Rest Stroke "relax" - how? And a few other questions

dennis

regarding light picking, if i may interject. that term can be relative. From an electric guitarist point of view, it's not light at all .

Stochelo still hits the strings enough so that the sound is nice and punchy. If you play with an "electric guitarist's light touch", then the sound will be super thin and weak!

I think this 100% acoustic video of Stochelo is a good example



Mozes, on the other hand, is definitely lighter than Stochelo

Jazzaferri

Playing is better than not playing IMO....even if the audience is on another planet so to speak.

If you cant hear what the soloist is playing, play more quietly or lay out. This guidline should be announced at every jam, and anytime it starts to get loud.

AmundLauritzen

In regards to rhythm and jams, I think exceeding two guitars in a setting is pushing it, unless there are no other soloists in which case there's always one guitar playing melody, then one can play the base rhythm and the other can play stabs, rolls and other lead comping on top.

Even two pompists are very rarely telepathically connected, so there are going to be embellishments and articulations going criss-cross.

That of course depends on the mindset. Some times, people just want to socialize and not take things too seriously. If everybody are in the same mindset and it's not so important if things aren't perfect, then that's fine too.

But if you ask me, the jams with the fewer guitarists playing at the same time seem to be the most productive. You also avoid songs lasting 20 minutes because some people want to play their 10 choruses not considering all the other soloists.

When I've gigged, which is not much(not at all with gypsy jazz though) but a little bit, we've usually split up the one solo chorus on ballads because they drag out so much. That is, we'll play two choruses in total: do a simple melody statement and then split up the second chorus. Maybe just one soloist soloing until the bridge and then go into the melody from there.

Some people might think this is too simple minded and un-artistic for jazz, but I think it's a good idea to think "radio friendly" in terms of song length. If you listen to the top players, they are able to condense something great into a short and compact performance. This hit me when I listen to Rosenberg Trio, and even listening to Django himself. Even when Rosenberg Trio do special arrangements, like modulating "Coquette" up a half step, it never drags on. Everything is condensed and compacted down to something meaningful and effective.

I think it can be good to keep these aspects in the back of the head in jams, because with many soloists, it plays a much bigger role. Practice hard in between jams so that the one or two choruses you do take have more impact, so you don't need to play 10 to add your two cents.

It's also a good principle for forum posts, so you don't end up with a wall of text like this, haha.

woodamand

I have only been to a couple of GJ jazz jams in the past (playing clarinet not guitar) and I wholeheartedly agree that more than two guitars at any one time is too many guitars. Pretty much more than two of anything is too many for me, unless you have some exceptional players and they do some serious arranging before they play together, so that everyone isn't just playing the same damn thing.

Buco

I don't mind to be the live jukebox band at all. It's a low pressure environment that allows you to relax and gets you ready for a gig where you might have a captive audience.
And there's always someone who appreciates the music so that's good enough for me.

Once we got a compliment that started off as the most back handed but turned out nice, we played a corporate party gig and afterwards this lady started off by saying how she loved us, then said she didn't really listen to us much at all but when she saw the befuddled expression on my face explained how the music sorta quietly permeated the place and elevated the whole evening.

The problem is when the place is so loud that I'm having a hard time hearing myself.
But I'm gonna try hard to adopt this light relaxed approach no matter the setting.
I started today by practicing playing this run, which always makes me tighten up, and I just focused on keeping the wrist loose which made the notes come out somewhat sloppy, which in the past would scare me into thinking I'm gonna practice bad habits but this time I'll stick with it for 10-20 minutes at a time.

Jazzaferri

dennis wrote: »

regarding light picking, if i may interject. that term can be relative. From an electric guitarist point of view, it's not light at all .

Stochelo still hits the strings enough so that the sound is nice and punchy. If you play with an "electric guitarist's light touch", then the sound will be super thin and weak!

I think this 100% acoustic video of Stochelo is a good example



Mozes, on the other hand, is definitely lighter than Stochelo

I agree with Denis on light being relative.

I suspect what gives Stochelo such punch is his speed of attack. Watching him even when playing slowly in ballads, when he picks it looks fast to my eye. He is so wonderfully relaxed and fluid.

Hemert

Yes, Stochelo's tone is full and clean. Each note is taken care off but compared to for example Tcha and Rino it's a lot less loud. Then again Stochelo is a lot faster than Tcha and Rino. Of course he plays with a lot of dynamics, softer fast runs (maybe ending on a louder note), strong octaves and accented chord licks and don't forget the fast and consistent vibrato which makes all long notes sing.

daffyduck

If its any consolation , i think you spend your whole life learning how to relax

Buco

Could Mozes' guitar play any role in his volume? Projects a little less, little less punchy, action super low?
I mean his right hand looks really good.
And what a lightening fast right, holly cow.

Thanks for the video, what a great concert. there's a few more videos from it but hopefully more get uploaded.

Jazzaferri

Help, I''m having a seniors moment.

Whats the name of the tune in the vid. Its driving me crazy, on the tip but wont come.