The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    It seems that both of these employ reststrokes on downstrokes. Both sweep on ascending passages and alternate on descending with an even # of notes per string.

    So the main difference is really how the pick is held and crosses the string. Is that correct?

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #2

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    Denis Chang made a video comparing Gypsy and Benson picking. You might find it helpful. He gets into the specifics around the 10 minute mark.




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  4. #3

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    Quote Originally Posted by charlieparker
    It seems that both of these employ reststrokes on downstrokes. Both sweep on ascending passages and alternate on descending with an even # of notes per string.

    So the main difference is really how the pick is held and crosses the string. Is that correct?
    I think so

    also benson picking suits a light picks, benson famously using a fender medium (.75 iirc) while GJ pickers use 1.5mm + and sometimes very thick (5mm is not unheard of)

  5. #4

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    Also did Chang talk about the medieval lute? Eh??? Check out this madlass

    Gypsy picking and Benson Picking-d1b1bc4b-fbc3-450c-bb52-f4f285708044-jpeg

    tbf she looks confused. Maybe she just read a Tuck Andress article.

  6. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by Christian Miller
    I think soalso benson picking suits a light picks, benson famously using a fender medium (.75 iirc) while GJ pickers use 1.5mm + and sometimes very thick (5mm is not unheard of)
    Interesting. I like the tone better that gypsy pickers get. In general, I find that the Benson pickers don't get the best tone. In that the attack priduces a thin sound.

  7. #6

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    "Gypsy picking" technique pretty much assumes an acoustic guitar, which requires a stronger attack, even with the very light strings most players use on their Selmer-style instruments. Interesting that Dennis is demonstrating on a Godin electric.

    It's also been interesting to observe, over the last couple decades, how "gypsy" playing techniques have been transmitted outside the groups that originated them. There's a kind of anxiety of orthodoxy that comes along with the (necessary) codification of book/video/workshop transmission--Exactly what kind of pick do I use? Exactly how strong is the upstroke component of la pompe? Can I ever use an upstroke in a fast solo passage? How "wet" can my guitar tone be?

    I understand the urge to document and imitate the practices of the originators--I've seen the same kinds of urges in every folk/ear-led tradition I've encountered. But I've also noticed how these traditions can be less than monolithic, and how they change, especially when they come into contact with other traditions. In gypsy jazz, the Ferré brothers are an interesting case--sons/nephews of Django-generation originators and conservatory-trained. There are similar cases of tradition-plus-formal-training among Hawaiian players (Keola Beamer, Dennis Kamakahi, Peter Medeiros).

    I remember asking one of the late Sonny Chillingworth's students about Sonny's right-hand technique--whether it was two- or three-finger. He said that Sonny told him, "Whichever finger gets there first."

  8. #7

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    Yeah I think an important thing to bear in mind is that gypsy picking is not actually unique to gypsy jazz. For instance oud and tres Cubano are played with the same technique.

    Django is (according to some) meant to have acquired his right hand technique from plectrum banjo lessons and I have heard it said that this style of picking is classical mandolin technique. This is something I’ve found quite hard to substantiate. I can’t remember Rob ever mentioning this and he’d know better than me for sure.

    What does seem the case is that many musical cultures worldwide appear to have arrived at the same technique because of its advantages for acoustic instruments…

    The medieval lute thing is interesting because medieval lute appears to be played with a supinated or underhand picking stance and renaissance lute continues this stance into ‘thumb in’ finger style. Another interesting thing is that the latter uses thumb forefinger alternation for solo lines; which suggests that it may have developed from an alternate picking tradition (down on the beat, up on the upbeat)

  9. #8

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    Anybody who takes a workshop on the playing style of Rev. Gary Davis will be advised to use two fingers for the right hand and to play the single-string runs alternating thumb-down/forefinger-up the way the Rev did. (There's a whole family of two-finger styles out there, notably in the thumbpicking tradition, notably among the followers of Merle Travis, Doc Watson, and Libba Cotten, as well as quite a few old-style slack-key players.)

    About Django--you can hear on his very early recordings how different his banjo work (accompanying musette tunes) is from his post-fire guitar playing.
    Last edited by RLetson; 04-06-2023 at 02:46 PM.

  10. #9

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    The Dennis Chang vid misses the mark a bit bc he changes too many variables to truly know the difference btw gypsy and benson.

    Hate to keep beating a dead horse here on multiple threads but the actual mechanic probably makes the most difference in a pick stroke.

  11. #10

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    Just got my hands on this -