Django with flattop Mac

sadow

Never knew Maccaferri made flattops with a classical-type bridge. Were these early prototypes? Fingerboard appears wider as well.

cjl

Classical model with nylon strings???

... and I always thought that Django's third and fourth fingers were locked in a bent position .... I didn't realise he could flatten the third like that (looks like he actually gets that reverse angle in the first knuckle that I've never been able to achieve!)

If he could do that then wouldn't he be able to use it in his lead playing?

( .... or is that heresy???)

crookedpinky

The classical Maccas are well documented in R F Charles book and search the forum for "Django's left hand - new BMJ article" to read the definitive article on his hand, the injuries and his abilities.

wim

cjl wrote: »

If he could do that then wouldn't he be able to use it in his lead playing? ( .... or is that heresy???)

He probably did, to a limited extent. And the thumb. I would assume he would use everything/anything he could manage, and the 2 fingers lead story is likely to be a romantic embellishment of the real facts. If it was an "exaggeration of the truth" like this, the idea may have been able to gain ground easily because of an unfortunate lack of concert video footage.

Teddy Dupont

Wim Glenn wrote: »

cjl wrote: »

If he could do that then wouldn't he be able to use it in his lead playing? ( .... or is that heresy???)

He probably did, to a limited extent. And the thumb. I would assume he would use everything/anything he could manage, and the 2 fingers lead story is likely to be a romantic embellishment of the real facts. If it was an "exaggeration of the truth" like this, the idea may have been able to gain ground easily because of an unfortunate lack of concert video footage.

He only used the damaged fingers to play chord shapes, which he sometimes did in solos, otherwise it was just the other two. There are many reports by people who actually saw him play confirming this.

dennis

There are lots of misconceptions regarding Django's handicaps. I started a thread on it last year around this time, and got attacked for it from people who misunderstood what i wrote!

From having spent a lot of time very carefully transcribing certain voicings in the comping, and the exact fingerings of certain passages, i made a lot of interesting discoveries regarding how he used his fingers. It's not always what people would expect

pickitjohn

@dennis

From having spent a lot of time very carefully transcribing certain voicings in the comping, and the exact fingerings of certain passages, i made a lot of interesting discoveries regarding how he used his fingers. It's not always what people would expect

You left me hungry for more is this in your blog or could you include link to the report of your studies?

Thanks again for all you give to the Forum & the study of Gypsy Jazz.

>-

Shemi

dennis wrote: »

There are lots of misconceptions regarding Django's handicaps. I started a thread on it last year around this time, and got attacked for it from people who misunderstood what i wrote!

From having spent a lot of time very carefully transcribing certain voicings in the comping, and the exact fingerings of certain passages, i made a lot of interesting discoveries regarding how he used his fingers. It's not always what people would expect

Intriguing! I shall have to find that thread.

I have wondered how he negotiated, if he did at all, the shape of the major triad on the D, G and B strings within the E shape position. Did he avoid that completely? Did he become very adept at hopping with the same finger to a different string and adjacent fret? Did he use a kind of horizontal finger rolling? Or is there something else going on?

spatzo

The Selmer Classical seen on that picture has been exposed for years in the Shop of Pierre Beuscher in Paris near Ecole Militaire at 66 av la Motte Piquet (not Paul Beuscher) bought directly to Selmer with all the equipment needed to build Selmers when Selmer closed the guitars business.

I remember perfectly that guitar that Pierre Beuscher showed to me round 1976 when I said that I was a Django fan and I entered the shop to buy the old Argentine strings. The guitar (that Pierre said was the one on the photo) was in perfect conditions and had really a great sound. Pierre died round 1995 and all was then bought by Paul Beuscher. The shop of La Motte Piquet was then closed. I don't know the exact family relation between Pierre and Paul Beuscher maybe only cousins. Pierre's father was Jean Beuscher and they sold Selmer guitars in that shop.

dennis

hello, i'll try to write something about it at one point... but one of my main discoveries is that indeed as shemakimoo suggests, django did use horizontal finger shifting on adjacent frets!!! this goes against the theory that he had to completely adapt his left hand technique to his disability. Maybe for certain things yes, but for a number of things, he used the same fingerings he would have used if he still had all his fingers.

I was able to determine this by taking a few licks that he liked to play, and finding different recordings of the same lick. EVERY single time, i could hear the string crossing on adjacent strings because the notes would bleed into eachother. It was a fascinating discovering!

Jojo

Dennis, that's forensic worthy of CSI ! Absolutely fascinating, though I'd imagine its going to be difficult to explain without diagrams etc, which might be a bit controversial if folk are already getting hot under the collar over the legend of him only using two fingers being partially (wholly?) untrue