PLAY } GYPSY JAZZ
ON THE CD
TRACKS14-21
Django Django Reinha Reinhard rdtt His Hi s style in 25 25 lic licks ks In this this special feature feature John Wheatcroft Wheatcroft takes a licks based look look at the unique style of of Belgium born gypsy guitar g uitarist ist Jea Jean n Reinh Reinhar ardt dt,, bette betterr kno known to the the world sim simply as ‘Djang jango o’. ABILITY RATING Info Key Various Key CD TRACKS Various Tempo Various CD TRACKS 14-21
D
Will improve your… Gyps Gypsyy jazz jazz voc vocab abul ular aryy
jango Reinhardt is the the complete complete guitarist’s guitarist. George Benson, Brian May, Jeff Beck, Hank Marvin, Peter Frampton, Les Paul, Yngwie Malmsteen, Allan Holdsworth, Chet Atkins and millions of guitarists worldwide, famous and not so famous, have been captivated by the self-taught gypsy genius who knew nothing of music theory and could barely read and write. What’s more, he only had two I was around 14 years of age and was being bein g told off by my dad yet again. “Turn that racket down, and anyway; that music’s terrible. You should listen to this guitarist. He’s by far the from my dad was bound to be rubbish and that my pointy-headstocked-wielding, pointy-headstocked-wielding, spandex-wearing, spandex-wearing, uber-shredding hero could not possibly be topped (it was the 80s, after all), I begrudgingly checked him out, mainly so that I could point out how unbelievably misguided and out of touch the old man was. Such is the impetuousness of youth. had it all: technical dexterity beyond anything I’d ever heard before (or since for that playfulness. There was the feeling of no restrictions whatsoever, whatsoever, with such a complete expressi expressive ve and dynamic dynamic delivery, delivery, and all
Moderate/Advanced Picking technique Proj Projec ecti tion on and and dyn dynam amic icss
executed with total ease. I literally couldn’t believe that the guitar guitar could sound sound that that beautiful, and when when I then learnt that he was was executing all of this with mostly two fretting this musical genius come from? Belgium, into a family of Manouche gypsies. Prodig Prodigiou iously sly talent talented, ed, by age age 13 he was was
DJANGO STRETCHED THE GUITAR IMAGINATIO IM AGINATION N TO ITS LIMIT. LIMI T. HE WAS WAS THE FASTEST, THE MOST CREAT REATIVE IVE,, HE HAD GREA GREAT T RHYT RHYTHM HM,, AND AND HE WAS A GOOD GOOD COMPO COMPOSE SER R TOO George Benson performi performing ng with the street street entertain entertainers ers of evolved a completely new method for and making limited use of the crippled third Inspir Inspired ed by theradicalnew theradicalnew art art form form of
Django’ss Picking Pick ing TECHNIQUE FOCUS Django’ A huge amount of Django’s tone, drive and musical personality came from his incredible picking technique. The technique comes from a completely ‘broken-wrist’ motion and its accommodating floating posture, rather like a controlled version of the move you’d use to shake your hands dry, and it’s hugely weighted in favour of the downstroke. The general rule is to start each new string with a down, even when descending through a scale or arpeggio. You’ll notice that most of Django’s really fast phrases are generally ascending, although he had his moments going the other way too! To assist the production of volume for what is essentially a completely acoustic style of playing, you’re after the plectrum equivalent of the classical guitar rest-stroke, although here the destination string that our pick comes to rest is nearest the floor. The type of pick you use makes a massive difference too. Generally they’re huge (5mm is not uncommon) and made out of genuine tortoiseshell, today a pretty non-PC material to be seen with. Thankfully Michel Wegen produces by far the best and most popular man-made alternatives (www.wegenpicks.com).
