Gypsy Jazz and Oud right hand.

Ian Rossiter · July 2012

I've been checking out Oud players on Youtube recently. When you look at their picking hands, they use a very similar hand positioning; broken wrist/rest stroke/powerfull downstrokes,ect.
Is this the origins of our Gypsy picking style?? It would make sense.

Passacaglia · July 2012

Interesting observation, Ian. I've been paying more attention to the oud since DIJ, specifically, Stephane Wrembel; I know he's into the roots of the music in this way. (See here, for example):

"Being inspired by Django's guitar style is No. 1," Wrembel says as he lists his reasons behind Django A Go-Go. "Loving the repertoire is second, playing is third. We improvise on themes using his technique--an ancient technique used on the oud and the lute that gives you more power on the guitar. It's the traditional repertoire but Django is a departure point, not the end."

It would be interesting to find out more about this. Haven't seen it in years - can't seem to obtain a copy anywhere - but Latcho Drom, did the instrument figure in the film at all? (remember the wedding in India, and the Flamenco, and the tragic Ceacescu sequences....but a lot has been dropped from my memory map).

Jazzaferri · July 2012

If I recal correctly from one of the books on Django i read, Django learned this technique from aplayer in Paris who had strong Flamenco roots. Lots of downstroke rest stroke thumb in flamenco, and i think they maybe do an upstroke thumb as well.

dennis · July 2012

the guitar also used to be taught this way in the beginning of the 20th century, i saw some method books from that period that explicitly tell the students to start each new string with a downstroke; even joe pass learned that way, he talks about it in some interview / book... if i'm not mistaken, all plectrum styled instruments were played / taught that way ; including mandolin

MichaelHorowitz · July 2012

Pretty much every plectrum instrument uses some variation of the rest stroke picking technique. All the old classical Italian mandolin methods recommend it and you'll see most ethnic instruments like the Bouzouki and Cuban Tres are also played with rest strokes. As Denis mentioned, all the early jazz guitarists played with rest strokes as well, it wasn't until the introduction of the electric guitar that people switched to free stroke alternate picking.

Jazzaferri · July 2012

i wonder if the alternate style of playing started with electric guitar?

It's not nearly as loud a picking style in my experience

Ian Rossiter · July 2012

I saw a video of a SAZ player yesterday too, same thing. It's on my Facebook page if anyone's interested.

Joli Gadjo · August 2012

A friend of mine is from Lebanon, and plays Oud and a variety of those instruments.
He's often correcting my right hand position. I have to say, that regards to Gypsy Jazz technique, his technique would be flawless.
That being said, he does not use the rest stroke, although he strokes down everytime he changes string, the type of traditional (long and very soft) "pick" he uses doesn't really allow the same type of rest stroke even if the idea and the effect are quite similar.

klaatu · August 2012

Jazzaferri wrote:

i wonder if the alternate style of playing started with electric guitar?

It's not nearly as loud a picking style in my experience

It did start then - it was designed for speed when people felt they no longer needed to worry about volume and projection, thanks to amplification. It then crept over into acoustic playing as well.