The left hand uses precisely timed muting to achieve a rhythmic, drum-like effect. Repeat this process for the remaining two beats in the measure. You should be using gravity, not your muscles, to generate the necessary power. This second downstroke should fall predominantly on the treble strings, and it’s crucial to make this motion very large. Next raise your hand all the way to the top of the lower bout of the guitar, and then let it fall to play a strongly accented downstroke on the second beat. This downstroke should fall right on the first beat of the measure. Immediately follow the upstroke with a downstroke on the bass strings only. Don’t let the pick travel very far after you’ve cleared the low 6th string. At this point, don’t worry about chord shapes, just mute the strings and play along with a metronome. Play a small upstroke on the bass strings a fraction of a second before the first and third beats. Make sure you’re using proper Gypsy-style right-hand technique with a floating wrist and relaxed pick grip. The right-hand is by far the most important, so we’ll start with that. To play this rhythm authentically, you must learn the correct right- and left-hand motions. In Clip 1 you can hear a simple example of la pompe. It’s really a grace note, so its time value is not relative to the overall tempo of the song. The upstroke seems to be an imitation of a drummer’s hi-hat rhythm. This is done very quickly no matter what the tempo is. First, there’s a very subtle upstroke preceding beats 1 and 3. There are several important elements that distinguish la pompe from the American-style “flat four” rhythm playing. Because la pompe has a heavy accent on beats 2 and 4, beginners often mistake it for a two-beat polka or Western swing rhythm, but la pompe has numerous subtleties that set it apart from these and other styles. The la pompe rhythm is deceptively simple and widely misunderstood. Therefore, mastery of this rhythm is absolutely essential for learning Gypsy jazz. Although Django and subsequent Gypsy guitarists have used a variety of swing and Latin rhythms, la pompe remains the preferred accompaniment style. This rhythm, which literally means “the pump,” allows a guitarist to provide a complete harmonic and rhythmic foundation for the music. One of the more distinguishing features of Gypsy jazz is the infectious accompaniment style known as la pompe.
Gypsy jazz is now flourishing not only in Europe, but also in North America, Japan, Australia, and even further afar. The immense talent of such contemporary Gypsy guitarists as Boulou Ferré, Stochelo Rosenberg, and Biréli Lagrène was mostly unrecognized until a recent revival that has brought increased awareness to this wonderful style. From Django’s death until the 1990s, performances of Gypsy jazz outside the Gypsy community were relatively rare. It was this group of musicians that gave the genre its name. His brilliant recordings with the Quintette du Hot Club de France forged a uniquely European style of jazz that drew inspiration from Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, as well as French musette and Hungarian Gypsy music.Īlthough Django’s music influenced nearly every other jazz guitarist after him, the only musicians to maintain the pure Django style were the Sinti Gypsies of France, Germany, and the Benelux countries. Fortunately, the pull of music was so strong that against all odds he retrained himself to play guitar using only his two uninjured left-hand fingers.ĭuring his convalescence, Django discovered jazz, and it subsequently became his lifelong passion. Tragically, Django’s promising musical career was nearly ended when his left hand was severely scarred in a caravan fire. Throughout his teens Django paid his dues accompanying musette accordionists in the dance halls of Paris on violin, banjo, and guitar. The virtuosic Gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt (1910-1953) was such a figure. To spawn a completely new musical genre, a musician needs to be unique, technically groundbreaking, and extraordinarily gifted.
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