My 11 year old son has been flatpicking for about 3.5 years now and is interested in branching out into gypsy jazz. I’d say he’s somewhere between the intermediate & advanced level with his flatpicking (here’s a recent video of him from a flatpicking contest:
http://youtu.be/9wTYxKypOhM). We explored some basic GJ with his teacher last week and we’re pretty overwhelmed. We’ve been listening to a lot of Django, Angelo Debarre and Bireli Lagrene and a few other guys and he’s really digging it, but starting to realize there’s a LOT to learn.
I’ve told him the first thing he needs to get a handle on is GJ rhythm. Would you guys agree with that? Is there a DVD or web site you guys would recommend that he could learn rhythm (and chord theory) from? In my experience, it’s hard to learn rhythm from a book. You need to be able to hear, and see it. He’s actually a very good bluegrass rhythm player, but GJ is a different animal entirely.
Anything else he should be thinking about? I know he needs to work on his arpeggios, which are hardly ever used in flatpicking. There’s just so much to learn! If we could break it down into a few manageable chunks that would really help.
Thanks!
Jesse
Comments
In terms of GJ rhythm, I can heartily recommend a few different sources.
Michael Horowitz's book, Gypsy Rhythm, is dedicated to this subject. I completely get what you're saying on books. That said, Michael's book has accompanying sound tracks, covering what I would venture is just about every minutiae out there on GJ rhythm. It has several levels, from basics to solo rhythmic comping. An incredible and worthy work, in my opinion.
Denis Chang's material is similarly priceless, in my opinion. Through Hyperhip Media and his association with Wayne Nakamura, Denis's DVD on Accompaniment is a direct result of the teaching style he works from, namely, listen, watch and learn, the way the roma guitarists have learned for generations. It, too, is exhaustive, crystal clear and full of material that one can spend months - even years, in my opinion - with. Michael's book and Denis's DVD are very complementary, IMO.
Denis is also the founder of "DC Gypsy Jazz School," and on the site, there are a couple series that I've really benefited from, the Hono Winterstein and Gonzalo Bergara series. (He also has a series with Yourgui Loeffler, that I've seen really good reports on - the only reason I haven't done it yet is that I have a ton to keep my working now, for years already!). I've long admired Hono's artistry, and this series devoted to GJ accompaniment still plays a part in my daily routine. Gonzalo also speaks to his approach to rhythm, a bone-dry sound, informed in part, as I understand it, from his association with many of the "Young Lions" of modern GJ.
Everything Denis does is top-quality, and these materials are exemplar. Included in this would be his "In the Style" series through HyperHip Media - both Stochelo Rosenberg (a portion of the "lessons" series on the DVD is devoted to Stochelo's views on rhythm playing) and the Wawau Adler DVD.
Finally, a member named "Hemert" here, who runs the Rosenberg Academy, has pulled together a project that will apparently be released in January of 2013, which features Nous'che Rosenberg and his approach to rhythm. It's very hard for me to personally distinguish between a deep appreciation for both Hono's and Nous'che's rhythm work. Both are people I vicariously and sincerely refer to as maitre.
Anyway, hope this give a few thoughts. Congrats again on your son's early start and enthusiasm.
Paul
pas encore, j'erre toujours.
Thank you for the kind words and the thoughtful and detailed response. That’s exactly the kind of information I was looking for. Now the fun begins!
Jesse
pas encore, j'erre toujours.