Gypsy Jazz Guitar Lesson: Don't Play The Changes (Djangology / Night And Day)

[@DenisChangMusic]

Hi folks! If you go to my Soundslice page, there are lots of free transcriptions of solos from jazz giants. I made this Djangology transcription a while back from Grappelli's 1935 recording. You can see examples of "not playing" the changes but still sounding quite good www.soundslice.com/slices/M48Vc/

[@sipalingpaham]

Free music class, finally. This is not for guitarists. More than that, this is a lesson for song writers.

[@karllawls6579]

Denis, impressed by your relaxed style of teaching - I went to soundslice and came away with your gypsy jazz beginners course - so much content, so few $. very impressed.

[@faiyazhasan4797]

Truly! Same experience here.

[@DenisChangMusic]

Thank you!!! I really appreciate it !

[@thyggs]

the spectrum analogy was awesome

[@DavidRamos-nz4bh]

Absolutely perfect perspective on the the ratio between following and not following. Thanks

[@ericb5852]

Great lesson, Denis! Nice to hear you sing, you have a nice voice.✌️

[@bjorncardenas7608]

Thanks a million Denis for this vid 👍👍👍 I've struggled with getting a grip on how to solo over Djangology. I really like the chord progression and theme of this song, sounds so uplifting and makes me feel happy when I listen to it. However, when I listened to records on the solos, at least on guitar, and at least to my ear the solos sound a bit "static". This video helps a lot to understand and find different paths to the first half of the a-part. Now I feel I get some guidance on how to approach the song 😊. If someone knows a melodic solo for guitar on djangology I would appreciate if you could link to it. Again, great content Denis 🙏😊

[@autokrohne]

Thank you so much for these very helpful videos.

[@ericmadis1260]

As always, great playing Denis!

[@willy1986tralara]

Thanks for sharing Denis

[@bigrig4385]

The beginning reminded me a lot of Chet Atkins' playing. Thank you for the video.

[@yiwutcmmedicalenlightenmen922]

thankyou denis - quite illuminating

[@franssu2229]

Excellent as always 👍

[@RobertMatichak]

Hi from Montreal! As usual very informative and extremely generous of you! Thanks r

[@kostasjazz]

Amazing video. I already watched twice

[@maxgouverne6557]

Excellent Thanks Dennis

[@AndyDacoulis]

Great stuff, Denis

[@mikhailali1972]

That D7b9; thank you sir, it makes sense. Its fun and also easy to understand. Love how there's this good will energy coming from you to enlighten and inspire others in the craft. Kudos to you sir. :)

[@iloverumi]

great lesson and playing. thank you.

[@SotaroKitatoko]

Thank you for sharing great concept.

[@GuitarBluesHury]

Great tips! Thanks my friend! Subscribed and shared!

[@tighabhinn]

Thanks Dennis for the lesson - I might need to watch it again to extract all the points you make but definitely got me thinking !

[@johnrothfield6126]

Thanks!

[@JAZZGITAN]

Very good teaching Denis!

[@CarlosHernandezMusic]

The same progression appears on Vince Guaraldi’s “Christmas time is here” but in a3/4 time signature 🤓☺️

[@AManCalledAidan]

Excellent information, insights and inspiration! Thanks - subbed! Will check out your harmonization course. Cheers

[@AManCalledAidan]

PS I saw your student Aaron Loewen playing (in BC) the other week. He was great.

[@DenisChangMusic]

He’s great!

[@benjaminholt6640]

That guitar sounds sick!

[@mrpaolo1990]

I'm leaving a comment 🎉🎉🎉

[@TheZenguitarguy]

Awesome as always, thanks!

[@joshuamarks1129]

To help avoid playing excessively “correct” notes, it can be fun to treat C#m7b5 as an A13, Cm6 as F13 or D Phrygian Dominant and Bbdim7 as F# Phrygian Dominant

[@benben3210]

Dennis "playing the changes is overated" also Dennis : proceeds to play all the changes over djangology 😅😅

[@pickinstone]

Interesting lessons, as always. One aspect of melodic improvisation that always irked me as commonly taught is the idea of voice leading. Unfortunately, in books and basic instruction, voice leading is taught as "make sure that the last note of a line resolves a half step or whole step to the next note." Another competent musician and teacher, Greg Fishman, helped me hear and see with more nuance. Voice leading a melodic line is much more than paying attention to the last note. Rather, you can voice lead multiple notes within the line--the high notes, low notes, notes that can move a half/step or whole step, etc--so that you respect the movement of the line. In essence, it's like treated a melodic line as a choral piece--or a harmonic movement with multiple lines in the SATB. In other words, melodic lines don't vanish into thin air once you play them. Master improvisers, from Charlie Parker to Bill Evans and beyond--they hear longitudinally. A note is played and then referenced back to as the improviser shapes the contour of the line. That's my poorly explained soap box about voice leading and melodic invention. Sure you could explain it better :) Keep on the keeping on!

