Please recommend best online gypsy jazz lesson for beginner

cornelius90 · May 2013

Hi guys, I'm a beginner at gypsy jazz. and at guitar too. I don't even know what scale is.
I purchased rosenberg academy's lesson but it was too hard to learn to me and its quality was too bad.
Now I'm watching lessons of 'gypsy jazz school' but it's quite uncomfortable to understand because the teacher's pronunciation is little bad. I'm not good enough at English to understand that kind of pronunciation. I think he is from Iran or something.
Do you guys know which lesson is the best for total beginner?
If you do, please let me know !

Thank you

Passacaglia · May 2013

Well, everyone's different, Cornelius. If you want to learn this music, you have many roads in, which can be confusing, I know (trust me, I know). You'll find a host of beginner resources - in fact, Stuart has very kindly put together a thread here - I'd recommend checking that out.

As to the Rosenberg's quality being "bad," I'd have to respectfully disagree. Again, of course, everyone's different, but I think the quality coming out of RA is excellent, and that would include the forum on Christiaan's site, and the written materials (transcriptions, etc.) he provides, if needed. The Gypsy Jazz School run by Yaakov Hoter (I believe he's Israeli, not Iranian) is also highly recommended by a number of people, though I can understand why the language thing might pose a problem.

As I understand it, if the RA is based on a kind of membership fee (with new material coming out consistently), Yaakov's structure is on a per-lesson basis. Both have helped a ton of people, and maybe once you get your feet just a bit wet with some of the resources from Stuart's thread, you might find these schools (or Denis Chang's DC Music School - another outstanding resource, excellent quality) might help you. Denis's site actually has quite a few beginner resources, including some free play-alongs - useful for when you've got some tunes under your fingers, and it is a service to our community he provided them. Also check out Gonzala Bergara's play-alongs on youtube, another resource generously provided.

Good luck!

hanear21 · May 2013

I'm not sure I would recommend any of the online lessons for a total beginner. It's important to learn the very basics of the instrument (for example: how to hold it properly, how to pick correctly, etc.).

Instead of online lessons, have you considered some books? I think Michael's "Gypsy Picking" and "Gypsy Rhythm" might be a good introduction since they will teach you the foundational skills required to play gypsy jazz.

Passacaglia · May 2013

Total agreement with Hanear, by the way - those two books, coupled with Denis Chang's two DVD sets (Art of Accompaniment; Technique and Improvisation) were probably the greatest help to me, when just starting out.

Just wasn't sure if the language issue would be prohibitive or not. Very likely not, on thinking about it, particularly Michael's Gypsy Rhythm book (yes, I'll preach, start with rhythm work and stay there until you've got its essence), a true bible of rhythm chords, progressions, techniques, substitutions, virtually everything. (Michael's rhythm book is literally bedside, as I write this...a resource one returns to, over and over).

Hanear's right, I'd say...check these out.

dennis · May 2013

if your new to GJ AND the guitar, i would suggest just finding some local teacher instead and learn the basics of the instrument... it can probably take a year or two... it doesn't mean you can't get started on GJ right away, but you'll be so busy getting used to the instrument anyway...

the cool thing about GJ is that it can actually be as easy as you want it to be... if you find a good teacher, even if he/she doesn't play gypsy jazz, he/she can probably simplify certain melodies like lady be good or all of me, that even a beginner can play within months... and he/she can help you approximate the rhythm guitar stuff too...

i think it's more important to have fun right now and to see what 's right for you before getting to serious with the various instructional stuff out there (including my own 8) 8) 8) ) .. i do have free playalongs that are very slow on my site, and you can therefore practicing with those eventually

dennis · May 2013

if your new to GJ AND the guitar, i would suggest just finding some local teacher instead and learn the basics of the instrument... it can probably take a year or two... it doesn't mean you can't get started on GJ right away, but you'll be so busy getting used to the instrument anyway...

the cool thing about GJ is that it can actually be as easy as you want it to be... if you find a good teacher, even if he/she doesn't play gypsy jazz, he/she can probably simplify certain melodies like lady be good or all of me, that even a beginner can play within months... and he/she can help you approximate the rhythm guitar stuff too...

i think it's more important to have fun right now and to see what 's right for you before getting to serious with the various instructional stuff out there (including my own 8) 8) 8) ) .. i do have free playalongs that are very slow on my site, and you can therefore practicing with those eventually

Hemert · May 2013

As the guy who runs the site I have to agree that the Rosenberg Academy is not a good fit if you're a complete beginner but all is not lost. There's a few things you can still pick up from RA:

- go to the "gypsy jazz real book" (located in the forum) and download all the PDFs. All the charts have diagrams for every chord. A good way to learn all the standard gypsy jazz voicings in the context of standard gypsy jazz tunes.

- download all the exercises from the technique course and spend a half hour on them daily, with a metronome of course

This might seem like an odd suggestion but I really do think this is a very good starting place:

http://www.amazon.com/Bluegrass-Rhythm- ... B00006FDQW

1. You'll learn some nice sounding open chords
2. You'll learn easy but excellent sounding chord progressions
3. You'll learn keeping time and keeping form
4. Bluegrass rhythm requires very precise picking which will benefit you in gypsy jazz
5. The instruction on the DVD is excellent and playing the material on the DVD will make you
sound good and is a ton of fun to play

dennis · May 2013

stuart wrote:

Denis - there is definitely a gap in the market for a gypsy jazz orientated Beginners course.This is the second such post this week here. I don't see why a beginner can't cut his or her teeth on Minor Swing rather than Amazing Grace but there's nothing out there to help them get started.

Oh for sure, I didn't say that complete beginners to guitar shouldn't start with GJ, especially if that is their passion, I 'm just saying there's no method book out there that teaches guitar from the beginning using GJ as the reference style... No matter what, the student will need to get used to the instrument , it probably takes 6 months to a year for anyone who practices somewhat regularly to get a general feel of the instrument; which is why I recommend getting a decent teacher who doesn't necessarily specialize in GJ but who can, at least, be competent enough to simplify certain songs (lots of songs really) to suit the student's level.