Ideal Guitar Practice Gear

KlausUS

Guitar related gear and gadgets are fun. They do not make you a better guitar player per se, but the possibilities to optimize the „practicing environment“ are nowadays amazing. So I thought I share some thoughts about what I would consider to be a helpul gear for practicing Gypsy Jazz. Maybe this is interesting for other beginners too. 

Nr.1: Anytune Pro+

This iPad App is awesome. All songs, courses, backingtracks are imported. It has never been easier to practice a lick 500 times. You can choose any part at any speed very easily. Perfect for practicing licks or playing a song with a backing track. Can be controlled with a Bluetooth pedal, so you are hands free.

Nr.2: Bose Bluetooth Soundlink micro

The sound of this tiny bluetooth box is incredible. Definitely a motivation to have a beautiful sounding backing track. 

blob:https://www.djangobooks.com/9a315861-240f-453c-809a-70112b305c86

Nr.3: Izotope Spire Studio 

Recording yourself is essential to see the real progress. Noodling on the couch is not enough.

The tiny Spire is a complete recording studio !  No cables, no computer, no memory cards, no external mics, nothing, just the Spire and a iphone and you have a high quality, portable multitrack recorder. It is easy to produce backing tracks and record a jam in high quality. There is no complex technical setup to record, monitor and export anymore. Very impressed when I tried out the Spire at a friend´s house.

blob:https://www.djangobooks.com/cc781e38-de69-492b-a343-7eff6a74b394

Nr.4: AJL La Flasque + Boss WAZA-AIR Headphones

Silent, portable guitar: play wherever and whenever you want with the scale length and gypsy style guitar  your are used too. 

Together with the  new Boss WAZA-AIR Headphones and a cellphone it is possible to practice with backing tracks silent, without technical setup and cables. Very expensive though. 

blob:https://www.djangobooks.com/243c1f35-9dc6-4dc2-9122-18a167b89cc6

blob:https://www.djangobooks.com/715bea38-62a9-427f-b25f-ba2709541b1d

Nr. 5  Last but not least: All online academys (Joscho, Denis Chang, Rosenberg, Nolan, etc...) + Soundslice are very helpful resources. 

Of course all the gear can not replace dedication, motivation, a real lesson with a teacher, playing together and interacting with other players or going to France or the Netherlandas to live and play with the Manouche community,  but learning is definitely easier than it was 15 years ago. 

Are you guys using some of the „helpers“ mentioned above or is these for you just unnecessary toys and not really „in the style“  ?

Buco

I really believe the iReal app moved my playing to the next level. Now I'm starting to play around with Band in a Box. Over the years (many years ago) I'd hear so many times people say they would record their own backing track on a tape and play the entire 45 minutes length repeating chorus after chorus. I've never done it once, was always too lazy. If it wasn't for the modern gadgets I don't think my improv skills would have moved farther then that one pentatonic lick I knew. I see Anytune is Apple universe only. I use Amazing Slow Downer. That developer was able to convince Spotify to integrate the app with Spotify streaming.

vanmalmsteen

I am a huge fan of Anytune. As a guitar teacherI use it on a daily basis with my students;)

KlausUS

https://www.djangobooks.com/forum/discussion/comment/101603#Comment_101603

Yeah, i Real is another good one, it forces you to learn/know the chord names /shapes when playing along.

WmTBallard

Is there an equally good android equivalent to Anytune Pro?

Buco

https://www.djangobooks.com/forum/discussion/comment/101609#Comment_101609

Amazing Slow Downer. I said this before and here it is again, I've yet to hear a software that's as good as it is at preserving the audio quality when slowing down the song.

Passacaglia

Buco, how to you integrate ASD with Spotify? Is it through importing a playlist?

Couldn't agree more on ASD's ability to maintain audio integrity on slowing down. I think it was Gonzalo who recommended it years ago, and I've never been disappointed. Fantastic program.

Just got iReal for android. Maybe I'm spoiled from BiaB, but the "GJ" style leaves....something to be desired, imo. The "acoustic guitar" sounds like the same cheesy electric piano I hear in many other styles. I imported a great playlist from the iReal forum, but it's a bit hard for me to see using it much at the moment because the changes don't sound right to me. Am I missing something - or expecting too much?

bbwood_98

Hello All,

A comment on this - well two really:

Nr.4: AJL La Flasque + Boss WAZA-AIR Headphones - and a actual flask might be helpful too . . .

and a comment about how I use I real - as I mostly practice Rhythm and transcribe solos (though I too practice soloing, just not as much as I am thankfully mostly called to play rhythm for others!), I find I turn the piano/guitar and the drum (sometime on clicks, but mostly just off) sound off in the mixed and just use the bass, and le pompe away at all sorts of tempo and feels. This is especially useful for re-harmonizations I write for one project and originals for another.

Bon practice yall!

Buco

Paul, yes ASD will read Spotify (needs to be a paid subscription) playlists. I have ASD playlist that I use for this purpose but it'll see all of your playlists.

I mostly use iReal with bass track only, I add vibes track sometimes and that's a nice sound. Piano is passable but guitar sounds terrible. Still I'm impressed with what you get for, what was it, $15. It used to be BIAB had those sounds and it was at least a $100 software.

I often change the charts I download into changes that I prefer, especially Django fakebook chords isn't something you'd see people say at Django in June jam use.

Passacaglia

Thanks very much for the perspective guys. Very helpful insights.

egWE

https://www.djangobooks.com/forum/discussion/comment/101603#Comment_101603

You do not need to give up it since there are some other methods to use Spotify songs. You only need to use a tool like Tunelf Spotibeat Music Converter to download Spotify songs to MP3.