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jazz, and the trumpet trumpet style of of Louis Louis Armstrong Armstrong Club de France with Stephane Grappelli. This line-up of two rhythm guitars, violin, double to electric guitar and began incorporating incorporating the in June thousands of music fans visit the Jazz Manouche festival in Samois to celebrate the legacy of this gypsy jazz maestro. variety of harmonic harmonic settings, followed by a minor. This is literally the tip of the iceberg, as each month for the next 10 years. The aim is encourage some research of your own, as this is where the real learning will begin, but for now grab your acoustic and dive in. There’s no need to play the examples using fun discovering how they work). In a performance situation anything goes, so I’d advise that you play them whichever way works for you. I hope you enjoy enjoy play play these these ideas as much as I did putting this article 5
5
5 3
3
GAIN
BAS S
MIDDLE
TREBLE
REVERB
The above settings are for an acoustic amp. Django used a Selmer guitar by Maccaferri, bu t there are many affordable replicas, from bespoke hand-built jobs from Dupont and Rob Aylward (what you hear on the C D), to great off-the-peg brands such as Gitane and Manouche. Strings are light for an acoustic (.010 or .011), but these guitars have an extra-long scale length and the action needs to be high for projection and clarity. Of course any acoustic will do until you decide to get serious about playing gypsy jazz.
NGO REINHARDT { ACOUSTIC SPECIAL
Django: note the withered but not entirely unusable 3rd and 4th fingers
S E G A M I Y T T E G / B E I L T T O G M A I L L I W
TRACK RECORD My
personal favourites are the three JSP box sets chronologically covering his career from the earliest Quintette 78s to his later electric guitar sessions. Django was remarkably consistent, and I’d happily endorse anything that has got his name on it, but if pushed to pick just one CD that showcases his finest playing I’d choose (today at least) Jazz In Paris – Swing 48 (SSC 2002).
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PLAY } GYPSY JAZZ
ON THE CD
TRACKS14-21
PLAYING TIPS
CD TRACK 15
[Lick1] Wekick off with a bouncyidea than outlines themovefrom chord V7
usual 3rd and 7th degrees (BandF) but the 3rd and 6th (E and A). Thisline,like all of these examples, should be played with a ‘swung eighth’ feel.
(G7) to chord I (C), although you’ll notice that often Django targets not the
©»™™º
G7/6
C
‰ E B G D A E
3 5 2
3
5
4
4
4 5
4
[Lick 2] Two omnipresent themes within Django’s soloing are the targeting of
B m6
5
E7
A
# ‰
3
3
E B G D A E
10 14 9
12 14 12
11 12
9
12
10
9 9
10
10 9
12
chromatically ascending arpeggio idea phrased in 6 against 4. You’ll find this fingering for major arpeggios used a lot in Django’s soloing, as this is one of the easiest shapes to play convincingly with just two alternating fretting fingers.
phrase, usually played in a break (when the rhythm section stops playing and the soloist is left to his own devices to keep time), he superimposes a D7
G
#
b
E B G D A E
2
3
3
3
4
4
4
2 0
3
4
0
5
5
5 4 0
5
6
0
9
12
9
10
7
5
6
chords tones, Whole Tone scale and chromaticism in one lick. Augmented ideas tackled with whole steps moving diagonally are another idea that you’ll
6
7
0
8
see frequently in both Django’s soloing and his unaccompanied style, no doubt influenced by a combination of their musical effectiveness and their fingering logic when using just the first and second fingers.
#
E13
A9 5
©»¡™§ # ..
..
‰
‰
‰
3
9 7 7 6
. .
6
6
[Lick 4] Here’s a Django intro that leads to the key of D. He uses a mixture of
7
9
3
7 9
7 9
7 6 6 5
. .
7 6
5
7
5 6
4 6
4 7
6
5
4
3
7 0
[Lick5] We beginwith a closely positionedsemitoneneighbour-tone
decorated C6 arpeggio (C-E-G-A), moving onto a widely spaced Cdim7 (C-E b -G b -B b b ), and ending with a touch of blues by targeting the b 3 rd (Eb ).
