Andreas, your right hand technique

makabey

Hi Andreas,

First of all: Your playing is just superb. You are a great inspiration and motivation for me to dedicate myself to this style (I bought your Gypsy Fire book a Djangofestival in Germany). It's a great book! I like it very much. Thanks for putting this out. It provides contents to work on for quite some time, I think


Second: I've watched quite some videos where you play manouche style.
I can see that your postitioning of the right hand differs a bit from other gypsy jazz players, like Stochelo Rosenberg or Angelo Debarre. They have a more bended wrist, which a farer away from the body of the guitar.

Since you have studied and played with the Rosenbergs and other manouche players: Did you once talk about the wrist bend in gypsy right hand technique?

Would you like to tell a bit about it?

Thanks for your input here!

Greets,

makabey

P.S. Still listening to US radio broadcast, it's the live session now...pure fun to listen to!!

AndreasOberg

Hi,
Thanks for the kind words. I'm mainly a electric player (bebop and modern jazz) so that's why my wrist is straighter than some of the gypsies. I've found a way that works for me in both styles, so I don't have to switch too much technique wise. The important thing in Gypsy Jazz is to play with a free wrist and that's what I do and that actually improved my electric playing too. If you bend your wrist too much, it will make it really difficult to make it work on electric unless you want to sound like Django from the early 50's.

Best Regards
Andreas

ps. check out Dorado and Samson, they do something in between too:)

makabey

Thanks for your reply, Andreas.

A free wrist, you said. I think this means, that the palm isn't fixed or anchored to the bridge. Or does it just mean a loose and limber wrist? But this would apply to any style I guess.

Yes, I saw that Dorado Schmitt's wrist is more straight. He appeared to be an exception, together with you.

In the end, what counts is, how you sound and well, we all know how you sound

If anybody else would like to contribute:

What do you! think is the advantage of the wrist bend?

MichaelHorowitz

makabey wrote:

What do you! think is the advantage of the wrist bend?

You're able to take advantage of gravity when your wrist is bent. So gravity does a lot of the work for you....you get more volume and articulation with less effort.

On electric this doesn't matter as much, hence the more common planted wrist.

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AndreasOberg

Yeah, Michael is right but I've noticed that it's not always true that the players using a really bent wrist position are the loudest ones...

With a free wrist I just mean't that you shouldn't support the wrist on the bridge or elsewhere on the guitar.

Some of the gypsies play much softer than you would think and that goes for the rhythm too. A lot of the non gypsy players play rhythm way too loud. You should be able to play just as intense and swingin' even though you're not playing really loud.

Best Regards
Andreas

MichaelHorowitz

AndreasOberg wrote:

Some of the gypsies play much softer than you would think and that goes for the rhythm too. A lot of the non gypsy players play rhythm way too loud. You should be able to play just as intense and swingin' even though you're not playing really loud.

Ditto on that....

Elliot

Michael,

Don't mean to cross posts, but I am really curious as to what you think of the bottom pick(s) in the 'New Pick Site' recent thread. They seem to be rhythm picks that promote a bent wrist because of the angle you hold it. However, it has a pinched grip with the pick in between the index and middle finger. The site calls it French style. I like it because the position is roughly similar to strumming without a pick, i.e. brushing the nails of the hand over the strings. What say you?

MichaelHorowitz

You mean these?

Elliot

Yeah, those are the ones. Kosher or no?

MichaelHorowitz

They look like an a near exact copy of the Dugain design:












Dugain
Picks











Also similar to the JP Sarods:










John
Pearse Sarod Picks







I don't see any problem with them...they should work fine. Personally I don't like having my fingers locked into a pre-carved index grip. But it works for some...

Duozona

Cant really explain why, but after having not used a grip pick forever (meaning with a thumb impression) I used one yesterday for rhythm and it was, or should I say I was, a mess. It kept slipping around, though you would think that makes no sense...something about the stable yet loose way I have come to hold the picks, the thumb indents dont "groove" with me at all...As Michael says, works for some though....

-Chuck