The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #26

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    Crosspicking? Get a load of this. He uses the two-down, one-up style. But more than that, and it's highly demanding, he repeats it over and over without messing it up. Not easy.


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  3. #27

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    Quote Originally Posted by ragman1
    Crosspicking? Get a load of this. He uses the two-down, one-up style. But more than that, and it's highly demanding, he repeats it over and over without messing it up. Not easy.
    Lots of instructors, including Steve Kaufman, teach you to crosspick by using alternate picking (that's how I learned it), but the way Tony does it here (down-down-up) was the approach favored by George Shuffler, who is credited for having created crosspicking during his years with the Stanley Brothers.

    The first time I heard the Church Street Blues album, I thought Tony was showing off his fingerpicking skills, which seemed pretty formidable on each tune. When I learned that he flatpicked everything I was hearing, I was astounded. Still am.

  4. #28

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    In Norman Blake's video on Whiskey Before Breakfast in my previous post - after he plays the tune demontrates both cross picking down -up-down -up .. and then down- down - downs - up (a sweep)...

  5. #29

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jonah
    In Norman Blake's video on Whiskey Before Breakfast in my previous post - after he plays the tune demontrates both cross picking down -up-down -up .. and then down- down - downs - up (a sweep)...
    First time I've seen that. Crosspicking is generally DUD or DDU but he does DDDU!

  6. #30

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    Tony Rice has incredible jazz chops






    I noticed that best flatpickers have fantastic swing feel and groove...

  7. #31

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jonah
    In Norman Blake's video on Whiskey Before Breakfast in my previous post - after he plays the tune demontrates both cross picking down -up-down -up .. and then down- down - downs - up (a sweep)...
    You're right. I've watched this video a bunch of times over the years, and never noticed it before. Good catch, Jonah!

  8. #32

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    Tony Rice was unquestionably the best in his day. Not just for his absurdly clean soloing at terrific speeds but for his peerless rhythm playing - and, of course, he was a brilliant singer. He was the very epitome of a bluegrass star.

    Unfortunately he paid a heavy price. He got serious, and probably permanent, vocal troubles and had to stop singing. In fact, he can barely talk these days. Also tendon trouble in both arms/hands until playing was almost impossible. But he's still around in some fashion. A fund has been set up for him because he's obviously not earning much these days. However, he's definitely left one hell of a musical legacy.

    At some point he turned to jazz, tutored, I think, by John Carlini, and learnt all his chords. With David Grisman the mandolinist he began to play what they called Newgrass or Dawg music (Grisman's nickname). If I'm honest, I don't think Tony's jazz soloing was ever really jazzy as such, not in the sense of a Pass or Montgomery anyway, because he was too steeped in pentatonic based playing, as you can hear in that second video above. On the other hand, perhaps that was intentional because the music was an offshoot of bluegrass and a new style - rather like Django's playing was still essentially gypsy based - lots of arpeggios, etc. So it is what it is.

    Here's him playing with Grisman and Alison Krauss doing his fast stuff. Below that is his Hall Of Fame acceptance speech, a shadow of his former self. Watch and weep.




  9. #33

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    Yeah I feel the flatpicking bluegrass feel is a bit different to jazz.... hank garland to me always feels quite countryish when he's playing burning bebop. Not a criticism really, it's just a flavour.

    Anyway, there's a certain amount of crossover between country flatpicking stuff and jazz string band traditions - including gypsy jazz - that I find fascinating.

    Also the American jazz string band thing - stuff smith, Emilio caceras, that is often overlooked today but goes right back to the 1910s... loads of links....

    For me Julian Lage is a great modern crossover between those worlds.

  10. #34
    Quote Originally Posted by Jonah
    Funnty thing.. I am into it now too... kind of trend?)))

    Actually from time to time I like to explore other styles of American music...

    What I am doing now with bluegrass I just check some videos I like David Grier.. Bryan Sutton.. and others... and I try pick basic patterns they use and make combinations of it in a song...

    By the way - Why do they all (or almost all) play dreadnoughts? I like jumbos more)))
    I was wondering that too. I hate dreadnoughts to play on.

  11. #35
    Quote Originally Posted by Jonah
    As perr OP question...

    That's what I did...

