Method for Playing Guitar Like Charlie Christian?

[JohnStamos]

Hey all - I know it’s impossible to sound like Charlie Christian but I know it’s possible to cop that sound.

The thing is, i don’t really know the first thing about jazz!

what do you recommend for someone who wants to start studying jazz but make sure that those studies overlap with learning the type of jazz that charlie christian plays (i think it’s referred to as “early bebop”?)? besides transcribing solos (which i will do).

i greatly enjoy method books and the like, so id prefer a book method, as i like to deeply understand the theory behind what i’m playing/transcribing. if it helps, i am an advanced guitarist technique-wise. however my ability to read music is essentially none (i can read tab though).

thank you!

[AllanAllen]

Transcribe Charlie Christian solos.

I don’t even care that you said “beside transcribing solos” because transcribing is the way.

Also learn to read music, it’ll help. Just start Mel Bay Modern Guitar Method Book 1 now, instead of trying to get by functionally illiterate.

You can put it off and at worst you’ll burn out and quit, at best you’ll learn to read anyway in a few years and wish you started sooner.

You don’t need to sight read, but learning to get music off the staff in some way will open a lot of doors.

Oh, now that you heard my rant… there’s a Wolf Marshall book of Charlie Christian transcriptions.

[James W]

if it helps, i am an advanced guitarist technique-wise.

That's good, so start practising eighth notes at 200 BPM using all downstrokes.

[JohnStamos]

Transcribe Charlie Christian solos.

I don’t even care that you said “beside transcribing solos” because transcribing is the way.

Also learn to read music, it’ll help. Just start Mel Bay Modern Guitar Method Book 1 now, instead of trying to get by functionally illiterate.

You can put it off and at worst you’ll burn out and quit, at best you’ll learn to read anyway in a few years and wish you started sooner.

You don’t need to sight read, but learning to get music off the staff in some way will open a lot of doors.

Oh, now that you heard my rant… there’s a Wolf Marshall book of Charlie Christian transcriptions.

im going to transcribe his solos, i just would like a book accompaniment so i can understand the theory part and also to have a good path laid out for me that is appropriate for my level.

[pamosmusic]

im going to transcribe his solos, i just would like a book accompaniment so i can understand the theory part and also to have a good path laid out for me that is appropriate for my level.

Out of curiosity what is the theory hangup?

Are you able to spell chords and stuff or is that something new?

[grahambop]

There’s a very good book by Stan Ayeroff called ‘Swing to Bop’ which has a lot of analysis of Charlie Christian’s solos and improvisation approaches, devices, etc. as well as numerous transcriptions. No tab though (not in my copy anyway).

[Christian Miller]

Shapes. Look for the shapes.

How they relate to the chords of the song.

[reventlov]

SOLO FLIGHT (Home Page)

All you need, right there. Solos, analysis, info of all kinds - the definitive source for all things to do with Charlie Christian. The solos are written in standard notation and tab.

[JohnStamos]

Out of curiosity what is the theory hangup?

Are you able to spell chords and stuff or is that something new?

i have a decent ear but, even if i figure out the chords, im not sure what they’re called, what function they play, if they are a substitution or something fancy like that, etc.

also im not sure what scales he’s using, what the typical way of fingering the phrases are, or what i’m playing from a theory perspective (even if i figure out the notes perfectly).

[pamosmusic]

i have a decent ear but, even if i figure out the chords, im not sure what they’re called, what function they play, if they are a substitution or something fancy like that, etc.

also im not sure what scales he’s using, what the typical way of fingering the phrases are, or what i’m playing from a theory perspective (even if i figure out the notes perfectly).

Well there’s very little wild theory in his playing (very little in most jazz playing, but even less in his). So if you can get a little basic theory going on — four note chords, and major scale spellings — you’d be well equipped to understand most of what he’s giving you.

[JohnStamos]

Well there’s very little wild theory in his playing (very little in most jazz playing, but even less in his). So if you can get a little basic theory going on — four note chords, and major scale spellings — you’d be well equipped to understand most of what he’s giving you.

oh, great, i definitely know basic 7th chords and the major/minor/pentatonic scales. i figured there was a lot more than that going on.

