The typical Django-solo

Arnstein

What's the ingredients of a "typical" Django-solo?

I have noticed that he seems to use the diminished scale alot. What more is typical Django?

pallopenna

To me the overwhelming characteristic of Django's solos is melodic development.

MichaelHorowitz

pallopenna wrote:

To me the overwhelming characteristic of Django's solos is melodic development.

Actually, I think I would respectfully disagree with that. Some of Django's solos did have very clear melodic basis, like I'll See You in my Dreams. But in general, I think Django's are more a pastiche of cool patterns, arpeggios, and other devices. It's a more harmonic based approach IMO. I'd say someone like Oscar Aleman was more of a melodic based player. Wes Montgomery also had a lot of melodic development going on. To my ear, Django didn't base his solos so much around developing a theme.

It's worth mentioning that Wes Montgomery said in an interview that "Django Reinhardt just played a lot of guitar but didn't go anywhere with it." I'd say that's somewhat true....although I don't think that it's a bad thing. Just a different approach.

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it's funny that wes said that. i think it's not helpful to try to "go somewhere" with the guitar. there's just you, and the guitar. if anything, it's about not trying to "go somewhere" but to explore the reality of this limited situation, right here- to really get into the depth, the innerspace of daphne or whatever.

dennis

hmm maybe django didn't go anywhere as far as motivic development (well he did play motivically to a certain extent) goes but he was definitely a story teller.....

he's definitely aware of phrasing and starting phrases on specifici beats... he's also aware of the structure of a song enough to know when to play certain phrases, and when to end them, and then how to respond to said phrase (minor swing 1937 being the best example)...

btw michael in what context was that said (wes interview)?

Teddy Dupont

dennis wrote:

.......goes but he was definitely a story teller.....

Absolutely and this is one of the things I love about his playing together with its sheer melodic beauty. So many of Django's solos are like compositions in their own right. To me, they do have a logical form and structure which is part of the reason they are so memorable and so often copied note-for-note.

pallopenna

Absolutely and this is one of the things I love about his playing together with its sheer melodic beauty. So many of Django's solos are like compositions in their own right. To me, they do have a logical form and structure which is part of the reason they are so memorable and so often copied note-for-note.

Teddy said it much better than I did. I have to respectfully disagree with your disagreement, Michael. The more I listen to Django's solos the more the melodic elements strike me. Granted he used riffs and patterns, but it's how he used them and, to my ears, most of the time they're employed in the service of melodic shaping.

-Paul

MichaelHorowitz

Teddy Dupont wrote:

So many of Django's solos are like compositions in their own right. To me, they do have a logical form and structure which is part of the reason they are so memorable and so often copied note-for-note.

Yes....without a doubt. That's why they are so classic. But they don't follow the motivic development concept that is popular with more contemporary players. Most of the time anyway. I'd say Django's solos are more rhapsodic in nature. But not complete chaos...they have a feeling of completeness and inevitability to them that lesser players lack.

And again, this in not a value judgment, I don't think one approach is better then the other. But I think the Berklee (Pat Metheny-Jim Hall) sort of thinking is that melodic development is the way to go and anything else is sub par. which I don't agree with.

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MichaelHorowitz

dennis wrote:

btw michael in what context was that said (wes interview)?

It was in an interview....I think it was published in Guitar Player a long time ago.

djangology

But I think the Berklee (Pat Metheny-Jim Hall) sort of thinking is that melodic development is the way to go and anything else is sub par. which I don't agree with.

I agree with that totally. :-)

MichaelHorowitz

Here's the exact Wes quote:

Django Reinhardt, naturally, he's in a different thing altogether. To me, a lot of guitar players don't go to a particular place, they just sit down and play a whole lot of guitar, and Reinhardt is one of those kind of cats.

Wes Interview

Keep in mind that he's mentioning Django as one of his favorite guitar players.