©»™ º
12 10 9
11
[Lick3] Django’slineshad great rhythm, andhe hadfantastic timing. In this
E B G D A E
9 10 9
10
11
©»¡™º #
5
5
but in single-note form - Django would often preface an arpeggio with a chromatic note from below, giving it much moresophistication. We can clearly see both of these concepts employed in this neat II-V-I idea in the key of A.
the 6th degree (here we’re looking at this against a minor triad to create R- b 3-5-6 = m6), and the chromatic decoration of basic triad and 7th chords
©»™™º #
3
C
To facilitate the wide stretches Django would retract the first finger and turn his wrist to an angle counter-clockwise, so these kinds of stretches presented no problem to him. Mere mortals might like to use the third finger instead. Cdim
b
b
C 6 / 9
C
3
E B G D A
4 4 4 4
E
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5
5
5
5
8 4
5
7 4
5
5 4
4
7
8
10
10
11
10
8 10 8
8 8 7 7
NGO REINHARDT { ACOUSTIC SPECIAL
PLAYING TIPS
CD TRACK 16
[Lick6] Athough famousfor hisabilityto play in allkeysit wasnot uncommon
guitar works best.This ideasets up another rhythmically displaced phrase, here 3 against 4, andhe’d keep this going foras long as an entirechorus, makingamendmentsto thenotecontent to maintain a sense of surprise.
forDjango tochange the key ofa piece toallow him accessto a greater range of open strings andall thenaturalharmonics availablein keys in whichthe
b . . . . b bb
C
© ™ º
A 9
b
.
E B G D A
0
10
12
11
0 10
0 10
10
11
0 10
0 10
[Lick 7] Move overYngwieMalmsteen,here’sa five-string majortriadic sweep
15 14 17 14
15 14 17 14 15 14 17 14
15 10
[Lick8] This phrasespells outthe chordsof Dm6(D-F-A-B), movingtowards
b
3
3
3
7
6
5
6
7
4
7
8
5
7
5
5
7
7
8
4
5
6
7
11 11 11 10
9 9 9 8
10 10 9 9
6
7
0
2
3
3
2
0
3
0
3
2
3
3
2
[Lick 10] Never mind two fingers, how about no fingers! Django used this
idea to begin one of his most famous improvisations, showing how if you’re A11/E
Rubato
j œ
œ
0 0
8
‰
4
BU (7 )
7 7 5 7
6
5
0 0
0
0
0
3
9
8
9
0
0
0
8
8
4 4 4 4
5 5 5 5
œ
. œ
j œ
œ
5
Let ring
0 0
B6 C6
resourceful and open to any idea you really can make such a little go a really long way. Follow the picking indications and you should be good to go.
j œ 0
7
9
A11/E
Let ring
0 0
C
5
œ
. œ
j œ
7 7 5 7
b
3
3
10 15
Am6/9
w
b
3
12
Am
D 9 3
9
10
12
3
C
3
9
12
(Db -F-A b -C b -E b ) resolvingto C. Theoreticallyastute readerswillrecognise this as a ‘tritone substitution’, andif ever there wasthe perfectlickto beexecuted with just twofingersthenthis is surelyit!
great.In this case it’s thehumble C Major scale(C-D-E-F-G-A-B),although thingsget spicedup harmonicallyspeaking with a shift towards D b 9
E B G D A E
12
j #œ
3
3
[Lick9] Djangohad a knack of makingthe simplest musical ingredients sound
E B G D A E
12
b nœ
3
12
D m6
3
11 11 11 10
joining the 5th and 6th of D (A to B) with the semitone found nestling inbetween. This lick showcasesthe firstinstance of thesemitone bend, another Reinhardt staple moveand instantly recognisable as him.
Am.As you’re no doubt beginningto spot, Djangoreally liked to use chromaticnotesto connect strong chord tonestogether, so in this case we’re
E B G D A E
11 11 11 10
G
E B G D A E
© ¡§º
0 10
11 11 11 10
thejaunty natureof theline. Thephrase beginswitha device bebop musicians refer to as enclosure, boxingin theroot of ourG major triad with thesemitone below (G#), andthe scaletone above(A).
