Learning Gypsy Jazz Online

Bob Holo

I'm lovin the Hono Winterstein stuff. There is a logic to his voicings and timing - I haven't quite figured it out yet - but I am starting to get a sense for it. I think his approach solves a lot of common problems. You know the ones... some people are using triad walkdowns to the 1 while others are walking up to it. In some songs people are playing a 7 while others are playing a 9 or worse - some kind of ultra-hip changes that may work well in a rehearsed band but that clash in a group setting. Honos approach avoids this stuff because his changes are so unadorned. Yet they don't lack character. Theyr'e awesome, really. A few things a person learns are just gems. I remember the first time Michael managed to really get the concept of rest picking across to me and it turned on the tone and power... when Mathieu taught me how to really "sound" rhythm chords so they were rich and full... When Romain taught me to simplify my right hand on head-ins and head-outs to give the audience a sense of resolution. Hono has something in there of this magnitude. Its something about simplicity and voicing and timing of changes. His chords are simple and yet somehow sound "big" and they seem to cover more ground in terms of substitution options. He holds some chords longer than my brain wants him to, and then at other times he changes before it feels right. Yet somehow it works incredibly well. It subtly creates this feeling of momentum and creates a huge open space for the soloist. Damn that guy is good. What he's doing is deceptively simple, but it just works so well.

Archtop Eddy

Bob, excellent descriptions and observations about DC Music Hono lessons. It captures my feelings as well. My hat's off to you for writing this input. I think describing in words the nuances of the Hono's style is particularly difficult -- not only do you do this exceeding well, but you clearly and systematically break down the practical applications of his style. For those who purchase this lesson, I say take close note of these Holo observations. Additionally, Denis' GJ Chord Dictionary which comes with the lessons does a superb job of laying down important points on which chords to use, when to use them, and how to use them. It perfectly compliments the Hono lessons and gives additional information with which to analyze the Hono videos.

(By the way, I asked Denis why GJ players tend to prefer the thumb on the low-E string "grip" chords vs barre chords and he offered the following response which I thought was informative: "Barre chords are generally avoided or used sparingly as they tend to cause fatigue. It's something that becomes VERY apparent when you do full-time rhythm during a concert.... It s not so noticeable when you do it on and off. On certain Bossa tunes that involve semi-barres and full barres, I've experienced pain in the left hand; it's quite tricky!!!")

AE

dennis

hey thanks for the compliments, I don't actually like to plug my own stuff just because of conflict of interest, I really try to be as impartial as possible ... i've had people email me asking if it was better to buy my stuff or my competitor's ... at times, i've recommended michael horowitz's over mine because it was more appropriate for the potential customer.

anyway, i d like to clear a few things about the "IN THE STYLE" series videos that i produce. In the product description, it does say that these are not "how to" videos per se; I'd like to think of them as in depth interviews with the artists , where i try to capture the essence of the artist's style in as many angles as possibles. Hence, the numerous performances . I also try to get them to talk about what they believe are essential skills for all level players as well as the subtleties that make up their style ... in the case of gonzalo, he plays very dynamically with the right hand, and uses a lot of staccato notes on the left hand... in the case of stochelo, it's the vibrato, in the case of yorgui, it's all the ornaments (slides, bends, etc...).

I especially like the concept of having teh artist play through a number of tunes, including tunes they don't normally play, so that we really get to see the artist play in a way that we don't usually get to see in concert... With the DC Music School thing, I'm also able to make backing tracks, and there's usually enough time for us to also incorporate compositions (gonzalo) or specialties (waltz for yorgui loeffler)

While all level of students can benefit from this series, the way they benefit will vary from level to level...

for the beginner, it's always very important to be exposed to as many good musicians as possible. I believe in osmosis, and there's no better way than having closeups and as many musical performances as possible...

for the more advanced students, they can work on some of the lines that the artists play, and work on all the cool subtleties...

so anyway, as far as my sites goes... At the moment, I don't offer anything that s directly for beginners... the GJ playalongs have some beginner/intermediate etudes as well as basic guides for improvisation , but those just scratch the surface and are bonus material to the actual playalongs...

the free beginner playalongs are useful for everyone... get them while unlimited supplies last!!!

the hono videos are good for learning to play rhythm; but do keep in mind that the videos focus on the way hono himself plays rhythm which is different from the way nous'che rosenberg would play... but hono is hono!!!

Jim Kaznosky

steven_eire wrote:

Gypsy Jazz School has some good lessons. The teacher Yakov maybe less well known than some of the others running lessons sites, but the quality is great and very affordable.

I bought this lesson where he begins by taking some licks from Django's Tiger and transposing them to work over J'attendrai it's worth checking out.

I bought a few lessons from this place and just wanted to reiterate that they are well worth checking out. You can even pick stuff up just from watching the lesson previews he puts together for each individual lesson.

vince

I'll chime in here too and say Gypsy Jazz School is excellent, excellent stuff. It's a very nice balance between learning arpeggios, licks, and songs. I subscribe to both the Rosenberg Academy and Gypsy Jazz Academy (I went a little nuts this month...) and yet Gypsy Jazz School still fills a void.

With all the information I have now, here's what I'll say...

- Gypsy Picking (do not start anywhere else — this helped me the most when starting out)
- Denis's accompaniment DVD and Michael's rhythm book (for reference this is so, so great)
- Hono's rhythm lessons on dc-musicschool
- Denis's Stochelo DVD. In all honesty, I saw some of this Youtube, then read here it was pirated, and thought it was so great I'm going to buy it next. I recommend this to the beginner for two reasons: (1) Stochelo talks more about rhythm playing here than in his academy, and (2) learning the licks by ear is invaluable and what I spend most of my time doing. And PLEASE buy it... there's too much good stuff in there to not support Stochelo and Denis.
- Denis's other DVDs. I only have the first improv one, but I agree with Denis that the best way to learn is by watching and listening, so these materials are quite nice.
- Fill in other voids with Gypsy Jazz School lessons. Having it priced out individually per lesson allows you to buy what you know you don't know. Want to learn the song Kalli Sara? What about m7b5 chords? Buy it for $7!!!

I like the academies and I like hearing what Stochelo, Lollo, and Fapy have to say, but having masters teach you basics seems... silly? That's why the "In the Style of..." idea is so great. Gypsy Picking will give you enough arpeggios in the second section to start hearing what people are playing, and where you can start hearing stuff by ear a little bit. Then, later on you can attend the RA and see some of his phrases more clearly... if you can't already deduce from YouTube videos or his CDs what he is doing.

Take all of this with a grain of salt: I still can't play well, and I want to learn more by ear than reading tabs of licks. A lot of my practice time I waste by watching YouTube videos and trying to work out phrases by ear.