Gypsy Jazz Rhythm Guitar: Everything You Need to Know (and it's EASY) 

I watch a lot of guitar instructional videos. Yours are the most relaxed, informative, casual, etc. etc. Just great!

I'm 72, been playing Django for 50 years, seen lots of lessons. I've learned more from you in two days than those last 50 years. Your method is perfect, for me, and you seem like a guy I'd like to have a beer with. I watch on a large screen TV, not a computer, and blown way up your tabs are very hard to read. Had to puy on my strongest glasses and sit right in front. But well worth it.

I try to play gypsy jazz on quitar for several years(Speed exer triplets ect ect ect ect )so much that I put my quitar in a very deep closet This video makes my happy,it gives my the feeling that once in the time I can play GypsyJazz on the streets of Amsterdam(my city of born) thank you very much Cristiaan

Very good analysis of what needs to be played and what makes chords easy, effective and suitable for any situation. And thanks from all of us with older hands.

Christiaan I've been looking for a good teacher for this style for ages and I definitely like your style. You have a no bull crap approach and you're naturally able to pass on your wisdom very cleverly and clearly. I'm going to enjoy your videos and having a go myself. Thanks for your time and effort.

Absolutely the most helpful video yet. Gypsy jazz chords simplified, YES! Most people want to be able to burn up and down the fretboard soloing but don’t realize that rhythm is the basic building block. Great lesson.

A most important video. I think that until you understand the basics of rythm guitar you cant solo over the rythm properly! Many thanks for sharing.

Christiaan, I recently discovered Gypsy Jazz. It is so very beautiful melodically and rhythmically. Honestly, I can listen to nothing but the rhythm parts and be enthralled! Then, when they add those lead parts -- guitar or violin or accordion -- oh, man. It really swings. As a guitar player myself, I really enjoy watching them play from a technical perspective. They can "shred" with the best rockers out there. Thanks for this great introductory video. I am subscribing and I am happily making a donation to help support your efforts here. Thanks!

I really like your teaching style, I know so much from just a few minutes here, I hope you go on to get lots more subscribers sir, you certainly got me hooked, great music taught simply, thanks.

Hey great tip on checking your bpm throughout track, never thought of that. Awesome lessons!

Dude, I love you so much. Thank you. You take something which seems very intimidating and make it approachable. Bravo!

I've seen this video when it came out and now im seeing it years later and it still provides nuggets of knowledge.

Thanks a lot for the nails tip. Real insider stuff ,from the top pros, that is rarely revealed. I think it’s one of the key to their great dry sound. Your lessons are fantastic, the playing right up there … and your English accent is really cool too. Thanks again.

Wow, you're on a roll Christiaan.

thanks a lot for this video! i just started to practice jazz manouche guitar and I can just agree with the other comments, that your videos are really so relaxed and informative etc., very well explained!

Best instruction on La Pompe I’ve seen. Thank you.

Best lesson ever! I now have a way more bouncy dry rolling swing! Really like the straightforward tips format. The real deal in no time!

I keep coming back to this video. So great for establishing proper technique. I love the adjectives to describe rhythm, dry, bouncy, growly.

Thanks Christiaan! The right stuff, simple and relevant.

Thank you! That's really helpul information!

This has changed my whole fundamental approach , thank you so much

Thanks for posting this! You rock!

This was an incredible lesson. That tip about the fingernails mix creating a crunchy 'dry' pompe was such an eye opener! You've inspired me to pick up my gypsy jazz guitar after two years of not playing. Thank you!

Fantastic. Been playing guitar for 33 years but just got my first gypsy guitar. I subscribed and am looking for to learning this style!

Thank you Christiaan. I appreciate your teaching. I've watched twice and will be back.

Amazing information, great playing and wow that guitar sounds incredible!!

Good video, very clear. Very useful for an intermediate guitarist looking to start playing this kind of music.

"OH and the upstroke is just so easy" - Me: can't do it

Thank you.. Im not new to guitar but new to Gypsy Jazz and appreciate the simplification of your tutorial..

Great teacher! Very well explained. 🙏

Thank you! Huge respect, wonderful rhythm, intuitive explanations.

This was without a doubt the best basic Gypsy Jazz tutorial I have see and I have seen many. Your right hand tip about using your fingernails is priceless. Thank you!

Thanks for all the vids. They are always helpful.

This is a fantastic video, will watch again.

Best RU-vid channel Thank you for explaining always learned something new 👍

I love this video. I've been playing bass for many decades, including many styles of jazz. I'm trying to expand my knowledge on different instruments and styles, and this video explained many concepts, kept it easy to understand, and didn't get into long explanations on why you didn't always play the 5th, or why a 6th chord instead of a 7th, etc.

Thank you so much for this video. You have an incredible way of sharing information. Thx!

That's great man, thanks for sharing

Excellent video and advice!

Always nice to hear from a real musician .cheers and thanks ....

Another great lesson again! Really liked the finger nail trick and that 'hickup' thing (9:33). Will put this vid into practice in no time! Thanks mate!

Superrrrrrrrrrrrrr , Christiaan Maestro

Superfijne videos bro! Dank je!

You are the very best guitar tutorial account out there. Keep on mate god bless you

Very informative! I was having a lot of trouble with my rhythm, you nailed it man!

excellent video on strumming and shapes thank you

Great video, thanks 👏 When it comes to Gypsy Jazz this style of playing rhythm/la pompe is the one I like the most. Christiaan's sound when comping is among my top three of the best I've heard 😀

Wow, very good!!! Thank you.

An excellent video - you are a great musician and a great educator, thank you.

Great learning video thanks

Muchísimas gracias!!! Un gran video

Great explanation! I took a class with you at DjangoFest NorthWest.

Nicely stated!

