French virtuosos - how they became this way?

chimorh

I've often wondered what guys like Adrien, Sebastien and Angelo Debarre do during their daily practice. I've searched the internet and never found it. I try to spend my daily practice time doing arpeggios, licks and repertoire. Do they do the same I wonder?

nomadgtr

If you check out some of the DC Music School offerings you'll see that both Adrien and Sebastien touch on that subject. To answer your question at a high level though, yes their practice regimen is varied across a wide range of areas. Arpeggios, licks and repertoire are only part of it.

Buco

These guys are very dedicated, Stephane said in one of his classes that as soon as he wakes up first he makes a cup of coffee, second he goes through a 45 minutes warm up and then continues with practicing whatever he wants to work on.

At DIJ '13, I could hear Gonzalo practicing in the morning all the time.

Buco

I used to do this, loop just one chord change and work on ideas over just those two chords and interestingly after looping for a while things start to develop but nothing seemed to stick in a performance situation so I gave it up

nomadgtr

I use backing tracks for practice too. Just one tool in the toolbox but it's helpful for working out improvisational ideas.

wim

I had a room opposite Sebastien at DIJ. That year he was practicing mumbo jumbo like crazy. This is NOT the kind of tune you can fake your way through!! I was already really familiar with the theme since transcribing it on soundslice, so as he practiced I could immediately hear any wrong note and any tiny error in the phrasing ) )

I was very happy to hear him stuffing it up, slowing down the metronome, trying again.. just like the rest of us mortals! Of course he learns super fast, and he has pretty much nailed it by the performance night. But I took some sick pleasure to hear he had to work his butt off too ...

chimorh

Thanks so much for all your comments. I got the Adrien and Sebastien courses on Denis Chang's website some time ago nomadgtr...really fantastic and I've learnt such a lot from them. I'm thinking about getting the Bireli and Gonzaol courses. I first saw Bireli in Paris when he was 12 years old!!... depressingly incredible.

There's so much material and intriguing licks in these courses that'll keep me going for the rest of my life. I used to practice scale after scale every day and then never found any use for them. The Daniel Givone book gave me the arps which I still work at every day!! and the Angelo Debarre books I've found are superb for the basic manouche repertoire.

Occasionally, very occasionally, as a result I actually sound like a gypsy jazz guitarist (he said modestly!)....gives me so much pleasure it's hilarious! My technique has improved only at snail's pace over the years despite all this daily work and I keep on going until I stupidly look at a 10 year old on You Tube playing like I just might be able to play if I practice all day every day for the next 50 years.

How do they acquire this skill so rapidly. This music has driven me crazy ever since I first heard it when I lived in Paris in the seventies and happen to pass "La Chope aux Puces" one day. What the f... is that?...he said.

But I could never get any of those guys to teach me, despite spending every Saturday there, much to my girl friend's displeasure, listening to this stuff (women don't like this music... they just don't seem to get it!) and even though I wasn't a bad rock guitarist at the time. In those days there were no GJ books, no Djangobooks, no Denis Chang, no soundslice, no nuthin!! you young guys are so lucky, you've got it spoon fed to you these days....and I have struggled ever since, but at least my grand daughter thinks I play well!!

chimorh

That is so reassuring to know Wim Glenn. So glad you posted that!

chimorh

So now, thanks to you Wim, I will not put a hammer through my handmade Del Arte and I will continue with my tune a month transcription, injecting portions of Givone arps and Angelo, Adrien and Sebastien licks and improving my right and left hand coordination.

Anyone know a real cracker jack warm up exercise to provide "finger gymnastics" so I can do what Sebastien does?

Denis Chang wrote once that practicing waltzes were the best technique improving method, so I do that too. Thanks for all your help.

dennis

When Sebastien was staying at my place, he was finding time to practice regularly too; it's really great!

I have another story that might not be so inspirational though. When I was working with Stochelo in 2009, he stayed at my place. He never really practiced. Then when we were talking about which songs to record, I mentioned a beautiful waltz that he composed called Gypsy Summer. It's a brutally difficult waltz full of downstrokes; a technical nightmare! He mentioned that he hadn't play that waltz in almost 20 years, so we pulled out a recording to refresh his memory. He listened to it, practiced for about an hour and we were ready to record hahahaha

EDIT: Stochelo doesn't practice much nowadays not because he doesn't have to, but because like me, his personal goals are not the same as they were a long time ago. Nonetheless, he definitely told me that his entire childhood and early adult years were spent practicing non-stop...