Fast chromatic run?

[Brian B]

In lots of gypsy jazz there are those really fast chromatic runs. You can see Django playing them by sliding one finger down the fretboard and still fretting and picking each note in old film of him. But he had superpowers.

For a descending chromatic run from G (3rd fret E string) down to a landing with a pinky on the C# (6th fret G string), so using the first three frets of the E string, first six of A and D strings, how would you play it if you wanted to go FAST?

The conventional method of pinky on the sixth fret and then third finger on sixth fret and 4-3 with 2 finger and 2-1 with index finger? That’s a lot of shifting.

I’m trying fingers 3-2-1 on E string, then 4-3-2-1 on A string from frets 6 to 3 with a shift to the 2nd fret with the 2 finger, then index finger on the first fret, same on D string down to open which permits landing on the 6th fret of the G string with the pinky (necessary for the following arpeggio. This goes a lot smoother, but is still murder to get clean.

Thoughts? And any pointers to any video of any of the masters who play fast, like mg chromatic runs on mando? I know I’ve heard Andy Statman pull it off perfectly, but don’t know where.

Cheers!

[DavidKOS]

I've sometimes used 1234 on successive frets - but I've also used the same finger on adjacent frets, too.

Django also used one finger for some of those runs.

[Brian B]

Yes a the one finger DR chromatic were what I mentioned - the coordination !

Thanks for the links.

[T.D.Nydn]

No, I play it straight down,the conventional way,down across all 4,,using the open strings as a nano second to adjust,,,it should be smooth and unbroken is the goal,,,but I practice chromatic runs every day,,,

[Brian B]

No, I play it straight down,the conventional way,down across all 4,,using the open strings as a nano second to adjust,,,it should be smooth and unbroken is the goal,,,but I practice chromatic runs every day,,,

So you put 4 finger on 6-5, 3 on 4-3 and 1 on 2-1 and so on? Can you get it smooth and fast with those three shifts?

[T.D.Nydn]

I'm not sure I understand you,,but in this case I start with 3rd finger on the E string on G,,go down,open E and pick it up next with my pinkie on the A string and work down etc..you can get very very fast,,,,now,you can single finger it by starting on the D string at fret 17 and glissando down to open D and just pick to the C# on G string,,,to me,picking it across is almost faster and cleaner,,chromatic scale is a great excercise,and gets challenging when playing long ones with closed positions up the neck.