What songs should I start out with?

AndrewUlle

Musicformylife77 -
I could listen to Tchavolo play J'Attendrai 100 times in a row and I wouldn't get tired of it. It's not that hard of a song, but I'm just playing rhythm guitar, not lead. That and "I'll see you in my dreams" are my all-time favorites.

Chiefbigeasy

Got a gypsy jazz style guitar? If you're serious, by the best one you can afford; they hold their value and you'll really get the sound right from the start.

Look at the many great beginner videos about rest stroke technique and "la pompe." Working on getting the sound correct right from the start will reward your ears and save you time unlearning bad habits.

If you want to spend a few bucks, buy Yaakov Hoter's lessons on "Minor Swing" and his ballads course. He's a spectacular teacher and his lessons are detailed, concise, and comprehensive. If you put the work in, you will learn a lot and soon.

Listen to a lot of early Django and other early and modern masters. Make channels on your Pandora, Spotify, or Amazon Prime resources and let the music flow in. You will absorb the gypsy jazz musical vocabulary in your mind long before you can play it, but it will be there as a foundation when you need it.

Learn to play this music mostly if not entirely by ear, if you can. No harm in pursuing musical theory, but don't let that path steer you away from your ear.

This is how I started.

djangology

Looking back on 20 years of playing gypsy jazz, if I were to start again, I would learn, these 10, in order:

Minor Blues + melody
All Of Me + melody
Dark Eyes + melody + soloing
Minor Swing + 1 of the 5 entire Django solos
Sweet Georgia Brown + melody
Nuages + melody
Danse Norvegienne + melody
Django's Castle + melody
Bistro Fada + Stephane's entire solo
Daphne or FlintStones - melody + solo over rhythm changes