What would you do? (What Would Django Do?)

Lango-Django

I don't know if you've ever had this experience, but trying to play solos in a band without a rhythm guitar sucks.

I play in a quartet led by a clarinet/sax guy that consists of him, bass, drums and me.

And course you guys know the drill... all those instruments are really loud and the guitar really isn't, no matter how you try to compensate for that...

So what would you do? What Would Django Do? (WWDD?)

I hereby invite the truly crazy to experiment with this little backing track and fool around with ideas.

It's a tune I hope you already know, or sort-of know, that my band plays in G, "Some of these Days"... written by Canadian (Amherst, Ontario) songwriter Shelton Brooks over a hundred years ago, way back in 1910.

Will Wilson
Niagara-On-The-Lake, ON

lezard

He would do this...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1KvxTu8jwI
or this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IZkpIcYi7o

might be fun to have a go.

Bones

Chordal stuff or for single notes really outline the chords???

Dang his rhythm playing is on steroids!!

I'd love a transcription of that version of You Rascal You!

pinkgary

here ya go. If you don't have guitar pro, you can open these files with tux guitar, which is shareware.

Bones

No way!!!

Thanks Pink! I'll download Tux.

Bones

Hey Pink,

I tried to download Tux but they had a bunch of other add-on stuff on there that crashed my old (read: ancient) computer.

If it's possible and not a big deal can you pdf the transcription and re-post?

Thanks

Bones

Hey Will,

I'm not much of a lead player so take this with a big grain.

Ok, so I tried to solo over your clip and actually it's kind of a fun execise because it really forces me to not 'fudge' on my arpeggios since there is no chords to cover up my mistakes.

Again, I think what works best is if you stay very 'inside' for the first couple choruses just so that the audience doesn't get too lost. That really forces you to outline the chords with arpeggios (not scalar ideas) which is what we are mostly supposed to be doing anyway.

Extreme example, check out the stop chorus on Gonzalo's version of this same tune.

The tricky part of this one is the 'anatole' or 'christophe' or whatever it's called at the end (C, C#dim, G, E7, A7, D7, G). To really outline those changes smoothly is tough at fast tempos.

Or even state part of the melody from time to time during the first couple choruses.

Next you might try a chorus of chord solo or octaves over the arpeggios a bit to change it up.

Then if you have really nailed down the changes you could try some stuff that is more 'outside' especially over the dominant chords or add some chromatic stuff but I would really stay away from any kind of scalar stuff since the chord really gets lost in that.

My 2 cents...

Lango-Django

Hi Bones, thanks!

I've been thinking about all your ideas and have decided that I'm going to try to do something using stoptime; it has an old-timey flavour that sort of matches the band I'm playing with.

I've never really tried playing stoptime guitar before so I'm going to mess around with some BIAB tracks and then report back on how I'm doing in a few days...

Will

Lango-Django

LOL, yup Stuart, that's pretty much exactly what Djano would do. I can only wish I had that kind of self-confidence... Or "bravado" as you aptly put it.

One thing I find is that at slower tempos, it really isn't so bad playing without a rhythm guitar... But at speedy tempos, oy! it really sucks.

I'm now working on a faster tune with fairly simple changes and trying to come up with a good arrangement for solo guitar. It may or may not work out for actual performance but what the hey, it is probably a good technique builder anyway.

This is a fairly obscure tune, but according to my sax virtuoso friend, it was a particular favourite of Lester Young, who woodsheded it frequently: "I Never Knew".

Bones

Hey Will,

That's a cool tune! Do you have a favorite version that you can post?

thanks

Lango-Django

Mike, I don't have a favourite recording because I only really know this tune by playing it a few times.

I do know it was a minor hit in the 1920's as played by several orchestras, including a crappy recording by the Goldkette Orch which featured a brief forgettable Bix solo. I have that version on vinyl but I couldn't find online.

Over the years it has became a minor jazz standard, probably because its simple chords make it easy to play at jam sessions. There are many versions online, both by contemporary players and jazz masters, including Django and Stephane:

Django and Stephane https://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/jazz- ... d509177040

Pearl Django 2005: http://www.allmusic.com/song/i-never-knew-mt0005255733

Lester Young 1943: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dj8xRaoxCSc

Benny Carter 1933 "Chocolate Dandies": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZabGxmRgyE

Benny Goodman 1940: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qypFEx-dCfQ