lick that dates back to theearly‘30s. Once again,thisis perfectly playable with just two fingers; you just need to jump about a little bit more but this adds to
© ™¡º #
12
11 11 11 10
b
G 9 G9
. b bb
0
0 0
0 0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
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PLAY } GYPSY JAZZ
ON THE CD
TRACKS14-21
PLAYING TIPS
CD TRACK 17
[Lick 11] This lick uses thesamegeometric shapemovedhorizontally to spell
actually use all four fretting fingers on occasion, and especially for chord playing. He was just unable to move the third and fourth digits independently and without shifting his entire hand which, as you can imagine, usually proved to be too fiddly for single-note work.
outthe underlying chord changes. Pick each four-notegroupwiththree consecutive downstokes and one upstroke.If you were wondering just how Django might finger such an idea, you may be surprised to learn that he did
A7
E B G D A
0
2
3
3
3
2
3
Dm
#
œ b 6 6
6
5
œ
9
9
8
9
7
7
6
7
b 10
9
10
10
13
13 10
12
13
9
10
10
E
etc
b
A7
B 6
#
E B G D A E
b 9
9
8
9
12
12
11
12
9 9
8
9
6
5
6
6
5
4
8 8
8
7
11
10
11
11
10
us many of theintervals found withinG6 (6-R-3),so thereforeboth canbe perceived asoneand the same. Inthis linewe alsoseethe use ofD Dominant Pentatonicagainst D7 (R-2-3-5- b 7). I prefer to see this as a condensed version of a G9 arpeggio (R-3-5- b 7-9), but with all the notes found within each octave.
from the notes contained within the actualchords themselves, and this idea is no exception. Chord/arpeggiopluralityis a frequentlyexploited Reinhardt device. So for example, E minor (E-G-B) positioned against a G root gives G
5 5
[Lick 12] As we’ve seen, a huge amount of Django’ssoloing vocabulary comes
©»™¡º #
b
D7
G
j #œ
D7
BU BD E B G D A
7
5
4
2 5
5
3
7
10
8
10 7
9 (10 ) (9) 7
8
9 7
7
9
9
7
8
7 10
8 7
E
[Lick 13] You see quite a lot of 6/9 chords in Reinhardt’s style, both as an
considered by many to be the king of the oc tave in jazz - and Hendrix in blues and rock - as with so many techniques Django got there first and made them a big part of his so loing vocabulary.
accompaniment device and as a means of adding intensity to his improvised solos. Although legendary electric jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery is
#
#
b
F 6 / 9 G 6 / 9 G 6 /9 A 6 / 9 B 6 / 9 B 6 / 9
E B
2 2 1 1
G D A E
3 3 2 2
4 4 3 3
b
5 5 4 4
6 6 5 5
C 6 / 9
n
7 7 6 6
8 8 7 7
8
8
6
5
5
3
8
[Lick 14] The fifth mode of the Harmonic Minor scale, the Phrygian Dominant
~~~ 9 10
b
A7 9
.
.
#œ
E B
9 10
G D A E
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March 2018
8
9 10
9
8
10 9
7
6
8
7
10
and even Baroque-era classical composition, all big influences on Django. The use of this tonality gives much of Reinhardt’s soloing style a distinctly nonAmerican jazz flavour.
(R- b 2-3-4- b 6- b 7) produces a sophisticated and highlyexotic soundagainst a dominant 7th chord. You’ll hear it in flamenco, eastern European folk music,
©»¡¡§
~~~
j #œ
5
8
7
5
4
7
5
8
6
9
8 10 1 1
10 11 10
NGO REINHARDT { ACOUSTIC SPECIAL
PLAYING TIPS
CD TRACKS 17-18
[Lick15] This unaccompaniedintro phrase implies the harmony of D7, G13( b 9)
encourage Djangoto accentuate his staccato phrasing. Onceagain, he’d use hisdormant fourth finger forthe high E note in ourfinal G13th chord.
and G13, usinga combination of Pentatonicsand arpeggios. Thesestretches
E B G D A
b
D7
© ¡ª™
G1 3 9
G13
.. ..
n b
5
5
7
5
7
5
8
8
12
8
5
5
7
8
12
7
4
4
6
7
12 10 10 9
12 10 10 9
E
[Lick16] Our next example showcasesReinhardt’s mastery of manipulating
pointat theharmonic‘node’ point exactly12frets higherthanthe note you’re fretting with your other hand. This is a tricky, buthighly effectivetechnical approach to getunderyourfingers.
