A Lesson with Bireli Lagrene

Kelly Dow

Yes, you are probably right, but he didn't say "what's a downstroke?".
He seemed to give a very specific answer to the question.
Maybe he is referring to the backsweep patterns like the last example in the lesson, or when he plays electric.
I thought the "What's a dominant chord" was funny too, although as soon as the guy played one, he said "oh that" and reeled off a lick. He probably calls those chords something, maybe just 7th chords, he just wasn't familiar with that particular english term.
I appreciate that he was a child prodigy and a total natural. Music is so internalized for him it must be like breathing or walking. I've been walking a long time, but I can tell you when I am on my right foot or my left (most of the time).
Anyway thanks for posting it, I'm going to try and find an issue for the video.
Love the site and all the new material you are getting.
Kelly

MichaelHorowitz

Stochelo is the same way...he has no idea what his right hand it doing!

Kcox

I've been walking a long time, but I can tell you when I am on my right foot or my left (most of the time).

I think a more accurate analogy might be to ask "when stepping onto an escalator do you use your right or left foot?" I bet that unless you have some kind of obsessive compulsive disorder you'd say "whichever feels natural," just like Birelli and his picking. But it could very well be that under observation we might discover that you use your right (or left) foot 95% of the time.

Now, if you have no problem getting on or off of escalators how much time are you going to spend worrying about which foot to use? It is clear that Birelli does not think it worth his while to examine what he is doing anymore than we examine how we get on to excalators...but that doesn't necessarily mean that there isn't a system there. Also, it doesn't mean that there is. Only close observation can reveal that.

Craig Bumgarner

Is this a magazine that is currently on the newstands? Is this the best way to get the CD with the sound files?

dennis

i'm pretty sure bireli knows what he's doing in terms of picking, for a guy who spent many years exploring different styles and techniques...

i think he gave the answer he gave, so he wouldn't have to give a big explanation on how they play the style (or maybe he doesn't feel like sharing)....

when i was translating masterclasses for ritary, the same question came up, he just says to use whatever feels best, he doesn't feel like spending much time really talking about the details of the picking technique...

but i know him personally, and we've had discussions about the technique, and he's very aware of it, and he's even asked me if he should switch to benson style picking!

but then again, i've met people who don't know what they're talking about... (ie stochelo)

here's an interesting story, when i played for paulus schafer, he told me that it was good that i was using alternate picking (which i wasn't) because according to him most people who try to learn this style use too manydownstrokes (!!!!)

a

what did stochelo say ?

djangology

almost without a doubt, todays gypsy jazz players will try to evolve into alternate picking techniques (always in denial that rest stroke really is the best way) and you can't stop them from trying to change this and other things. these are the same people that will try to push boundaries in the repoirtoire and push gypsy jazz to the edge of not being recognizable as gypsy jazz... its all only a matter of time before these things happen and so we should all start expecting it and not act surprised when people start changing things...

Jez Tan

I subscribe to this magazine but they do not send the cds overseas. I managed to get the soundfiles for this particular article from a kind soul but he doesn't know how to get the videos out, anyone kind enough to upload the videos, I would love to see him play the examples! That said, I have zipped the soundfiles for this lesson. Enjoy

Rollerpunk

Hi,

If you're still searching those videos, they are all on this page (10 videos) :
http://video.google.fr/videoplay?docid= ... -+1+&hl=fr

Enjoy it !

Cheers

spatzo

Hi Jez!

All you have to do is to install the Realplayer free player and then to go and watch the videos my good friend Rollerpunk has indicated here before. As soon as you will watch the videos a small popup window will appear asking you if you want to record the video...

Pretty easy!

Best