Building an extensive repertoire

GregHB

Hi everyone. I need some advice on how best to build a tremendous repertoire. One of the biggest problems I encountered at Django in June this year was not knowing alot of the tunes that were being called...that and generally not knowing how to play my guitar, but that's another issue. So I've decided to start preparing now for next years Django in June. What are everyone's thoughts on different books and practice methods for tackling this problem? Thanks in advance. - Greg

Jack

Hi Greg,

I think a lot of listening is the most important thing. Few if any people build a big repertoire solely by knowing the chord changes-it's more a combination of recognizing the tune (being able to sing the melody in your head lets your brain 'think ahead' in terms of the harmony) and recognizing different kinds of jazz harmony (Rhythm Changes, ii-V motion, etc.) that help you navigate through a tune.

Obviously, you need to play the tunes too, but playing them in isolation doesn't lead to good retention, in my opinion, because you get so focussed on this "chord follows that chord" without relating it to the tune itself. Playing along with records and fellow musicians are much better methods. Taking this approach also builds your ear for theory, since many recordings will surely use some different changes and/or keys.

When I was first trying to build up my repertoire I simply went through all the books I had (Nolan gig, Cosimini, Real Books, etc) and played along with songs I really liked (you'll never run out). Now-years later-I can still play along with most of those songs, even if I only play many a couple of times a year. Good luck with it!

best,
Jack.

MichaelHorowitz

Speaking of the Nolan gig book...we've got a load of them coming in soon. You can be first in line by pre-ordering here:

Gig Book (Pre Order Only ETA 12/07)"
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Robin
Nolan

Gig
Book (Pre Order Only)

Stackabones

Michael Horowitz wrote:

Speaking of the Nolan gig book...we've got a load of them coming in soon.

Is this in standard notation, or is it in the same Nolan/tab notation as his other books?

MichaelHorowitz

It's just a compilation of his other books...so it's all TAB.

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Stackabones

Thanks!

djangology

Technically the gig book is a compilation of the other 6 books minus 17 tunes plus 17 new ones. (maybe its not 17... it might be a different number but I am close)

nelson84

what kinda songs are in there? classic django songs? or songs written by robin nolan?

MichaelHorowitz

It's mostly Gypsy jazz standards by Django et all....only a few Nolan songs.

djangology

I'll put a gig book detail in the FAQ section of this forum.

http://djangobooks.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3873

BluesBop Harry

In my humble opinion this is a great little book with a lot of frequently played songs.
I mostly use the chord charts prefering to figure out melodies by ear.