artificial harmonics,sometimes overa completechorus or greater.The trick is to hold thepickbetween thumband secondfinger, using thefirst finger to
b
b
D 7
© ¡¡§
8
10
10
9
7
6 7
E
[Lick17] I could easilyhavefilledthisentire articlewithjust Django’s
C6
G7/D
C6
B7
œ E B G D A E
B 7
œ
9 7 8
b
C6
10 9 10
E 7
8 7 7
8
7 6
6 5
6
6
5
6 5
[Lick18] This idea is about fretting thesamenote intwo different locations
E B
. .
G D A E
5
b
G7
D 7
7
7
b
C6
D dim
5 4
5 4 4
4 3
9 7
10 9
5
5
5
10 10 10
5
5
10 10 10
5
B7
D m7
3
8
9
9 8 9
b #
A 7 9
10 10 10
nœ
10
10 9
œ
5
. .
10
3
4
5
4
5
7
7
3
5 5 5
were no doubt carried over from playing the violin, helped by the fact that Django favoured extremely light strings but with a r eally high action.
b
B7 5
.
G7
G
.. 5
10
œ
G
bending strings, along with his expert control over v ibrato. These techniques
#
9
b
G
[Lick 19] Reinhardt was one of the first guitarists to exploit the potential of
™ºº
11
displacing theshiftin groupsof three against two/four.He’d often move upin semitones, targetinga strongchordtone to come off at an appropriate place.
on theguitar, sliding into thelower note andadding interest byrhythmically
© ™¢º # . .
A 7
œ
9 7
10
b
D7
bœ
9 7 8
b
A7
8
10
9
chord fragment combination wasinspired bythe sound of a train hurtlingby at topspeed, so aimfor accuracy andwork with themetronome daily to get thingsup to pace.
fascinating chord-based ideas, suchwas his inventiveness. Unfortunately for nowthisone will just haveto whet your appetite.Thisrapid-firebasslineand
AH
AH
AH 19
11
F
b
AH
10
C7 9
b
b
E B G D A
b
Gm7 5
E
j œ
BU
.
BU
E B G D A E
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
10 (11)
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9 (10 )
8
10
9
March 2018
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ON THE CD
PLAYING TIPS
TRACKS14-21
CD TRACKS 18-19
[Lick20] The important factor when using such open-ended chromatic
Django’s playing always had a super-strong sense of intent at all times. One never gets the impression that he doesn’t know where he is heading with any particular musical idea.
vocabulary as you see here is having a clear destination point in mind, so that the exit sounds bold and confident and is approached with conviction.
©»™ºº . E B G D A E
12
12
b
E7
b
B 7
#
11
11
10
10
n
9
9
8
8
7
7
5
5
Am
4
4
6
6
5
5
5 7
[Lick 21] Here wesee a typicalarpeggiobasedidea against thechordof F7,
morphing intoa bluesy phrase against our destination I chord of C. We’re exploiting the minor 3rd against major here, a t ypical blues move, and you see
this kind of stuff alloverDjango’slate40s playing, especially when he’s using a magneticpickup into a small valveamp.Django hadheardblues guitarist Lonnie Johnson and there’s clearly someof Lonnie’s influence at work here.
F7
7
C7
b
.
b
j #œ
b
~~
3
~~
BU E B G D A E
10 8 7
8
11 8
8
10 9
8
9
E B G D A
#
#œ œ nœ œ
11 13
10 12
#
11 13
#
G7 11
10 12
9 10 12 13 9 1 0
10
8
9
10 7
10
#
C9 5
# œ œ n œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ œ
11 10 8
straightforward to play,the implied harmony comes fromD WholeTonescale for the D7 (R-2-3-#4-#5-b 7), G Lydian b 7 for G7 (R-2-3-#4-5-6- b 7), and then the same choices down a tone for C7 to F7.
a thoroughly developed sense of harmonic sophistication within his lines. While this example, against the B section from ‘rhythm changes’, is fairly D9 5
11 10 8
8 7
[Lick22] Even though Django was completely self-taught, he’d often display
8 10
9 (10 )
12 13
F7 11
n œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ œ œ œ œ œ
8 10
9 11
8 10
9 11
7 8 10 11 7 8
10 11
E
[Lick 23] And here’s a technically more challenging idea over the same chords.
