Getting into gypsy jazz

[Peter Hackman]

LIZA, according to Ralph Patt. Don't remember the bridge, but
the A part is largley the way I remember it.


Key of Eb 4/4


[: Eb Edim | Fm7 F#dim | Eb | Eb7 |
1.
| Ab | Gm7 C7 | Fm7 Bb7 | Eb Bb7 :]
2.__
| Fm7 Bb7 | Eb G7 | Cm | Ab7 G7 |

| Cm | Bbm7 Eb7 | Ab | Bbm7 Eb7 |

| Ab | B7 Bb7 || Eb Edim | Fm7 F#dim |

| Eb | Eb7 | Ab | Gm7 C7 |

| Fm7 Bb7 | Eb |

[jmcgann]

I use a 3.5mm on guitar but my usual 1.5 for mando (I find the huge picks to be great for Selmer-style guitar but overkill for mando and for bluegrass guitar)...I think the mandolinist can approach the music more from the fiddle perspective, in that they don't have to stick to rules about how many notes per string or playing all downbows or whatever...

As far as rhythm, I like to comp like the guitarists and would really avoid a bluegrass chop- it's closer to Freddie Green with Count Basie (or maybe Joseph Reinhardt)...

ahhh yes! thank you very much pete!!
the bridge will be much easier to figure out with the rest of the chords now.
also the bridge you can hear the guitar really well.
fantastic! thanks again

i have pick collection, im going to give them all a try anyways... i actualy have a big stubby style triangle or two. i never really tried to play with it, im thinking that im going to prefer the small stubby. i used to use them all the time on my guitar a few years ago... before my stint with bluegrass guitar....

[Peter Hackman]

I've noticed that the Hot Club (and Grapelli on his own) tended to choose
some very odd keys, jazz-wise.
E.g.:
Jiterbug Waltz, C (usually Eb)
Misty, C (Eb)
Georgia on my Mind, G (F or Eb)
Ain't Misbehavin', D (Eb)
Sweet Georgia Brown, G (Eb,F or Ab)

As a guitarist can play in just about any key (Indeed, on Swanee River
Django plays through F, F#, G) ,
I assume these keys are violinistically motivated. Although
the violin and mando are tuned the same that is not at all clear
to me, especially as I can hear no "fiddle"-type effects
in Grapelli's playing.

Any violin player here who can offer his thoughts or insights?

[Joel Glassman]

Sure--I play swing on violin.
These keys are much easier to play
in, and its easier to control intonation.
Open strings are generally consonant notes.
Violin players first learn playing in 3rd position
(ie. positioned @ the 5th fret)
as a way to play notes higher up the neck.
Its generally easiest to play in 3rd position
with your index finger on the root. #Ab Gb and Db
are very hard keys to play in on the violin.
Play an Ab scale on the G string.At the 5th fret
replace your 3rd finger with your first finger.
Continue this scale across the instrument. This
is the violin's "3rd position". See what happens
on the A and E strings? You have to move
"out of position". Without frets its an
intonational nightmare...
Given the choice, most violin players avoid
keys with lots of flats. Stephane has recorded
music in Eb and Bb though and sounded great.
Of course Stuff Smith tore thru After You've Gone
in Dd (amazing a whole generation
of western swing fiddlers...)

[Peter Hackman]

Thanks for a really informative reply. I usually play in A flat out of 1st
(a bit of a stretch!), or 2nd, or 3rd shifted up one fret. In 1st it would be
mainly my A stuff shifted down, in the high postion it would be G stuff shifted up. I guess that kind of thinking is typical of a guitarist's approach to the mandolin. I often play A,D,E off the second fret. Again I guess
that's not the violinist's way of thinking.

You don't mention 2nd at all- although my impression is that at least
F, Bb and Eb sit very nicely in that position as the notes on the
3rd fret are all in the scale. Actually, this applies to Ab as well, but
you wouldn't get the most natural pivot notes for the index finger, I guess.

I suppose you are referring to to Smith's 1936 solo. Actually, it is in Ab. It's
transcribed in Stacy Phillips' Western Swing fiddle anthology, perhaps the
best instructional book I've ever seen. Choice of material,
sequencing, comments, everything.

[jeffshuniak]

is there a place to find dgango-grappelli tunes in standard note FOR FREE?[U]

for gypsy jazz,,,,flat the 2 and sharp the 7? for major keys....basically harm minor for minor keys???