Comments

• Gojdan New

  December 2021 Posts: 20

  Hope everything goes well Denis and everyone stays healthy.

  This post makes me so sad though. If somebody like him has to fly to Europe to to play, what chance do I and my 30m of practice per day ever have to find people to play with 😥
• dennis Montreal, QuebecModerator

  December 2021 Posts: 2,161

  Don’t have to be sad, just being able to play music anywhere could definitely be a joy, but it’s just that for most of my adult life i’ve been surrounded by this community at least a few times a year, and to be not only away from it for 2 years but also be trapped in a place where the standard was extremely low was very mentally painful for me

  But it is true that to play “community” music , it is ideal to live somewhere where you can play with at least a few people. The more the better.. As I said in the video, there ‘s a reason why people go to certain places to learn certain things especially if they’re trying to reach a certain level. That said, there are still people who manage to reach very high levels on their own. I’m thinking of the late Jon Delaney who is an inspiration to us all, but I think he’s an exception not the rule.

  I made a follow up video with more bonus clips :-)

  
  

  https://youtu.be/5s6A9ehq_kM

  

  www.facebook.com/denischangmusic
  www.denischang.com
  www.dc-musicschool.com
• Lango-Django Niagara-On-The-Lake, ONModerator

  December 2021 Posts: 1,868

  Sounds like you are really happy to be back, Dennis.

  I’m glad to hear somebody is having some fun in this crazy fucked-up time.

  Merry Christmas and I wish that you continue to have a lot of fun in 2022.

  Will

  Paul Cezanne: "I could paint for a thousand years without stopping and I would still feel as though I knew nothing."
  
  Edgar Degas: "Only when he no longer knows what he is doing does the painter do good things.... To draw, you must close your eyes and sing."
  
  Georges Braque: "In art there is only one thing that counts: the bit that can’t be explained."
  
• Bones Moderator

  December 2021 Posts: 3,323

  https://djangobooks.com/forum/discussion/comment/109464#Comment_109464

  Just play along with recordings/vids if you can't find people. Slow the music down as much as needed to be able to play comfortably. Pick material that you like and just have fun.

  
• KlausUS AustriaNew Cholet Intuition, Gaffiero Original, AJL Q&P

  December 2021 edited December 2021 Posts: 64

  @dennis : Glad you are back in the center of Gypsy Jazz :-) - well for me you were never gone thanks to your youtube videos and courses.

  I started 3 yrs ago with Gypsy Jazz (coming directly from campfire chords) and I can say the information you provided over those years has been very valuable for me - your concepts but also the historical background you provided. Without any theoretical knowledge and with a limited amount of practice time I was overwhelmed in the beginning what to learn first - reading notes, Jazz chords, scales , arpeggios, solos ??? No guitar teacher provided a way which was acceptable for me - learning scales at an age of 47 just felt not right. Your Video on „Best Gypsy Jazz Beginners Lesson“ https://youtu.be/k4afLFW6K5U finally gave me a rough roadmap and I‘ll stick to it since , because it brings joy. Learning chords, forms and some songs by heart as a first step, then starting recognizing those licks, changing phrases within a song,…

  Next step will be for me your excellent course on soundslice which gave me for the first time an idea of how I could approach improvisation. I think Christian vH has a similar concept with his method book.

  I am still a beginner after 3 years but having a roadmap and a concept helps to reach the goals faster and I am happy with my progress!

  Long story short: guys like you are keeping the Gypsy Jazz scene alive and help people like me (with no theoretical knowledge and no uncle Dorado or cousin Rosenberg) to learn this difficult discipline much faster nowadays.

  Thanks and keep up your good work !

  
  

  BR