La Pompe, long-short vs short-short

MikeK

I wonder what folks think about this; Is it ok to do la pompe with the long chord (without muting it) followed by a very short muted chord? It's certainly easier than muting both chords, especially at really fast tempos, ie. Limehouse. Depending on the tune, I've been doing some tunes at gigs + jam sessions like that and no one seems to mind. But I want to see what others have to say about it. I'll appreciate any thoughts, I've been playing this music for 2 years and am always looking to improve my technique.

Bones

Yeah I think some people do that at fast tempos because it's hard to damp all beats at high speed but if you don't grip too hard when u clamp down it's easier to damp. You really don't need to squeeze very tight. Economy of motion and all that. Yeah too much ringing is a bummer esp. with multiple rhythm guitars. Plus it's kind of the space between the beats that defines the beats in a way and helps it swing IMHO. Otherwise it kind of sounds weird (again IMHO).

Jazzaferri

I use both depending on the feel we are trying to achieve

wim

No. Sounds crap.

Mute both chords the same duration, and the same way: by "pumping" the left hand.

dennis

Ya generally, same duration, but there are instances where u can do long short on certain ballads like Manoir De Mes Reves. Has to be done tastefully though

Hemert

I like long-long

dennis

Hemert wrote: »

I like long-long

Hmmm, is your girlfriend OK with that? What about lang-lang?

Hemert

I bet lang-lang plays long-long too.

roch@rochlockyer.com

"La Pompe"

PapsPier

I think it is hard to judge without hearing what you play when you say long short vs short short.

klaatu

Rightly or wrongly, I think of long-short as being more of an American or Western swing rhythm (although not in Freddie Green style). La Pompe is usually taught as being not so much a short-short but rather a rake- (or crunch-) short. In other words, beat one is a rapid rake across the strings, followed by a “hit.” In a traditional 30s Hot Club style pompe, the hit is voiced but quickly choked off; many modern players mute beat two. There are more variants than that, as Michael Horowitz’s Gypsy Rhythm book outlines.

For gypsy ballads, I was taught that it is common to play long-short behind the head and short-short behind the solos.