The Legato rest stroke.

SwedeinLA · February 2022

I am new in the GJ world. Been playing guitar for many a years but new to this picking style. I always played with a mix of hybrid picking, legato and economy picking, But that came naturally depending on phrase played. I have now started to practice GJ style picking and like many other I'm sure, I have issues....Mostly with ascending lines. I have found myself to incorporate more and more GJ style picking naturally as of late though, including in legato playing.

Is that a thing?

It adds volume and attack to the legato and it makes me play and phrase differently. I have seen many Gypsy guys using legatos in form of trills etc, but never really multi string lines. I like that combination and im not stopping that, just continuing my picking training.

Thoughts?

I was always a fan of Metheny, Holdsworth etc.....The direct opposite of GJ style playing....hehe

Buco · February 2022

Yeah, in this genre it's rarely more than a hammer-on or a pull-off. One thing that impresses me with the best players is how fluid they are with majority if not all of the notes being picked. Especially the younger generation. It ends up sounding very much legato like, that's how well it flows.

Won't hurt to try, sounds like it's something you're used to and are comfortable with. Don't know how well it will sound on a long scale acoustic guitar that's known for being loud and all about attack. I can hear it being ok for recording, even amplified gigging.

Scoredog · February 2022

This thread could go south quickly. I came from Larry Carlton, Robben Ford grease mixed with a Metheny and Benson influence. Benson translates quite well to Gypsy Jazz as he picks most everything. The problem with playing like Metheny and Holdsworth is you lose the essence of what GJ sounds like by not articulating with your pick. When I took up GJ I decided I was going to incorporate what I knew and add it to GJ but the further I went down the rabbit hole I realized I really needed to focus in on getting a somewhat authentic GJ sound and playing like most electric guitarists is not going to get it done.

As Buco mentioned there are many players today who sound totally fluid and greasy w/o sounding stiff. It is tempting to want to put your own spin on it and compromise, but I found it best to give into doing it right and then add the elements I came with back in. Also playing an electric guitar is going to have a totally different feel and dynamic than playing a Selmac guitar. If you play a Selmer guitar with electric guitar technique your tone and sound will likely be weak and thin.

SwedeinLA · February 2022

I agree. I was just curious about the thoughts on the topic. I already can tell a difference with stuff i play on my telecasters and Les Pauls, when I play it on my hollowbody jazz box. The next step to a GJ guitar will obviously be even more obvious. I dont even have a GJ guitar yet, but its in the works.