Douce Ambiance Django's original chords vs commoly played today

NylonDave · November 2017

Oh another thing Buco that might be fun. Play a spread triad and walk along the cycle of thirds changing one note at a time to get a new triad.

Ie CxGxExx
to CxAxExx
to CxAxFxx
to DxAxFxx
to DxBxFxx
to DxBxGxx
to ExBxGxx
to ExCxGxx

Thats a lot of learning and fun to be had crawling up from a root position Freddie Green Tenth on the outside triad to it's first inversion (again with the pretty tenth on the outside).

I don't know if Van Eps had this exercise in his book but it seems like the kind of thing he'd spend a few days on and then throw away for a few weeks before getting back to it with fresh eyes.

I don't know of a more thorough exercise to learn spread triads.

D.

You can do it forwards and backwards (backwards is prettier) and of course link first inversion to second and second to first. Then different string sets. Then soft pedal and put everything in one octave. It is important to have the next triad on the tip of your tongue so you can say it out loud as you play it, omitting this part will remove most of the benefit from working on the exercise.

Bones · November 2017

Wow, yeah ND there are soooo many possibilities with reharmonization on this one. Plus the other cool thing about that is you make it unique and 'your own'. Again, I think it just comes down to what sounds good to you.

Buco, thanks for the tip on the headphones. I'll def. check them out.
Maybe that is a way I can limp along without biting the bullet for a new laptop/software/speakers/etc. But I'm afraid my laptop is so outdated it will be dying within the next year almost for sure. Can't handle all the new apps. Ugghhhh!!! Plus if I use headphones the side benefit is my wife won't have to listen to the same 3 seconds of Douce Ambiance (or whatever) at 50% speed over and over cranked up to high volume on my crappy/noisy speakers while I try to pick out Django's comping :-)

NylonDave · November 2017

Bones wrote: »

Wow, yeah ND there are soooo many possibilities with reharmonization on this one. Plus the other cool thing about that is you make it unique and 'your own'.

That's nice. Which did you like best when you sang through with them ?

D.

Bones · November 2017

Ha! I CAN'T sing but I hummed it in my head. I like the last one too. A lot. The other interesting thing about this whole reharmonization thing is it really shows how interrelated it all is. In my 'shapes' oriented thinking I can really see that.

And also note that in that particular section that we are reharmonizing the chords go by so fast that at least in my mind it is kind of helpful to think about where the progression is headed as well as where it is at any instant. If that makes sense.

Edit: I might think about changing it to...

Gm/Bb...D7b9/A...Fm/Ab...G7 to get a fully descending bass line. Which is really practically the same as the original progression except you essentially get a full measure of II-V in Cm rather than just the 2 beats of Bdim (which functions as G7b9 in the progression leading to Cm). Of course Eb is related to Cm, etc. etc. I actually think I will throw in that reharmonization occasionally especially if I am the only rhythm guitar since I like the way it sounds.

NylonDave · November 2017

Bones wrote: »

The other interesting thing about this whole reharmonization thing is it really shows how interrelated it all is. In my 'shapes' oriented thinking I can really see that.

Yeah, it's funny how it starts to come together when you play around with it for a while, trying out everything that comes to mind and seeing what seems nice. I tried to explore that on a discussion about diminished chords but these things are deathly dull and confusing unless you are face to face playing together.

I got Jim Ferguson's book on Freddie Green's playing years ago and studied it pretty hard for a while. It never seemed to come together though. But these things take time and I find a lot of the things that seem simple now were tantalisingly just beyond my grasp.

That is the problem with 'practice for use' we need to plant seeds for next year not just focus on what we need for today.

( https://www.amazon.co.uk/All-Blues-Jazz-Guitar-Ferguson/dp/0786631287 )

Bones · November 2017

Ok last post for now, I'm eating into my practice time budget and wifey is waiting for lunch :-) but also to look at the intro speaking of chromatic lines it's really cool to play it like this:

2x023x...3x133x...4x243...5x353x...6x57xx...3x133x...5x553...5x453x

It gives you multiple chromatic lines with the D 'pedal' on top. And those are also the kind of spare chord voicings that I like to use since they are easier on my arthritis. In fact, if the lead player is handling the D pedal I'll just play the lower 4 strings for that reason.

Whew, this stuff is limitless....

Buco · November 2017

I'll try those too when I get home Bones.

While we're on the intro subject let me do a little bit of self-promotion, I recorded a video with a couple of different ones:

lewischang88 · November 2017

@Buco I can't absorb all the info in this discussion thread yet but at least I like your glasses!

lewischang88 · November 2017

(Zero contribution here)
I wonder how Douce Ambiance would sound if someone plays the chords of the first 8 bars of Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 2 (playing the same key, of course)...