Gypsy jazz guitar is a genre based on the music of Django Reinhardt, a guitar player who overcame a severe disability to become a legend in jazz music. Most people have heard music by the Quintet du Hot Club de France or one of the gypsy jazz groups devoted to its style of music. Born in the 1930’s this group with Stephane Grapelli on violin, Django Reinhardt, Joseph Reinhardt and Roger Chaput on guitars and Louis Vola on bass, pioneered the concept of lead and rhythm guitar.
The group played popular jazz tunes of the time with Django and Grapelli alternating on the lead with the two other guitars playing rhythm and Vola playing walking bass figures. A drummer was never in the mix. They also wrote their own tunes, many of which have themselves become standards. Some of the group’s compositions include blue Drag, Minor Swing, Djangology, Django Rag, Django’s Blues, Django’s Tiger and Nuages.
The group’s violinist, Stephane Grapelli continued making music until his death in 1997 but the figure that has proved to be the inspiration of many gypsy jazz groups, Django Reinhardt only lived to be forty-three years old. Gypsy jazz has been behind the popularity of the Maccaferri and Selmer style guitars. The guitar that Django Reinhardt made famous was made by the Selmer company in Paris based on a revolutionary guitar design by Mario Maccaferri, one of the first generation of classical guitar players. Surprisingly, Maccaferri was never familiar with Django Reinhardt’s music.
As with all music associated with the tag “gypsy” the music is usually passed on directly from one musician to another. The Quintet Du Hot Club came out of an environment where playing music was simply a part of life. Each musician was both student and teacher. And there were not too many note readers among them. In fact Stephane Grapelli, a classically trained musician used breaks in the groups playing schedule to tutor Django in music. So every guitar player wanting to learn to play gypsy jazz is faced with learning the music of Django Reinhardt, as played by Django Reinhardt.
One element that made Django’s music unique was the fact that, due to an injury in a fire, Django played the guitar using only the first and second fingers of his left hand. This limited the range of notes available to him as he worked his way up and down the fretboard was severely limited. As a result of his injury, barre chords are not found in gypsy jazz guitar music. A close look at Django’s music will tell you he had little use for sevenths in his music.
If you want to listen to some contemporary gypsy jazz guitar, American groups devoted to the genre are Pearl Django and the John Jorgenson Quintet but Europe is still the place where there is most interest in this music, with groups like Hot Club of Hungary and Hot Club of France. If you want to learn to play gypsy jazz guitar, the ability to read tab would be a minimum requirement because there are many examples of Django’s music available as guitar tab.
By: Ricky Sharples
The word “gypsy” in itself is a bit mysterious. Dictionaries define the word in a myriad of ways, and it is hard to imagine how the term became attached to a genre of jazz. French guitar master Django Reinhardt made the genre famous. It is a combination of the popular American style of jazz and the musical techniques of a nomadic group of tough-to-classify gypsies of European descent. The instruments used to play gypsy jazz are very specific in a number of ways, and possess a rich history unlike any other.
History
In order to begin learning about guitars used for gypsy jazz, it is important to understand a bit about the history of the genre. Gypsy jazz is a genre derived from the work of French musicians during the 1930’s. It is a combination of improvisational jazz techniques and historical traditions passed down from generation to generation from one musician to another. In general, gypsy musicians do not read standard music notation and beginners will spend hours learning by ear, studying recordings and learning from their elders. Guitar and violin play important roles in gypsy jazz; they are the two most commonly featured instruments. As a result, the guitars used for gypsy jazz generally have a few specific features that are a combination of tradition and practicality for the style of music.
Features
Guitars used for gypsy jazz are characterized by a sound that is quite dry, but also offers intensity in the tone at the same time. The instruments are generally hollow bodied with arched tops. Some of the technical traits of the guitars are floating bridges, easily accessible fingerboards, and simple bracing. Gypsy jazz guitars need to be able to play supportive, rhythmic accompaniment roles, as well as shine in the spotlight with punching solo capabilities as well.
Popular Brands
Probably the most notable guitar used for gypsy jazz is made by Selmer. Django Reinhardt made the unusual Selmer guitar famous with his unique styling and musical interpretation. The guitar is often incorrectly referred to as the Selmer-Maccaferri or just simply the Maccaferri, which was the name of the man who invented it. The design of this legendary guitar has been copied by many other manufacturers including Dell’Arte Guitars, Busato, and Patenotte. These companies tend to produce high-end copies closely resembling the Selmer design. Other manufacturers have tapped into the student and amateur markets by offering more affordable models, like Cigano, which makes student gypsy guitars.
Gypsy guitars are a very specific type of instrument, and stem from a long tradition of music that was developed over the course of time. You needn’t own one in order to experiment with playing this style of jazz; it can be performed on different varieties of guitars with a similar effect. The difference will be in the generated tone. Django Reinhardt’s classic Selmer guitar gave gypsy jazz its trademark, and it is a distinctive sound that will remain forever engrained in the ears of music enthusiasts.
By: David Smithe
Let’s get rid of one myth right here! One common myth floating around is that jazz music is complicated. Some people have the idea that it can only be learned by unraveling the deep mysteries of the inner being – like it’s some sort of mystical experience that requires years of learning theories, scales and chords. That thought alone is overwhelming and as a result, we need to refocus our attention to one thing – keeping it simple.
If you seriously want to become a better jazz guitar player, then keeping it simple is all you need to get where you want to go. Start with the basics. You already know that you’ll need some knowledge of jazz guitar scales and chords. You’ll also need a mentor or a teacher who can help you develop your talent and skill and lastly, you’ll need to begin developing confidence in your playing ability (this means practicing what you’ve learned). For the new player, these basic activities will help you progress in your learning and soon, you’ll be looking for the intermediate and advanced teachings in jazz guitar!
The first step to learning how to play jazz guitar is to invest in some jazz guitar lessons. In the basic type of lesson, you should be learning the different scales and chords from a teacher who isn’t trying to impress you with his or her blinding knowledge and ego. Instead, find a teacher who keeps it simple so that you can grow as a student.
Know that you have to invest some time into your playing and practice! One of the players I met used to avidly videotape his playing the gypsy jazz guitar so that he could improve his playing technique. Another woman I met used to listen to a melody over and over again until she had it solidly in her mind. As she listened to the melody, she attempted to memorize it and recreate it on her guitar. In fact, she’s memorized a lot of tunes that way. A few years ago, I knew of a student who used to go over the lesson he just learned for hours, and I literally mean hours, until he knew it inside and out. I think he was just looking for an excuse to play, though, because even after he knew the lesson, he didn’t quit.
Before you get out there and start buying your jazz guitar amps and other gear, consider if you’ll have the time to do the basic things you need to do to learn all about playing jazz guitar. Set your learning and practice habit up for success by keeping it simple and you will reap the results of your investment!
By: Logan Young