My 2 cents on "La Pompe"

Dario Napoli · August 26

In this new youtube video, I share my experiences learning and then teaching what I've learned over the years about "La Pompe"..

I hope this might be of help to anyone who watches.

September 20-22 I'll be hosting a workshop with Benji Winterstein in Milan, if you're around and want to really master "La Pompe" you won't want to miss this!

Best,

Dario

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yiztioq7xI8

JasonS · August 27

Some good points. It's been my experience many players ignore actively practicing la pompe and just sort of assume they can do it well enough to get through a gig. However when you play with a guitarist who is really good at rhythm, and actively listens, it's like a night and day difference, it immediately makes everyone sound so much better. Same thing for bassists.

I'd recommend combining la pompe practice with solo practice. I think we've all been in the situation where you're comping rhythm on a fast tune like China Boy for awhile and then it's your turn to solo and your hands feel like jelly and it seems the lines just can't transfer from your head to your hands haha

Buco · August 27

That's a great video. Calling it pillars is a good way to put more emphasis on it.

One of my biggest pet peeves is people skipping rhythm duties during large jams. When will you ever be in a situation to practice rhythm playing for 10-15 minutes straight?! I know I don't do nearly as much rhythm playing as I should at home.

I'm usually lazy to record my own backing tracks. But I've played rhythm along with my favorite recordings a lot at one time. It's really the best practice to copy and emulate your favorite players.

Your upstroke thingy is as good as any I've heard, it's really amazing.

Dario Napoli · August 28

https://www.djangobooks.com/forum/discussion/comment/118123#Comment_118123

Hehe, thank you for your words Jason. Yes I agree, it's best to combine rhythm and soloing. Not being "gassed" having to solo after several choruses is a good test of one's mechanics and one's proficiency. With the proper technique, it's something that should happen less and less.