Django's triplet chromatic run in Minor Swing

Rob MacKillop

Minor Swing seems to be a Rite Of Passage piece, something we all have to encounter sooner or later. I'm loving working on it, and have the first three choruses down reasonably well, and will keep working on them. The 4th course, though, is my stumbling block. Advice needed.

I have the original recording and two transcriptions, both of which differ in regard to the triplet chromatic run. Here's the one in the book by Romane and Derek Sebastian:

triplets by RobMacKillop, on Flickr


and here's the one by Yaakov Hotter from his Gypsy Jazz School:

trips by RobMacKillop, on Flickr


...as you can see, they are both very different in Line 2 Bar 2

I've tried listening, and have to admit it goes too fast for me to pick out which is the more accurate.

QUESTION 1

So, before I spend five million hours slowly practising this run, which is regarded the more accurate?

At the speed Django plays it, I'd be happy to opt for the easiest version!

QUESTION 2

Right-hand pick direction:

String 1 - start down
String 2 - start up
String 3 - start down
String 4 - start down

Agree? What happens after that depends on which version I choose...

Rob MacKillop

Sorry, String Two should start Down.

Rob MacKillop

Like the Amazing Slowdowner, I suppose. Thanks, Stuart.

Jim Kaznosky

That phrase is a bitch to play up to tempo clean.

Rob MacKillop

Couldn't have put it better myself, Jim!

Rob MacKillop

stuart wrote: »

You might find soundslice helpful here, you can isolate passages and slow them down to half-speed:

https://www.soundslice.com/tabs/1263/django-reinhardt-minors-swing-1937-november-25-swing-paris-tab/

Adrian seems to have the same score as the Romain/Sebastian version.

That's a great thing he created there.

rgrice

Soundslice is amazing!

dennis

hmm i not a fan of those fingerings.. it's hard to guess exactly what django played when ascending as it's not super clean, yaakov's fingerings are much better and similar to what i think django might have done

i transcribed every django minor swing solo for hyperhipmedia.. You can get em here:

http://www.hyperhipmedia.com/downloads.html

Chiefbigeasy

Of the 18 months I've been studying Gypsy Jazz, 3 to 4 of them were spent working primarily on getting this solo down. It was a first solo I chose to learn in it's entirety. I can now play it pretty reliably at around 170 to 175 BPM, until I get to this triplet portion.

There was a time that, out of frustration, I just inserted something else – a descending triplet solo, for example, and much easier to play – in its place. I returned to trying to master this portion of the solo several months ago and have been improving steadily.

Here's a funny thing, though. I've heard this happen to other musicians as well. There are some nights when, after being thoroughly warmed up, I can hit this triplet part of the solo almost perfectly and at a pretty good clip, faster than my previous limit. I do it over and over just to confirm that I can. And then, out of nowhere, I lose the ability and I am back to my less than perfect renditions.

What's up with that? Ever had that happen to you?"

Rob MacKillop

@dennis - thanks for that link. It's great to have the other Minor Swing solos to compare with the 1937 version. You put a lot of work into those transcriptions, much appreciated. I'll be studying them. I've yet to find one transcription that maps the notes on the fretboard in exactly the same way I am doing - but that doesn't worry me, there being more than one way to skin a cat. I'm not trying to recreate Django, just study what the great man did, and it's informative to see how other people interpret this amazing solo.

@Chiefbigeasy - 170bpm is impressive from where I'm at. I'm taking a leisurely 140bpm - much of it could go faster, but I'm happy just sitting here for a while. But even at 140 I haven't quite got those triplets with confidence. As for one day being "on it", the next day being nowhere near it - that sounds all too familiar!

Rob MacKillop

PS - I'm playing on a 75-year old archtop with a monster of a neck, and a high action. I'm sure that on a "real" GJ guitar, I'd be flying through those triplets at a supersonic 400bpm! Or I'd want my money back :-)