Learn To Play Gypsy Jazz From The Ground Up!
Play the 5 classic tunes featured in my popular YouTube video "Top 5 Gypsy Jazz Songs" with step-by-step guidance for the melody and chords, technique tips and tricks, play-along tracks for learning and more!
Get the essentials of this style while learning 5 complete Gypsy Jazz tunes!
In this starter course we will learn the ins and outs of this style by learning to play five of the most well known and classic gypsy jazz tunes: Swing Gitane, All of Me, Djangology, Swing 48, and Dark Eyes. Our goal in this course is to get you playing these songs as quickly as possible, both the chords and the melody, and introduce technique tips and tricks to get you improvising and making these your own.
ENROLL NOWTRAVEL TO PARIS IN THE 1920'S
Discover An Enchanting Guitar Style In Record Time
Save untold hours of unnecessary practice time and get a solid foundation to efficient gypsy jazz playing playing and use it to:
- Understand the core movements that make up gypsy jazz guitar technique and develop your new skills with time-saving practice hacks.
- Decipher and understand a "lead sheet" so you can play any gypsy jazz song.
- Entertain your friends by playing some of the most famous standards ever written.
- Build on what you know with more advanced tricks and strategies that will take you to the next level.
Yes, It Really Is Possible!
You can play gypsy jazz guitar, and in the Gypsy Jazz Starter Kit, you’ll learn how to finally play those songs you've been hearing for so long!.
ENROLL NOW
In The Next 6 Weeks, You Could…
- Be playing fun and interesting songs from the gypsy jazz repertoire
- Have a solid foundation of proper habits and techniques to excel in this style
- Be delving into the entire gypsy jazz cannon and building an impressive and entertaining repertoire
The right teacher can make all the difference. We’ll cover all you need to know in the Gypsy Jazz Starter Kit and get you heading in the right direction with clear instruction in less time than you ever thought possible.
INTRODUCING
The Gypsy Jazz Starter Kit
Are You Ready To Take Control of Your Playing?
This 10-module course will teach you everything you need to know for a proper gypsy jazz foundation and get you playing songs you can have fun with right away. You’ll learn how to:
- Build and maintain excellent technique in less time
- Troubleshoot problems in your playing with simple steps
- Play songs that appropriately put to use the techniques you learn as you learn them
With expert guidance, you could be playing some of the most fun and fulfilling music ever written and be on your way to discovering even more songs and improvising in this exciting style.
What's Included In The Course...
MODULE 1
Getting Started with Gypsy Jazz
This gypsy jazz or "manouche" style is a very particular and idiosyncratic style of music and one of the most entertaining and rewarding styles of music to play on guitar. As we begin to dive into this music, let's get our bearings with a quick rundown of what gypsy jazz is, a review of the songs that make up this course, and short quiz.
- What is the gypsy jazz style and why play it?
- An audiovisual review of the 5 songs we will learn in this course so we can get a sense of what these tunes should sound like, melody and chords both
- Take a moment to answer a short quiz as we begin our journey
You’ll finish this course with a solid foundation in gypsy jazz technique and five incredible songs under your belt. You'll learn not only some common licks and tricks but also how to continue advancing to play more and more songs from the gypsy jazz repertoire.
MODULE 2
Basic Gypsy Jazz Techniques
Your technique is the basis of your musical development. In this module we learn from the ground up what constitutes proper Gypsy Jazz technique by learning one very common chord shape, playing on one string to develop the right hand, and we build step-by-step from there until we have a solid foundation in both hands. We also learn some essential ideas and concepts that we need to advance further including:
- How to play and recognize a "swing" or shuffle rhythm, essential for this style
- The importance of using downstrokes in gypsy jazz and the vibrato technique
- How to develop your right hand using a metronome and different rhythmic subdivisions
- Strategies for muting unwanted strings (so important!)
- Exercises that combine both hands as well as drills for switching between rhythm and lead to help level-up you're playing
You’ll finish this module ready to tackle the lead and rhythm of the classics Swing 48, Dark Eyes, Djangology, Swing Gitane and All of Me.
MODULE 3
Swing 48
Now that you have both the rhythm and lead playing technique fundamentals, it's time to start applying your skills to real Gypsy Jazz songs. We begin with Django's own "Swing 48" where you learn:
- The 12-bar blues form
- How we can take a chord shape you've already learned and use it for this entire song
- How to play the minor pentatonic scale for your own soloing
- The Swing 48 melody
- Play-along practice and chord loops to test your skills at playing the chords and the melody
You’ll finish this module with the ability to play a complete Gypsy Jazz standard and the confidence to start tackling more complex songs.
MODULE 4
Dark Eyes
Each song in this course is presented in order of overall complexity. With the famous Russian folk song Dark Eyes (now a Gypsy Jazz staple), you learn new techniques, licks and concepts including:
- How to create entirely new chords by moving only one finger
- How to add embellishments to a melody with a simple motion
- The oft-heard "Gypsy Jazz ending" you can use for any song
- The importance of arpeggios and a complete arpeggio study for Dark Eyes
- Play-along practice and chord loops to put your skills to work
As you work through each song in this course, you will feel your skills building and refining. At the end of this module you will be ready to level-up to one of the all time great songs from the Gypsy Jazz repertoire.
MODULE 5
Djangology
No Gypsy Jazz course would be complete without the classic Djangology, written by Django Reinhardt himself. This song offers new challenges and technique skill-builders that will make you a better player. You'll learn:
- New chords to add to your arsenal for Gypsy Jazz accompaniment
- How to "sweep-pick" the strings for speed and better tone
- A sweep-picking lick you can use for Djangology and other songs in a variety of contexts
- How to play with other musicians as you trade off chords and lead with me in real time
- Play-along practice videos and chord loops to get the Djangology rhythm, lead, and sweep-picking licks memorized
Things are really getting fun now as you keep building and building on each new skill and technique. At this point you should be able to interpret a lead sheet and play solid rhythm and lead, making you ready for our next level song.