I really like your videos. You are also an inspiring player

Great video & explanation!

Very cool, thanks for sharing.

Thanks for the Lesson Chris!!!! you are the closest rythm to Gunther Stephan i found XD

Many thanks for a great lesson I owe you this

Excellent 👍🏻

Great! Thank you so much!

Thank you, super🙏👌

Great video..will check out your stuff on sound slice

Thanks!

Love that rhythm take on Sweet Georgia Brown

Brilliant!!......I SUBSCRIBED ✌😎

Great video. Thanks!! :)

Wonderful, video. The best thing sometimes is to lay back, leave some things open for the melody and soloist too. Giving them more freedom most often makes the entire band sound better.

Thanks a lot lot lot ! 🙂

Dankje wel voor de lessen

2:46 "I can be very quick about it... you only need eight chord shapes." 😨😂 Kidding aside: Great video! Thank you!

I like the "growly" concept.

Gypsy Jazz Rhythm Guitar Boot Camp in a video....thanks so much....

Marvellous. Christiaan, You should think about a meeting with northern Germany s clarinet-expert Martin Schmidt-Hahn for swing. He s got a warm clarinet-sound, that could fit to the brilliant guitar !!

Tight intro!

I can hear Django in this. Thanks for sharing.

Hello Christiaan, great videos and the way you teach, thank you very much. When you play up-stroke, do you play down/up down or up/down down? Thank you again. : )

Hi Christiian, this is an extremely useful lesson. I really like your pragmatic, stripped-down approach ... it's easy to get lost in tons of detail, and your method is great for getting up and running. It's a great sound. I have a dreadnought guitar, and am working on that nice dry chunky sound. I'm having trouble with the fingernails alone (and of course with nails and pick combo). When your fingers are hitting the string, would you say that the fingers are perpendicular (straight up and down) relative to the strings, or are the somewhat slanted? And are you hitting the strings with the sides of the nails, or with the back? Hard to see/understand from this camera angle. Cheers and regards, Jeff

I've been playing (electric rock) guitar for over 20 years now, just got into the whole gypsy jazz thing and I'm breaking my fingers just trying to finger those "basic" chords... damn it! 😱

Very helpful Christiaan! Thank you so much! BTW, what application are you using to create the chord diagrams? Tom

This is difficult it took me years to play solid , but it makes soloing much easier you understand the music better, rhythm is the engine

Christiaan thankyou so much for all your youtube lessons my friend, they really are invaluable! If I can ask a question - Is there a different way of holding the pick when playing rhythm compared to single note solo's? And if so are you able to swap between the two positions pretty quickly? Really hoping your book comes out as a e-book at some point! Many thanks

That G6 voicing is tough!

Hi christiaan,really good video . Can you tell me in one of yours video when you play dark eyes solo and rythm,does the rythm of dark eyes same strumming as the ones you just show in this video. Thanks,nono.

Thanks for your excellent videos! I'm self-teaching, and for the past weeks when playing min7 and dom7 chords, I've been practicing, bouncing of the idea that the more strings the better, having the 5th in the bass in addition to the root. So, Dmin7 would be ADFCF and E7 would be B E G# D E. They do sound nice and thick when playing alone, so do you think I can still use them if only I make sure to play them dry? The reason why I use the 5-string E7 voicing in particular is that when playing All of Me the C6/9 voicing (GCEADG) sounds really thick so that going to a 3-string E7 voicing it sounds too thin in contrast. Perhaps my sound isn't dry enough yet? It's hard to resist making the notes sound when playing alone. I also practice on a regular acoustic. So that might also be part of the reason. But my situation is, at least for the foreseeable future, that I can change my technique, not my guitar. Anyway, best regards and again, thank you for your channel!

I think my favorite thing about learning jazz has been how often I'm told to just ignore the most important, signature, notes of chords. And it works! Part psychology, part accompaniment?

I‘ve been told to hit all the strings all the time and to have a clear chord with less sustain on 1 and 3. I‘m practicing a lot with the metronom and play that stuff in a band. As I‘m far away from a solid rhythm and do not develop a good sound, I will try your Idea in the next weeks.

Such a great, clear lesson ! I'm considering a first gypsy guitar. What model are you playing?

Those double barres where you hold down the A and low E in the bass and then have one note right under them, then ANOTHER bar on the 3 highest strings, man is that not how fingers are supposed to bend. HOW lol

I would love to see how you would approach Mozart or Bach with Gypsy picking inflection. Bach Gminor presto for example...

I have a lot of trouble with the chords like G6 (T22133) where you have to bar two strings at once with one finger. Do you or does anyone have a suggestion as to how someone builds up to playing advanced chord arrangments like this? Also excellent video, I learned so much! Thank you!

Anyone got any tips on barring chords please? Holding down two strings with a first or second finger. And adding the thumb? Really difficult to stretch!

Very good teacher! Very good indeed!

Great lessons Christiaan. Is the bridge on your guitar glued or moveable? If its moveable, when you change strings then do you have to reposition it to find the correct intonation?

lotsa thanks...please also give the chords in each you also give in for the melodies...we can sync immediately into application that way, take care...best.

The arthritis in my pointer finger thanks you

Holly fuck those are the longest pinkie fingers I've ever seen.

Which guitar are you playing Christiaan?

Alg push ✌🏽

Christiaan, as I play (study) flamenco I am heavily used to Nylon strings...ofcourse the sound it not the same as on a gypsy jazz guitar. But keeping that difference in mind; I m experiencing troubles getting the proper 'feel' in the rhythem. I think it is not only cause of the string choice, but also due to the technic approach I use while playing flamenco. Think a lesson for me is wise thing to do! Let me know your thoughts on this one!

when I play the G6 voicing, the b (3rd) is muted, no matter on angle my fingers.