This time we’re utilising a chromatically decorated G7( b 9) arpeggio for both D7
(D-F#-A-C andE b ) andC7 (C-E-G-B b -D b ). Once again, we can sense a strong trace of flamenco in Reinhardt’s choice of notes and rhythmic phrasing.
D7
E B G D A E
G7
b .
10
11 10
9
9
10
12
10
12
13
11
10
13
C7
11
9
n #
12
8
F7
b
9
n
.
.
.
9 10 10 9
9 10 10 9
.
.
7 8 8 7
7 8 8 7
œ E B G D A E
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8
7
8
7
10
8
10
11
9
8
11
9
7
6
10
7
NGO REINHARDT { ACOUSTIC SPECIAL
PLAYING TIPS
CD TRACKS 19-20
[Lick 24] Our penultimate phrase takes the chromatic connection concept
with another exampleof theenclosure concept,thatis to goa semitonelower andthenthe scaletonehigher than each chord tone that wehavein sight. You can create numerousvariations on these ideas bymixing up theorder, although it usuallysounds strongestif you exiton thechord-tone itself.
a stagefurther, with aninitialideathatconnects a selectionof tone gaps consistent withE13-E9. Onceagain these three-note coupletsare rhythmically displaced against our underlying eighth-note quaver pulse. We endthis phrase
E7
# E B
9
G D A E
A
n
8
9
7
8
9
7
8
7
9
8
4
7
9
8
b
A7 9
D
A7
D6
5
4
9
~~~~
5
5
6
6
7
A
G
D maj7
D
b
# E B G D A E
14 12 14
15
12 11 12
14
10 10 11
12
9 8 9
10
7 7 7
9
5 5 6
7
3 3 4
5
2 2 2
COMPLETE SOLO: Minor Blues] We conclude our look at Django’s unique soloing style with a complete solo study based around a typical blues 12-bar sequence in the key of G minor. The basic chords are Im (Gm), IVm (Cm), and V7 (D7), although Reinhardt demonstrates his harmonic awareness by
0
0
2
© ¡¶§
7
is quite an amazing feat considering theextent of thedamage to hisparalysed third andfourthdigits. Butthe music came first andnecessity being the motherof invention, this is butone of themanysolutions Reinhardtcame up with to satisfyhis desirefor piano-likeharmonyfrom theguitar.
this one’sso cool I’m certain youwon’t mind. Here we’re connectinga series of associated voicings in D major with an associated first-string melodynote. Once again,Django would approach these with allfour fingers, which in itself D6
7
7
[Lick25] Okay,so I couldn’t resistshoehorninganother chordalideain, but
Rubato
~~~~
4
2
3
2
5
7 7 7 7 10
superimposing some effective substitution in the appropriate locations, such as G7 as a precursor to Cm (the secondary dominant principle), and A b 7 in place of D7 (tritone substitution). I hope you’ve enjoyed this look into the style of one of the true giants of guitar.
b n
Gm
.
n
‰
n 3
3
E B G D A E
5
7
7
8
6
8
10
8 10 8 10
8
10
8
11
9
10
6
8
7
8
9
7
9
7
10 11
7 10 8
1
C m6
Gm
3
j #œ 3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3 BU
E B G D A E
10 8
8
10
9
8
7 10
8 10
8 10
13
11 15 11
13
12 8
5
7
5
7
3
6 (7 )
5
4
5
6
4
3
5
5
D7
b
Gm
D7 9
Gm
‰ 3
E B G D A
3
4
3
5
3
2
5
4
6
5
4
6 4
3
0
8
7
8
5
8
5
7
4
5
8
7
8
E
9
March 2018
33
