What is Gypsy Swing?
Django Reinhardt
The difference to American Jazz
Why I like Gypsy Jazz so much
The right tools
Gypsy Jazz Jam Session


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The Gypsy Swing Jam Session

Some spectators at a Gypsy Jazz Jam Session wonder, how musicians who have never met before, can make such great music together that sounds like a cast and rehearsed for years.
Of course, the musicians know the songs well. They're called standards, old hits from the swing era and later (about 1910 to 1950). There are leadsheets with the chords and the melody and old recordings for guidance and the musicians know how a song is structured and performed in general.

Without these knowledge and rules, a Jam Session would result in chaos and could not be enjoyable, neither for the audience nor for the musicians.

Actions and rules at a Jam Session

The following rules are not carved into stone. They came naturally by watching what works and by the natural hierarchy. They're suggestions to make a Jam Session work.

Course of action

It's a good idea to have a list with all the songs of which you can play at least the ryhthm. It  will help to find a common song more quickly. Great, if you have a folder with all the leadsheets of the songs.

The musician who plays the theme, plays also the intro, if he knows one. He will be the master of this song.
The intro declares the tempo of the song. An intro has to indicate the first beat of the song clearly.

After the theme, the same musician plays a solo over a few choruses (one chorus is one full chord progression of the song).
About 4 bars before ending his solo, the soloist pass it over to another musician by a glimpse.
If that musician doesn't want to play a solo, he immediately pass it over to the next musician by a glimpse.

Like this, every musician get's his solopart.

Another possibility is to declare the order of soloing in advance, before starting the song.
Usually, one person has or takes the leadership of the jam session and allocates the solos in advance or delegates them during the performance.
At a rehearsal, it would be the bandleader. At a jam session it will probably be the guy who knows the most themes or has the most experience.

Has every musician played his solo (don't forget the bassplayer!), the same person who played the theme in the beginning will play it again, to lead the song to its end.

This person is also responsible for a nice ending (outro) of the song. He should have the last "word".
Usually, the outro will be a catchy line over the last two or four bars.
To find a cool outro isn't that easy and maybe that's why even advanced musicians disregard the study of outros. It's worth it, tough, because the outro leaves the last impression of the song.

Sometimes, before comming to the last theme, the songleader (or jam session leader) will shout "four-four" to introduce an interlude in which each soloist (in the same order as before in the song) play short four bar solos. The interlude can span several chorusses.

Musical advice

For the success of a jam session a controlled volume is very much responsible.
If there are more than one rhythm guitarist, they should pay attention to two things in particular:
- to play the beat to the point and
- that the rhythm section supports the soloists enough, but doesn't suppress him.
If you have a solid bass player in the squad, you should conform to him rhythmically.

It also depends where you sit. Sit in a circle when you jam with friends. Having eye contact is important.
Try also to sit in a half circle or a line as you would sit on a stage. It makes a big difference, who sits at the left and at the right side of you. The guitar to the left will sound quite loud but the guitar to the right can't hardly be heard.
Try different positions and seats to find the best sitting solution.

Of course it's important to stay perfectly on the beat when you play the rhythm guitar. Anyway, it can happen that you get a blackout and you loose connection with the chord progression. Turn down the sound but keep on scratching the beat while you think about the next comming chord.

The truth will come to the surface

At a jam session the truth turnes out very quick, namely whether you can play the theme properly or the arpeggios you have practiced the whole last week or if you can incorporate the learned licks on the fly in a nice way into your solos.

Sometimes the songs are played faster than the original or maybe you started the song in a higher tempo than you wanted (everybody can be nervous at a jam session) and so you have to nail it down somehow at a higher speed while adrenalin is pumping in your veins.

Be prepared

First of all, you should master the rhythm. When you know the chordprogressions by heart, then you are ready to "pump". You should know the most popular standards, played in your local clubs.
A jam session is fun, especially if you can play a solo over the most standards. You should know the most important arpeggios and scales. These are:



Also some knowledge about music theory will help you to understand new songs you've never heard before.
You should know some licks and how to insert them in your solos. Remember, each lick works over certain chords!

It's not very useful to learn a Django solo note for note without knowing the harmonic background. Imagine, the song is played faster than you are used to and suddenly you loose it and fall out of the prepared solo line. Without knowing the harmonic structure of the song, you will have no idea how to continue your solo (in the same coolnes). Or it comes even worse and a soloist before you plays the original solo version of Django and perhaps even better than you could. To repeat a solo is kinda uncool and thus profound knowledge of the chord progression and harmony should be the basic condition. Then you are able to move freely over the fretboard and give your feelings space. If someone can play a Django solo out of his memory doesn't mean that he is a real soloist, but at least he would have the basic technique and phrasing in his fingers.

You should being able to build a solo over two choruses. It would be a shame to play a nice solo over the first chorus, but over the second chorus it looses inspiration and freshness. Sometimes the other musicians will shout "One more time" to push you for another solo chorus and then you should have still a few good licks in your pocket and vigour in reserve.

I wish you a lot of fun at your next jam session

Christian Ruh