Gypsy Jazz Lick over A7
This lick was played to me at the Gysy Guitar Festival last weekend and I thought it would make a good introduction to learning some Gypsy Jazz solo lines. The line is played over an A7 chord and can be moved around the next to play over other 7th chord shapes.
Start by playing the A7 chord - ideally, record this played over at a steady pace so you can play the solo line over it. The chord can be played either with the thumb on the 5th fret of the low E - with the tip resting on the open A to mute the string. The little finger is then left to rest on the high E or you can use the flat of the middle finger (from the 5th fret of the B string) to mute the open high E string.
A7
E |--X--| muted - Middle / Little
B |--5--| fifth (E) - Middle
G |--6--| third (C#) - Third
D |--5--| flat 7 (G) - First
A |--X--| muted - Thumb tip
E |--5--| root (A) - Thumb
Or without. In this case, the first finger will mute the open A string, with the flat of the finger, just below the tip. It also mutes the open high E string, as the fleshy part nearer to the palm will rest on the string around the 3rd or 4th fret.
A7
E |--X--| muted - Third
B |--5--| fifth (E) - Third
G |--6--| third (C#) - Little
D |--5--| flat 7 (G) - Middle
A |--X--| muted - First
E |--5--| root (A) - First
The lead line should be played with the following fingering. Slide the index finger up to hit the 5th fret of the high E to allow the hand to reposition for the 8, 5 on the B string. Don’t actually play a slide note, but use the index finger for both the 4th and 5th fret. Add a little vibrato with the middle finger on the last note (7th fret / A String) of the first bar.
1 2 3 1 1 3 1 2 3 1 2 3
E |-4-5-6-4-5-------------------|
B |------------8-5--------------|
G |----------------6------------|
D |------------------7-5--------|
A |----------------------6-7^^^-|
E |-----------------------------|
The second bar is played only with 2 fingers. Again, the 5, 7, 8 should be played with the first finger, then the third finger for the 7 and 8th fret. The same for the 7, 9, 10. Start with the first finger, then the third finger for the 9th and 10th fret. These changes allow the hand to move into the correct position for the following notes, and then finally for the
1 3 3 1 1 3 3 3 3
E |--------------------10-------|
B |-----------------10----------|
G |----------7-9-10-------------|
D |--------7--------------------|
A |--5-7-8----------------------|
E |-----------------------------|
The transposed lick over a G7 chord is identical, but shifted down by 2 half steps. This is briefly played toward sthe end of the video.
G7
E |--X--|
B |--3--| fifth (D)
G |--4--| third (B)
D |--3--| flat 7 (F)
A|--X--|
E |--3--| root (G)
E |-2-3-4-2-3-------------------|
B |------------5-2--------------|
G |----------------4------------|
D |------------------5-3--------|
A |----------------------5-6^^^-|
E |-----------------------------|
E |------------------8----------|
B |----------------8------------|
G |----------5-7-8--------------|
D |--------5--------------------|
A |--3-5-6----------------------|
E |-----------------------------|
Written by Alex on Monday 7th August 2006 at 1:43pm and posted in Learn To Play
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