satellite Radio (Bluegrass Junction, Channel 14) and on

          WSM-AM 650 (live at www.mosnline), and will also be syndicated to

          more than 300 U.S. markets and 14 foreign networks.”

          Here are some of the musicians that I am a fan of and that are nominees. 

          Take a little time and listen to the amazing guitar rhythm and soloing in these

          artists work and other bluegrass greats.

                          Entertainer of the year – The Del McCoury Band

                                                                        The Grascals

            

                          Instrumental group of the year – Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder

            

                          Male Vocalist of the year – Dan Tyminski

             

                          Instrumental performer of the year – Fiddle -  Andy Leftwich

                                                                                               Guitar -  Cody Kilby

                                                                                                           -  Bryan Sutton

          Song to Hear -  Charles Sawtelle on Guitar

          Song to Learn - Bluegrass guitar great Charles Sawtelle's 

                                           tab for Tennessee Wagoner