    First I found some basic excersise for bluegrass cross-picking.. something like that. It's simple but it represents the approach clearlyy



    then I took a few simple tunes - first was Whiskey Before Breakfast.. it was tutorial demo.. but if you already know the guitar - you do not need to by anything... these demos have already ecerything there

    I took a few different versions

    Orrin's I like because it incorporates double-stop piccking, strumming... and in teh B section he plays that nice fiddle bass line (usually in solo versions they drop it out)



    This one is pretty basic but uses typical crosspicking patterns a lot... but check the note choice he does in B section.. sounds like Charlie parker changes



    Then I took Beaumont Rag (obviously named after our Mr. Beaumont)

    I took David Grieer's video...
    First he plays complicated version but then he plays basic one very slowly so you can see everything and then he shows what he does to spice it...




    Actually it took about a week (and maybe 2 hours of pure practice time)... I dont say I play itt hat fast and perfect but I cautht the idea.. and already played some fun music for my kids to dance))))
    Thanks for this! I was working through that Whiskey before breakfast video as well. Love the David Grier video, I really want to get that driving constant rhythm down. It's a very particular type of swing (in my mind)

  12. #36

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    Quote Originally Posted by christianm77
    stuff smith, Emilio caceras,
    What's that?

  13. #37

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jonah
    By the way - Why do they all (or almost all) play dreadnoughts? I like jumbos more)))
    All the midrange available (+ some more) had already been given away! Smaller body guitars will cut better when soloing, but else doesn't fit well in that context of midrange overload. Dreadnoughts may have some upper mids that can make it almost hearable when soloing though Not very familiar with jumbos, but I'm thinking they may lack that upper mid.

  14. #38

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    First time I've seen that. Crosspicking is generally DUD or DDU but he does DDDU!
    yes it looks like he just does it real economy picking...

    I am no expert but as I understood these DUD and DDU picking came up in 3+3+2 rythm groupings.
    So
    DUD/DUD/DU is kind of irregular alternate picking
    DDU/DDU/DU is kind of economy, but it's economy only for this type of grouping

    Sort of rag rythm...

    Note David Grier in Beaumont Rag clip above plays this pattern as DUD/UDU/DU - that is straight alternate picking

    There should be also difference in accents... D should be stronger so DDU type should be a bit more light theorestically...
    All teh notes are picked lighter and last one in teh group of 3 is played U and it's kind of pick up note rythmically.
    In DUD it's D - so the connection is a bit heavier...
    But I believe DUD could prevent you from runing too far before the bit... (my personal problem wherever I play I have strong rythmic 'pickup breathing' and alsways tend to connect pick up not with the first note of the next group. And often it causes playing before the beat... it's ok when you are soloing, but not really good in comping)


    By the way.. Note the REST STROKES also.. seems flatpickers play rest strokes all the time... even in these kind of fast rolls, at least some of them)

    Now if we expand there rolls it to regular rythm 4+4 or 2+2+2+2 (like shown in the excersise above - we play for example strings 4 -3-2-2)
    It will be natural way to expand DUDU to regular alternate picking DUDU/DUDU..


    With DDU
    It is possible to play DDUD/DDUD (and in this for it's becoming close to DUD/DUD cause down strokes fall on both 1 and last beats)

    but it seems also very logical to expand it to a sweep or economy picking DDDU/DDDU - at least this will help character of accents of DDU/DDU


    And hereI found three nice excercises for three different crosspicking - and using very nice open strings chord voicings for C- scale


  15. #39

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    All the midrange available (+ some more) had already been given away! Smaller body guitars will cut better when soloing, but else doesn't fit well in that context of midrange overload. Dreadnoughts may have some upper mids that can make it almost hearable when soloing though Not very familiar with jumbos, but I'm thinking they may lack that upper mid.
    I believe jumbos vs. dreadnought means Gibson vs. Martin at least at certain period of American guitar sales history)


    Both are big guitars that at least originally were supposed to compete in the market.

    For me jumbos are more balanced all over the range and they have much more open sound... somebody said: where dreadnaught booms, jumbo blooms...

    But one of the problem of jumbos that the sound is diffused... sustain especially on all massive full-size jumbos is extremely long on highs... If you strum only it give very nice sound - full of harmonics - gentle and forceful at teh same time..
    But if you play solo or rolls... you should be able to control it... because it diffuses and mixes to the extent that it can be heard as losing intonation...

    And I also like the look of jumbos (if you saw young Sophia Loren you will understand it)...

    Thuogh I am not really fan of Gibson jumbo desighn... to many kitchy decorations.

