Gypsy Waltz Rhythm Help

jonpowl

Just realized I have been ignoring Gypsy Waltzes and could use some FREE help with my rhythm technique. I have worked my way through parts of Gypsy Rhythm, but can't find any waltz help there. I'm OK with gypsy rhythm at slower speeds. If anybody knows of any YouTube videos that may be helpful, especially by Dennis Chang or Gonzalo, please let me know. Thanks in advance.

Joli Gadjo

wim

Absolutely love Dolores but I'm not a big fan of the rhythm playing on that video. It sounds too heavy on the 1 or something. Latscheben sounds cool as a 6 8 one instead. That's a great DVD though.

With waltzes I like for the 2 and 3 to be identical in sound, and the 1 and 2 are basically just the same as the 1 and 2 in a regular pompe. So it's like the pompe but with the second beat simply repeated, that's a way to think of it that's maybe helpful? Well that's the sound I like to play over anyway and that's how I'm thinking when I play the rhythm parts too. It can be annoying and weird if either the 2 or the 3 has some sort of accent every time.

Maybe it's also daggy if the waltz rhythm is too consistent .. some lead players like it like that, but it can be wooden and square sounding from listeners perspective. I like the way Romane's trio got it, they have a lot of embellishments in the sound without losing the waltzey feel. Sometimes he lets chords ring and sometimes he's throwing a six/eighty sounding bar or two in there as well.

Jim Kaznosky

A waltz class at DIJ would be fantastic.

kevingcox

i don't think there are any on the list this year.

Joli Gadjo

The difference between the 2 styles of rhythm is quite impressive. Lots of very nice tricks. Denis's style is rather straight to the point but he pull off a few different variations, probably because of the nature of a technical video, while in Romanes' he's really playing the song and uses variations in different parts of the song, that's a great idea.

Jon

I guess this is pretty old fashioned, but it's still the best. The absolute masters of the waltz. The rhythm is full of moving bass lines on the 1, and a very old time articulation of the 2+3 - still pretty staccato, but with a wide beat.

I can't hear it so well, but I guess there's another guitar playing straight underneath that - ie no moving bass...anyone have any idea?

jonpowl

Thanks everyone for the great comments/suggestions! I noticed that both Robin and Kevin Nolan are doing workshops at this year's DjangoFest Mill Valley. Kevin is doing one specifically for rhythm. Maybe he'll help us with the waltz, should I be lucky enough to attend.

klaatu

kevingcox wrote: »

i don't think there are any on the list this year.

Michael Horowitz did an excellent waltz rhythm class a few years ago. Perhaps he could be prevailed upon to do another this year.

Al Watsky

In the Romane vid I notice that at least in the first selection the bass is the most prominent on 1 then the 2-3 is the chord pompe .
Very similar to some styles of Eastern European Horah. And insofar as many Moldavian Horas are shared and or claimed by Rom and Jews I would not discount the possibility that some of the musicians have been culturally influenced by that.
So that would be a somewhat weaker 1 with a forthright 2-3.
Often when its taught the student is required to omit the 1.
Hora is a universal dance in the Balkans and all of eastern europe.
Theres a French Waltz and then theres a Hora. I hear some of the performances as a mixture of both , except in cases where the players actually know this stuff. In other cases the blend merges the feel of the two. Some of the players have assimilated the French feel totally others are bring other influences from the Rom diaspora. Also note the folkloric Hora is slow. So I guess I might say that one of these feels is a sped up pan European Hora feel thats blending into a western European Waltz feel.
This is not the middle eastern or should I say Israeli Hora BTW. Which is really more of a Frilach.

Jazzaferri

I like to mix em up in a song so the rhythm fits well with the melody.

Pompe with an extra 2, bass and 2 wetter beats, bass note, chord bass run to next chord on 3, bass note plus half note on two, arpeggio up and down for a bar, wet 1 dry 2 wet 3. Bass note with syncopated second strum,

For example in Bars 1-4. Pompe with 2 dry/ arpeggio / pompe 2 dry/ bass note wet run up to the A for the F/A in bar 5.