[Jimmy blue note]

I find his swing feel so strong, so compelling and for me, it's even more important than even the notes.
For Charlie Christian music, I'd start with a metronome on 2 and 4, learn to phrase with that feel, listen to how much I'm capturing THAT swing feel (that means recording myself and listening regularly and carefully) and then getting my harmonic arpeggios to be second nature with that swing feel.

[pingu]

SOLO FLIGHT (Home Page)

All you need, right there. Solos, analysis, info of all kinds - the definitive source for all things to do with Charlie Christian. The solos are written in standard notation and tab.

That
looks like a great site , thanks Rev

I can't access any transcriptional there
Do I have to pay a subscription or something ?

[grahambop]

That
looks like a great site , thanks Rev

I can't access any transcriptional there
Do I have to pay a subscription or something ?

Just keep following the blue links from ‘Solos transcriptions’, you may need to scroll a long way down each page to find them.

[mr. beaumont]

I've spent a LOT of time stealing stuff from Charlie.

First thing to do is really get to know your 6th, major7, m7, dom7 (with extensions like b5 and b9) m6/9/half dim and diminished chord shapes and arpeggios.

Then yes, transcribe anything you can.

Charlie played pretty inside, meaning the notes he was playing were in the chords of the moment a lot of the time. He'd also use chromatic approaches, enclosures, and he'd definitely play the blues over sections that were "in key" (like the A section of rhythm changes) or even just play the major scale, again always considering chromatic approaches and enclosures.. He loved diminished runs over diminished chords or 7(b9) chords.

You couldn't have picked a better player to start with. Charlie is the source of the river.

[JohnStamos]

That's good, so start practising eighth notes at 200 BPM using all downstrokes.

woo! what songs have that and how do you know it’s all downstrokes? do we have any insight into how he picked?

also i’m curious, what do you think is CC’s most technically difficult solo? from a speed perspective

[AllanAllen]

woo! what songs have that and how do you know it’s all downstrokes? do we have any insight into how he picked?

also i’m curious, what do you think is CC’s most technically difficult solo? from a speed perspective

Barney Kessel saw him and jammed with him. In interviews he said Charlie played all downstrokes. Off the top of my head Seven Come Eleven is pretty up tempo. They were a party band, so they got fast.

[bediles]

Barney Kessel saw him and jammed with him. In interviews he said Charlie played all downstrokes. Off the top of my head Seven Come Eleven is pretty up tempo. They were a party band, so they got fast.

He likely saw Rest stroke/Gypsy picking and described it as 'all downstrokes'.

[pingu]

Just keep following the blue links from ‘Solos transcriptions’, you may need to scroll a long way down each page to find them.

Got it
Yeah thanks man

[AllanAllen]

He likely saw Rest stroke/Gypsy picking and described it as 'all downstrokes'.

We’ll never know for sure. But I’d think Barney would know the difference, being an A list studio cat for decades.

[pauln]

He was a fantastic jazz guitarist.

[JohnStamos]

He was a fantastic jazz guitarist.

that’s amazing. as for the picking, that definitely sounds like gypsy-style picking where you use downstrokes for string changes. but he’s definitely also doing upstrokes when playing multiple notes on one string at the faster tempos. you can hear the tonal difference. it doesn’t sound like pure downstrokes throughout.

source is…well…me. but i do a ton of gypsy picking!

[mr. beaumont]

He was a fantastic jazz guitarist.

He invented so much of what we call "stuff everybody does."

[AllanAllen]

that’s amazing. as for the picking, that definitely sounds like gypsy-style picking where you use downstrokes for string changes. but he’s definitely also doing upstrokes when playing multiple notes on one string at the faster tempos. you can hear the tonal difference. it doesn’t sound like pure downstrokes throughout.

source is…well…me. but i do a ton of gypsy picking!

That’s a pretty good source haha

[JohnStamos]

That’s a pretty good source haha

Take it from Barney Kessel! I found the Barney Kessel quote:

[COLOR=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)]"Charlie played probably 95% downstrokes, and held a very stiff, big
triangular pick very tightly between his thumb and first finger. He rested
his 2nd, 3rd and 4th fingers on the pick-guard. He anchored them there so
tensely that it was like there almost wasn't a break in the joint. He almost
never used the 4th finger of his left hand."[/COLOR]

95% is obviously just another way of saying “mostly downstrokes” (i don’t think he meant that with any mathematical precision). so this backs up my idea that upstrokes are being used, at least on the faster moments.