  16. #40

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    Yeah I feel the flatpicking bluegrass feel is a bit different to jazz.... hank garland to me always feels quite countryish when he's playing burning bebop. Not a criticism really, it's just a flavour.

    Anyway, there's a certain amount of crossover between country flatpicking stuff and jazz string band traditions - including gypsy jazz - that I find fascinating.

    Also the American jazz string band thing - stuff smith, Emilio caceras, that is often overlooked today but goes right back to the 1910s... loads of links....

    For me Julian Lage is a great modern crossover between those worlds.
    Absolutely agree on Julian... the futher he goes the more I like it.

    Expecially we can hear it with Chris Eldridge... I really like Chris' playing... he has very somooth and subtle flatpicking.. I try to learn from his playing too.
    But when they play with Julian you can easily hear that Julian is from jazz world.. it's not only that he has much bigger vocabulary but rythmically he is much more free - sometimes it feels like his timing just flies... and still he sounds also very natural bluegrass....
    What's great that he really goes deep into it. I heard many multi-intstrumentalist or multi-stylists guys who just play some representative pieces from other styles, they like give you report or demonstration of styles... but they canno play really challeging pieces in this style using the instrument possibilities completely.
    but he really explores the style and instrument to the very end...


    As pef jazz and bluegrass...

    When I was in teh Army band (it was Russian army).. we had a few foreigh marches in repertoire. All these marches were based on 8th dot 16th rythm pattern... all the snare drum patters were also 8ths and 16ths... it did not matter if it was German, Russian Italian... the musical character could be a bit different but basic rythm was the same - it was marching, really marching
    And then we played a few American marches - Sousa I beleive... one of the was of course Washington Post - the others I can't remember... I especially appreciated the fact that trombones in these marches had their own special role - because I was tired of playing comping chord tone on weak beats (common for marches in European music- just doubling brass baritone).

    But the real pleasure was that they were all in triplet rythm.. they were swinging... even miltary marches... it was not for marching it was for walking...

    Of course there are different feels in different styles.. but there's something that makes it all American... and this is something that some players like Bill Frisell or Julian Lage can discover in their playing...
    In a way Tony Rice also tried to do it.... his 'Native American' seems to be conceptual LP... maybe for him it was a bit more difficult because when you start with jazz - at least after 1950s - you start with international music, American but also international...

    And if you start with pure folk style it is much more difficult to expand and go out of it later

  17. #41
    Quote Originally Posted by Jonah
    I believe jumbos vs. dreadnought means Gibson vs. Martin at least at certain period of American guitar sales history)


    Both are big guitars that at least originally were supposed to compete in the market.

    For me jumbos are more balanced all over the range and they have much more open sound... somebody said: where dreadnaught booms, jumbo blooms...

    But one of the problem of jumbos that the sound is diffused... sustain especially on all massive full-size jumbos is extremely long on highs... If you strum only it give very nice sound - full of harmonics - gentle and forceful at teh same time..
    But if you play solo or rolls... you should be able to control it... because it diffuses and mixes to the extent that it can be heard as losing intonation...

    And I also like the look of jumbos (if you saw young Sophia Loren you will understand it)...

    Thuogh I am not really fan of Gibson jumbo desighn... to many kitchy decorations.
    The real answer: Mini Jumbo

    Flat Picking-maritime_sws_mini_jumbo_hg_-jpg

  18. #42

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    The real answer: Mini Jumbo
    Ha... I have a big guitar store next to my office and during lunch I go there to try some guitars...

    And I just came back.. and this time I tried Godin mini-jumbos (the brand was Norman I believe)...

    And compared a lot with dreadnaughts and superjumbos (all from Godin's brand)...
    You see all Godin guitar has somethin... I do not know how to name it... something sterile (something Canadian?)
    In comparison to Breedlove or Takamine which were also available there- Godins sound and feel a bit like a toy... like they are not made from woods.

    I owned Godins though and I loved it... they have their own thing.

    So then I tried Takamine, Breedlove - appprox. same models... then also Yamaha... and even Martins - though there were only 3 Martins and all small body guitars...
    The Martin were the most expensive ones here.
    (By the way - thugh Martins were very very lovely... very nice tone, balance, harmonics, very subtle and warm and bright at the same time and fantastic playability - and quality...
    I found that some Breedlove and Takamine at a much lower price are practically as good as these Martins... a bit different but also very delicate and full sound and very good playability)



    Regarding comparison jumbo vs. dreadnought I came to the point that it depends much on other factors too... producer, woods etc...
    yes jumbo in general is more open...