MODULE 6
Swing Gitane
Another indispensable song from our Gypsy Jazz canon, while you play Swing Gitane you will:
- Learn how to keep the accompaniment interesting by doing rhythmic variations as you play the chords
- Get down the Swing Gitane melody while adding embellishments and string bending
- Discover a new triplet lick featuring "upward" sweep-picking
- Embellishment strategies and concepts
- Play-along practice, chord loops and rhythm and lead tradeoff practice where we simulate an actual Gypsy Jazz performance setting
By now your technical skill and knowledge have advanced considerably - how can we take eveything we've learned so far and practice it quickly and efficiently? You'll find out in the next module as we dive into the classic All of Me!
MODULE 7
All of Me
One of the most famous jazz songs of all time, All of Me has us using more chords than any song yet in this course and a lead that spans the entire guitar neck. We end this module with a combination of all of our lead playing ideas and concepts packed into one study. You'll learn:
- More chords and new ways to play chords you've recently learned
- The entire All of Me melody with chord-melody tradeoff practice to test your skills
- 2 new lick ideas for improvising
- A solo culmination study including slurs, bends, slides, embellishments, and all the licks we've learned so far
You’ll finish this module knowing more chords you can use in tons of future songs and improvisation and technique ideas you can also use in all your gypsy jazz lead playing going forward. Keep developing and refining your newfound skills with the play-along practice videos collection in the next module.
MODULE 8
Play-Along Practice Videos
It’s one thing to have excellent step-by-step guidance when learning a song, but when left to your own devices you may be playing it the wrong way or even interpreting the metronome incorrectly! With my play along practice videos, I help ensure that you are playing the right thing at the right time as we have everything that we need all in one multimedia experience: a metronome, scrolling notation and scrolling guitar tablature so that you can play along to the music and even “audit“ songs before you begin tackling them.
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Hear how the song should sound before you start practicing it
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Play along to a built in metronome without wondering how it should sound against the music
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See the sheet music scroll as you play - no need to turn pages or hit buttons!
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Adjust the speed slower or faster accordingly to your comfort level
This is such an incredibly useful tool for your practice and progress it’s insane! AND you can adjust the speed of the videos according to your skill level. THIS is how you will hone your gypsy jazz skills as you work on the chords and melody of these classic tunes.
MODULE 9
Conclusion
Whew! We learned a lot and played a lot, but this is only the beginning!
- Let's recap what we've learned
- These skills are your foundation to playing ALL other songs from the repertoire
- There's so much more to play and learn
- The Bonus Materials area is your place to further nurture and develop your new Gypsy Jazz chops
You’ll finish this course with an actual nylon string repertoire to call your own, a technique foundation that will pay off for years to come, and a constantly updated database of practice material for you to continually develop and refine your newfound skills.
MODULE 10
Bonus Material: Gypsy Jazz Repertoire
After completing this course, you can come back to the Bonus Material module for constantly updated new material for you to play with the skills you've learned! New lead sheets with play-along videos, new licks, and new guidance added regularly!
- New lead sheets for many songs in the Gypsy Jazz repertoire from "Django's Castle" to "Avalon" and "I'll See You in My Dreams" and tons more
- Play-along practice videos for each new lead sheet
- Bonus lessons on new ideas and concepts like the gypsy bossa and bolero rhythms, waltzes and more
- New Gypsy Jazz studies and exercises to develop your technique and soling ability
- Transcriptions of famous Gypsy Jazz solos including Django's solo to Honeysuckle Rose with play-along practice videos
Keep coming back to the Gypsy Jazz Starter Kit to refine your skills, develop your technique, knowledge and musicality with these ever-expanding Gypsy Jazz bonus materials!
This Course Is For You If...
- You love the sound of Gypsy Jazz but don't know where to start
- You want to learn songs but need guidance on how to play and what to play
- You've tried to play Gypsy Jazz before but got frustrated and confused by all the material out there
- You want to have a solid repertoire of songs
- You need the skills and knowledge to learn any new song on your own
- You want to learn at your own pace on your own schedule
NICE TO MEET YOU
I'm Scot Taber
I started playing guitar at age 12 after my best friend brought home an electric guitar. At that point I had somehow assumed the "regular people" weren't allowed to play the guitar, that was something "people on TV" did. I had studied the trumpet and piano and so was already a "musician" in a sense, but it wasn't until I picked up a guitar that I truly found my calling.
My first teacher introduced me to all kinds of guitar styles, from rock and jazz to classical and flamenco, and it wasn't long before I was performing for flamenco dancers and teaching my own guitar students by age 17. In my ongoing career as a performing musician and educator I have played countless gigs and taught thousands of students in person, online, and through YouTube tutorials.
Over the years I've encountered an incredibly broad range of students with diverse learning styles and interests, and decided to take my experience with anticipating the problems and pitfalls students are likely to have when learning certain materials, as well as the learning materials and methods I've developed, and fashion them into a suite of courses that will be both accessible and challenging to guitar students of all levels.
"The Ultimate Nylon String Guitar Guide covers it all. After only 2 months I’m already playing real music and impressing my wife!"
- Mark Bayer
"I have always wanted to play the Spanish guitar. Scot's course gave me the tools to improve in a logical way, and the songs are great."
- Stefan Moubayed
"As an advanced guitarist I find Scot's method of teaching thorough and substantive. I've corrected many bad habits and improved my skills in the process!"