[@DenisChangMusic]

I think i do explain it that way in one of my videos or courses, i forget where hahaha, but yes i agree, it goes far beyond simple half steps and whole steps

[@pickinstone]

@@DenisChangMusic I thought as much :) Best way to explain it is to listen to a Bach Invention or Partita. The way that one line can have these hidden layers--it's like harmony in motion with all the voices.

[@markrossi5703]

Voice Leading harmony naturally performs tension and release cycles.

[@gunnar7902]

Excellent content Dennis! i dont like a lot of modern players because so many do end up sounding like a math exercise. i liked that you included Grappeli in the discussion another genius worthy of attention. sometime in the future could you analyze or discuss djangos see you in my dreams solo? its so memorable. i know a lot of non musicians that can hum or whistle the whole solo why does it stick so well?

[@ZionForman]

greaet

[@thirdcoastswing5334]

Beautiful sound you got recording that solo. Curious the setup.

[@DenisChangMusic]

Just DPA into Apogee interface, that’s it haha. I do put a bit of compression and reverb.

[@monoswinger]

sorry for the dumb question, but what holds the mic? I have a similar mic without any holder, and I plan to use it, just search for the best solution, thanks!

[@blackeyetwice]

Hi there Denis, great lesson (as always!). I was wondiring which is the guitar microphone you re using in this video. Is it good for live performance?

[@DenisChangMusic]

It s meant for concert halls but i use it for remote recording for my YT videos. It s a DPA

[@blackeyetwice]

@@DenisChangMusic Thank you! Keep up the good work!

[@benben3210]

tension and release ... résolution is the french word Dennis

[@gramophoneloopers]

Play Gloria Gaynor's I love you baby! 😉

[@sureshchandramohanpillai1294]

Barry Harris!!

[@chrisyoung8062]

Very interested in this guitar as I've been mailing back and forth with Harry about a guitar. How to I get more information Denis?

[@DenisChangMusic]

Hi Chris, I’ll ask Harry! Once again, I don’t like to make false advertisements, so I personally do feel that it s the best Stringphonic that I’ve tried, due to the overall setup and sound. The sound is comparable to many modern high end built guitars. So if you’re expecting a vintage sound (like my AT guitar, or Jean Barault), this isn’t it. It’s comparable to a high end Dupont guitar. Then there’s the issue of the neck. For me, I m totally OK with it, it’s a thicker neck but shaped well enough that it doesn’t feel uncomfortable. There are some guitars that have a thick neck but with a D like shape where my fingers don’t wrap well around it, I would say this is more like a C shape neck, well rounded. However, it’s still a thick neck and I know some modern guitars have much thinner necks. Like I said, my hands aren’t huge but I still manage to play it comfortably, so anyone with bigger hands should not have any problem. Last but not least, the setup is just perfect for me but this is a personal thing. It’s .11 gauge strings , Harry warned me that the action might be too high for certain people, but it was perfect for me. It’s what I ‘m used to! There we go, that’s the full disclaimer :-)

[@chrisyoung8062]

@@DenisChangMusic Thank you Denis. This isn't the first time I've heard the Stringphonic necks are chunky. I'm not particularly sensitive to varying necks but my hands a just average size. Maybe I should ask for some measurements so I can compare with other guitars I own.

[@DenisChangMusic]

If you need extra pictures, you can email me at misterdmmc AT gmail . Like I said I really don’t have big hands either, but I feel at ease with instrument. I’m only saying that compared to what some modern makers are doing , the neck is not on the thin side. I’m quite tempted to buy it myself haha but i really have no reason to justify such a purchase

[@JAZZGITAN]

Is it still for sale?

[@DenisChangMusic]

Seems like there are two people interested but still available

[@alisonCNboy]

The way - Ariana Grande/Mac Miller

[@grobertabidbol4005]

.

[@love2d-programming16]

Nice playing and teaching, but what is the sense of playing ? Glorify Jesus with youre guitar