Daniel Givone instructional books

Lango-Django

OK, great, thanks man! I was afraid I was going to be twisting in the wind all by myself there.

Actually, I only ordered the first Givone book, and I think it's going to last me a good long time!

Let me know when you get it, after you get past the introductory exercises, the first thing I started on was track 53, a happpy little piece in C major, for which I'll be happy to e-mail you a QuickTime track.

I've pretty much mastered it in C major, so my next step will be to use QuickTime to move it around to different keys, as recommended by Givone.

OK, now I'm off to e-mail Michael Horowitz to ask his blessing for this idea...

Thanks again for taking part!

Will

Jim Kaznosky

I haven't given my complete attention to the individual exercises with each chord type and probably should before I tackle the etudes. I wish I understood French better so that I could understand what is written underneath each of the positional examples.

Can anyone give me the gist of what he's talking about?

Passacaglia

Jkaz, I don't have the book, but I can translate the French decently well. If someone else doesn't chime in, and if you can give it to me in French, I can translate.

Lango-Django

Thanks, Passacaglia, for the offer, I have the book here and I'm okay to translate French... hey, hope you may join our little group?

Jkaz, I take it you're interested in the text on pages. 17 and 18?

There's a lot there to translate, but here's most of it...

Form 1: "This position, C major, at the bottom of the neck is one of the first that you learn, and it's easy to see the relation between the scale and the chord. To get all the fingerings,we'll play the scale over all six strings. Note that this scale begins with an E note and that the tonic note C is always circled on the treble clef. Once the scale is learned, I advise you to play the chord first and then the scale, then the chord. Do the same thing when learning the other forms, it's the best way to play them right.

Form 2: You'll notice that this position is that of an 'A' major chord moved up three frets to make it a 'C' major chord. Once again the scale is shown in relation to the chord, and begins with a G. Follow the same techniques you did for form 1. (ie play the chord first and then the scale, then the chord.)

Form 3: now the position is G major moved up five frets to make it C major. The relation between the scale and the chord is obvious, and we begin this scale with an A note. Follow the same techniques you did for form 1. (ie play the chord first and then the scale, then the chord.)

Form 4: the position now is E major, moved eight frets higher to make it C major. This scale begins on a B note. Follow the same techniques you did for form 1.(ie play the chord first and then the scale, then the chord.)

Form 5: the position now is D major moved ten frets higher to make it C major. This scale begins on a D note. Follow the same techniques you did for form 1.(ie play the chord first and then the scale, then the chord.)

I'm not going to translate all the stuff in the next text box, it goes into different modes and stuff; you can probably figure it out for yourself because the names of the modes are all pretty much the same as in English.

At the very bottom it says: "As mentioned, these five forms are a good way to improvise without making a mistake...blah blah... on the accompaniment CD, you'll hear a C6/9 chord, which will work with any of the five forms. Finish your work on the five forms by playing them one by one without stopping."

Lango-Django

Okay, I'm going to be away from my computer for two or three days, we're currently in Nerja, Spain but we're taking off for a little side trip to Madrid via the high speed train, I don't think I'm going to bother dragging my laptop around all over the place with me.

I've asked Michael's permission for us to have space for a "Daniel Givone Methode Manhouche" user's group on the board at the same location where the others book groups are, like "Gypsy Picking" and "Gypsy Fire".

We'll see if that's okay with him; or perhaps he has another location that he'd prefer.

I'll be back probably on Tuesday... in the meantime, everybody get out your Givone book and start working on your five forms... I put in three or four hours today working on the big G major exercise on page 21, linking the five forms together... wow, that is a BITCH, even at half speed, which is as fast as I can play it right now!

(And I'm really not looking forward to the G minor version on page 23 either! )

Once everybody has had a chance to try 'em, we'll have to have a little chat about these exercises actual value, I'm not totally persuaded that they're all that necessary or desirable but perhaps I'm wrong about that... one good thing I will say about though, it's good practice in changing positions from one form to the next...however, other than that, I don't feel they have much musical value and they sure are depressing and humbling!

A plus tard...

Will

Jim Kaznosky

Thanks, Will.

Yes...I'm game for the group.

alberto250579

nice! i took the method one month ago...more or less...i am working on altered 7 chord...pg 26
not that easy to visualize the standard chord shape anymore!
it is indispensable apply all these thing on songs, at least to me, or they do not have any musical sense and are very boring, it make easier to memorize them also, one more time at least it works for me. then i use to adapt them a bit to my taste.
i find also useful just to have a look to which grade of the chord are involved it the phrase, so it helps me to visualize their position on the neck. i have to say I have completely ignored the "scalar"
approach he proposes. It is easier to me visualize a chord shape and the note of the tonality (or out) around the chord shape, than visualize the scale...it is maybe a funny way to do, but i need chord and arpeggio, because scales are just a note after the other to my ears.

mobreau

Hi Guys, I am interested by what is being proposed in this thread and obviously the contents of the method. I will be ordering it come the end of the month whatever. I just wanted to know through intrigue what tunes he uses as examples?

Cheers!

Steve

Passacaglia

Lango-Django wrote:

Thanks, Passacaglia, for the offer, I have the book here and I'm okay to translate French... hey, hope you may join our little group?

Hey Lango -

Sorry for the late reply...been away at our local Festival (Madison, WI - thanks, Sim and Harmonious, Alfonso, Chris...and first time hearing HC Detroit, live - holy moly...pushing frontiers, here...unbelievable) the last couple days, and based on a couple of extraordinary, extended jams - thank you again, Steve and Patrick (LaCrosse Hot Club), Phil, Gareth, Ryan and Co., loved your playing, fantastic jam, learned a ton, and thank you for the inspiration emanating from it - when not there, was otherwise home forgetting to eat, and developing tendonitis.

I made a conscious decision to try and really focus on/master rhythm, after being away from all playing the last couple of years. I think that austere plan is going to fail...this weekend was just too much. So, in a word, I'm going to start working on lead playing as well, and I would love to get these Givone texts, work them, when my skill merits it (I feel there are miles to cover first(?)). Time will tell, but thanks for this thread and for the invite. This re-noob is watching with avid interest.

Lango-Django

Hi guys,

I'm just back from Madrid and trying to keep up with stuff here... still haven't had any word from Michael Horowitz about how djangobooks.com could accomodate a "co-op" group such as ours, so I'm going to e-mail him again...

Steve, to answer your question, there are numerous exercises (18 by actual count) for which Givone has made up little GJ-style arpy-melodies over sort of standard chord changes. I find most of them very much to my taste, though there are a few that sound just kind of like "busywork" although I'm sure they'd probably be useful to help learn positions and standard licks etc.

Then at the very end of the book are five more tasty examples: a bossa, a rhumba, a pseudo-ragtime tune, a samba, and a blues in G minor which sounds to me very much like it's mostly lifted from a Django recording (probably "Blues Mineur" though I don't have that particular recording here with me in Spain to check... anyway, it sounds so much like Django that I think any of us at this site would be pleased as hell to be able to play it!)

The thing that appeals to me about the book so far is that it seems to be a fairly well- and completely- thought-out course, more so than any of the other numerous instructional materials I've purchased over the years...

Admittedly, so far I've just dipped my toe into the water!

But obviously my hope is that whatever "missing steps" we may encounter as we go through the book, we can figure out here amongst ourselves, under the theory that "many heads are wiser than one"...

Will