Gypsy Jazz Guitar Basics Vol. 1 - Syncopation

Add Rhythmic Variety to Your Playing!

Created byAlex Simon

Last updated 12/2018

English

What you'll learn

Recognize, learn, and create your own rhythmic variations for soloing and more!
Begin to enhance your solos with thematic melodic development!
Make your solos "talk"!
Get familiar with the vocabulary and feel of Gypsy Jazz and Swing music!
Gain fundamental insight into how music functions!

Course content

1 section • 14 lectures • 30m total length

Introduction0:43
Learn how rhythmic variation turns simple ideas into new phrases, build a foundation for experimenting with jazz vocabulary using a few chords, and complete bonus exercises to create original syncopations.
What is Syncopation?2:48
explore how syncopation in gypsy jazz guitar interrupts the rhythm to create tension between balance and dissonance, with swing-inspired examples that break listeners' expectations.
Syncopation in Minor Swing1:28
Explore how syncopation shapes the hook in minor swing, contrasting a straight on-beat phrase with a syncopated one, and visualize the rhythm on the guitar neck.
Using the Syncopation From the Hook in Minor Swing1:51
Explore syncopation in arpeggios for a minor swing. Contrast straight rhythm with a syncopated one while hammering right-hand notes in one position.
Using the Syncopation From the Hook in Minor Swing in a Higher Position1:31
Apply syncopated phrases in a higher position, using a dance-like guitar technique where jumping motions reveal the swing built into the playing.
Using the Syncopation From the Hook in Minor Swing in an Even Higher Position1:02
Apply the syncopation from the hook in minor swing to an even higher position on the guitar.
Inverting The Minor Swing Syncopation to Make a Different Rhythmic Variation3:02
Invert the minor swing syncopation to create a new rhythmic variation. Move the rhythm forward, lift the hand on the last note, and sharpen the upstroke for swing.
Playing it Straight, Syncopation 1, Straight, Syncopation 21:39
Explore three approaches to the same three notes by alternating the straight rhythm with syncopation 1 and syncopation 2, experimenting to create a cool groove.
Changing Positions Can Give it More Contrast1:28
Explore how switching between guitar positions creates contrast by pairing straight rhythm in one position with syncopated rhythms in another, making phrases talk to each other.
Conversation in the Music: "Tongue Twister" Exercise1:51
Explore gypsy jazz soloing as a conversation of arpeggios that form phrases with syncopation and variation. Practice the tongue twister on Minor Swing chords to build focus and feel shifts.
Changing Direction of Arpeggios to Add More Variation2:32
Change the direction of arpeggios to add variation in gypsy jazz guitar, introducing syncopations and rhythmic configurations inspired by Django Reinhardt, and encouraging experimentation.
Bonus Syncopation Pattern #12:11
Explore a bonus syncopation pattern by inverting a straight rhythm and placing that little bit up front to create a song-like feel.
Bonus Syncopation Pattern #2: Latin Feel2:50
Explore the bonus syncopation pattern #2: Latin feel, continuing a three-note motif over quarter notes to create a rolling, syncopated groove on a G minor chord.
Bonus Syncopation Pattern #3: Puttin' on the Ritz6:03
Explore how a three-note arpeggio creates a rolling, syncopated groove by varying rhythm. Build musical phrases from simple notes, practice, and listen for catchy rhythms.

Requirements

Completion of my Introduction to Gypsy Jazz Course is recommended but not neccesary.

Description

Back in Django Reinhardt's day, you wouldn't find DJs blasting bass-thumping beats from a laptop. It was up to the musicians playing live music to get people up out of their seats and on to the dance floor. Musicians had to push and break convention to get people swingin'. With the emergence of Hot Jazz and Swing, there was an explosion of rhythmic variation. Musicians tried out many different ways of playing. The results were gloriously bouncy and endlessly interesting.

In this follow-up to my Introduction to Gypsy Jazz course, we continue right were we left off and get into basic syncopation and rhythmic variation. We will explore techniques that will help you to start experimenting with simple nuggets of music in order to
create your own musical words and phrases. We will dive right in with a series of exercises which will start to get your solos swingin'!

Who this course is for:

Anyone who is curious about soloing in music
Beginners who want to understand how to start building their solos
Music enthusiasts who are curious about how Jazz and music in general works