    What I think is that bothe guitars are a bit crude monsters - their beauty of sound is a bit kitchy... you should really pick it and strum it... their nuances of sound are not that delicate as small-bodied guitars...

    And! In that sense I found mini-jumbo a compromise that probably I do not like... Jumbo should be super jumbo.
    You cannot find mini Tahoe? or mini-Suburban? (or can you imagine mini-Sophia Loren?)So no mini-Jumbos...))


    PS
    I cannot afford Suburban)))
    I own Vintage V1700N chinese all solid super jumbo.. (flaming mapple and very good spruce top - so called 'haselfichte') it's cheap... about 600usd and I bought only because I really liked that very guitar at the shop... the one that was next to it was much worse... (i would never buy it offline)
    it is quite seldom to find in the shops and probably it's the closest guitar to Gibson J500 I ever tried...
    The guitar is a killer...
    though I clearly understand I cannot use it for everything I still do not think I will ever sell it... it has some authentic

    I changed nuts myself and did some neck and fretwork (with a help of luthier).. the guitar is real moster..
    Last edited by Jonah; 04-13-2017 at 10:26 AM.

  19. #43
    I know the Godin sound you are referring to, but to me it's more of a pleasant balance than sterility. I have one of those Seagul SWS Mini Jumbos and enjoy it very much (no offense taken). I've never played a Breedlove though and would like to get my hands on one.

    For me comfort of playability trumps sound nuances. If the sound is 20% worse on a small guitar but my playing is 30% more comfortable... I think better sounding music will be made. I'm not even a small person but I gravitate towards mini-jumbos and parlor guitars. Dreadnoughts always felt like unwieldy and necessarily large boxes to me. But they certainly seem to be the norm in the genre.

  20. #44

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    There's only one bluegrass guitar :-)

    Flat Picking-dscf1782_2-jpg

  21. #45

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    I know the Godin sound you are referring to, but to me it's more of a pleasant balance than sterility. I have one of those Seagul SWS Mini Jumbos and enjoy it very much (no offense taken).
    My remark on Godin was very general.. I played 5th avenue for 3 years... this guitar gave so much. I also love their parlour Art and Lutherie Burgundy with spruce top an dalmost bought it.
    Their Multiac guitar are very interesting too...

    So no problem with that...

    Maybe my opinion comes from the looks too... when you go for Takamine, Breedlove (I do not mention Martins or Taylors)
    - they all look like regular guitar... mostly... they can only affor natural finish and sunburst sometimes
    and Godins offer such a wide range of differently looking acoustics - different colours and designs and decorations - maybe it brings in the feeling that I take it a bit less serious unconciously.
    I also do not dif this 'wild cherry' - I hear they had some special agreement with Canadian goverement or something that they use some Canadian woods and get special condidtions..
    not that I am against unusual woods forthe body...
    and when they use on top it is extremely strange.

  22. #46

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    I've never played a Breedlove though and would like to get my hands on one.
    Strange I do not see many Breedloves neither in my country nor in Europe....

    I have official Breedlove dealer shop not far from home... that's how I got to know them. And this is the only place I could find them.

    Very good guitars - from low end Chinese to top American. Very good quality control.

    I helped to choose guitar for my friend's kid and finally we got cheapest solid top Breedlove - about usd350.
    I came to teach the kid and I enjoyed guitar very much.

    The same shop is Takamaine dealer but they seem to promote Breedlove more intensively.

    My problem is I am always trying to save money... when I bought the last guitar - the salesman told me: Man you really need a better one... I said: this one is good.. he said: yes, but you need a better one...
    (I know the guy quite long so he did not try just to sell me more expensive instrument).

    Now I begin to think he was right...

  23. #47

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    Some bluegrass guys seem to be gypsy style pickers, but the alternate picking stuff sounds a little cleaner to my ears....

  24. #48

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    Also triplet picking dud dud is probably the single most important thing to practice for gypsy style pickers imo

  25. #49

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    Here Wyatt Rice shows D-D-D-U crosspicking through 4 strings he uses in comping... actually here it is a real sweep
    Demonstration is from 03:00
    But all video anyway


  26. #50

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    Good video to learn Little Sadie solo guitar version after Tony Rice