Great video! As a player using gypsy jazz picking technique,it's what I was looking for! For bebop playing,or simply for playing saxophone,clarinet,etc lines on the guitar,we have to find some tricks. As you say,playing odd number of notes on the same string is hard. A trick I found is sometimes to play big intervals on the same string to keep an even number of notes on it,which implies quite a lot of left hand moving!Another thing is using hammers-ons and pull-offs as you said. Sometimes even taking off a note by playing a dead note instead of one which would have needed to be played with an upstroke on a lower string (awful movement if you use gypsy picking). I feel a number of notes on bebop heads for example are more for rhythmic effect,as you showed on "Moose the Mooche",so taking some off doesn't harm the general feeling,and it keeps swinging. But of course quite often we have to break the rules,for example attacking an upper string with an upstroke. I am glad you said you thought that gypsy picking is a powerful technique for jazz,not just gypsy. Gypsy picking is hard to master, and I don't feel like using a completely different one when playing some bebop stuff,I prefer trying to see what the gypsy technique can allow me to do (it's quite a lot!). Cheers!
Yeah I’ve found GJ picking absolutely fine 95% of the time. There’s a few things where you need to adjust. Otoh I’ve found with more electric guitars you do need to develop a muting technique. You can still use a form of rest stroke picking tho.
Hey man your videos have been a huge help over the last few weeks. Been teaching myself guitar for a few years now, and all the techniques I've been able to pick up from you have really melded themselves into my style lately. You should make a patreon. I know if I had the money to spare on something like that (I'm very, very poor), I would totally be down to throw you a couple bucks a month. Anyway, thanks for all your help man.
I just ordered an Altamira M10, partly because of seeing you and your M01D. What strings do you use for this guitar? The Argentinians? If so, what gauge do you recommend?
Maybe I am odd, but I never understood why it's such a bad thing not to stick to some 'traditional' techniques. All things naturally evolve to something (like languages). So I'll bet that even in the old days, these techniques were 'controversial'. Certain techniques give a certain vibe, that's true. But that doesn't mean you can't make your own. In fact, Django had to, since he was limited as well.
The main reason to adopt rest stroke/gypsy picking is for acoustic projection. If it wasn't for that, I probably wouldn't have bothered. I think this is a very good system of picking though, in that it can be taught to anyone. Some people work out their own solutions that work really well, but some people need a system that can be taught.
