Downstrokes Question/Selmer #607

WowBobWow

Hi Michael & all ~

My question is in regards to the sound clip below. Are there only downstrokes involved?

Swing 48 (backing track), from the Selmer #607 website
http://www.selmer607.com/grilles.php?id_track=3

BluesBop Harry

Did you mean upstrokes?

MichaelHorowitz

Many of the young French players use a style of rhythm w/out the upstroke. I call it "Pompe four" in the Rhythm book.

WowBobWow

Thanks guys ~

Thanks Bluesbop: I just meant are there only downstrokes used in the rhythm playing, meaning no upstrokes are used at all (if it were only upstrokes that would be astonishing ! That's probably the way gypsy jazz players will play in the distant future, when playing upside becomes the norm, cars can fly, and gas is free)

Thanks for the confirmation, Michael. I was trying to play along and just felt upstrokes were getting in the way. I know you mentioned in your book that Django used the flat four rhythm for a majority of his career so I'll use my ears to hunt down this rhythm from his recordings and other modern players. I've run into trouble keeping up with faster tempos while playing along with faster g-jazz recordings (using a pompe style with an upstroke), so hopefully mastering the flat four will be more ergonomical for me to execute faster stuff.

MichaelHorowitz

WowBobWow wrote:

I know you mentioned in your book that Django used the flat four rhythm for a majority of his career so I'll use my ears to hunt down this rhythm from his recordings and other modern players.

Yes, he did. But the "Pompe Four" that is used on the 607 CD is not the same as flat four.




good luck!

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BluesBop Harry

WBW, sorry, my bad... I misread the "only" for "any" in your first post, and assumed you meant upstrokes.

Michael,
Is the pompe four like a german style pompe but without the upstroke?
Are the downstrokes, 1 and 3, played with the large motion, across all the strings?
I'm really confused about how to play this style...

JohnVB

I think flat four gives equal weight to each beat... whereas pompe four would be more like la pompe but without the upstrokes. Yes?

MichaelHorowitz

BluesBop Harry wrote:

Is the pompe four like a german style pompe but without the upstroke?

It is rather similar to the German style...the "pompe four" has a straighter less swinging feel like the German style. And the bass notes are really brought out on beats 1 and 3. But the German style tends to be more aggressive...with lots of "power" triplets and other pyrotechnics.

Are the downstrokes, 1 and 3, played with the large motion, across all the strings?

I think Wrembel teaches it that way....but Mathiue didn't seem to do that. When I play the pompe four I just do the bass strings on 1 and 3. But you really have to dig in and "crunch" them.

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