Django Reinhardt's "Improvisation #2"

[Mikestrehlow]

Your guitar sounds awesome.

[n64wilbert]

Music to my ears man!! Hell yea!!

[baz393]

im for ever blowing bubbles



[rondendik]

i'm glad that i have been named after this musician .

[dann3th3manni3]

Django had some beautiful solo guitar tunes.

[BladeV8]

I remember first seeing this when I was 14 and just starting to play. 4 or so years later it still bends my head.

[Piratcykel]

What scales do you use in gypsy music?

[0mgh4xftw]

as with all jazz, pretty much everything.

I can even hear some whole tone in this and all sorts.

[nacconotnacho]

the chromatic :p

[GassyCoke]

@Piratcykel Mainly Harmoinc minor, melodic minor, chromatic, whole tone.

But the real deal is in arpeggios, manouche players use them more than scales.

They use arpeggios all along the fretboard with a bunch of colorations.

[0mgh4xftw]

I've nearly finished working this out now :) it's fantastic. Thanks adrianholovaty.

[moeistheirleader]

Please explain what you're playing between 00:40 and 00:50. If you don't mind. That little run sounded amazing.

[potentialcarnie]

Simply gorgeous! Your hard work has paid off :)

[troubleclef]

Fantastic. Isn't working this stuff out by ear a riot? I just posted my own version of this and it's the first thing i've worked on in a long time that really had me excited. Like I could be sitting there working on it and find an hour and a half had flown by. There's something thrilling working on something you know not too many other people have ever troubled with.

Great to hear I'm not the only one (and kinda jealous of your amazing view count!)

[adrianholovaty]

Hey troubleclef --

Yeah, it's a blast to work these songs out. :-) I haven't had a chance to look at it yet, but evidently there's a book out called "Unaccompanied Django" that's full of transcriptions of his solo pieces. Maybe a good post-Christmas gift to myself...

[eternal19901]

@troubleclef

i wish i had this intrest you do, it feels more like work when im tryingto work somthing out

[Wilde4Ever]

Hey, anywhere I can get tabs for that?

[Morahman7vnNo2]

Well compared with his and recording and yours, there are slight. Mostly Django's Improve.

[Morahman7vnNo2]

Can you play his "Improvisation #1?"

[JavierWylde]

Bravo!! Awesome!!

[cab711]

C'est genial

[veilands]

This one is absolutely awesome, thanks Adrian.

[almarecondo]

Muy bello!!!

Congratulations, from Argentina

[Galouse]

Bravo!

[niemskills]

What kind of rig are you playing on?

[crcruz]

do you have a tab for that? it's amazing!

[skullsRS]

well done, sounds awesome

[davrock68]

well done!!

[Zelkbro]

The start sounds like a Zelda game story soundtrack.

[jjjkop]

do you play with long nails ?

[thailandajarn]

No. Just a really big nut.

[adelfred]

How did Django play that with only two fingers?

[TooFarBeyondTheSun]

Where there's a will, there's a way; And Django had one heck of a will!

[Perhapsy]

nice! I transcribed this one two — you seem to take your time and play it well — the way it should be played!

beautiful tune, no?

[mordenkaiden1]

where can i get it

[colm841]

Fantasic playing, just fantastic!

[TXNnAZ]

Wow, great job. . .this does him justice.

[thriftdig]

wow. nice to see the fingering on that. what a great composition by reinhardt.

[thriftdig]

Only version I know of is from Chicago 1946 Duke Ellington concert... there is an earlier version?

[ProblemWithTheTrucks]

Excellent.

[fridgemagnet]

good work mate!!

[jutzin]

you've got a really nice tone

[mc1337w00t]

wow that looks like his guitar...

[mayorelvis2]

very nice thank you

[Naxwell]

This reminds me of the theme from Dwarf Fortress, except this is WAY better.

[voguedick]

Wow...well done!!

[mmoyyerrzz]

can you give me jazz lessons?

[jmastersherm1]

Very nice! Your guitar has a nice tone too. What kind is it?

[kimlchi11]

its wonderful, but no totally improvisation - known song

[axekat]

Its Djangos "improvisation #2" The is in fact the name of the tune!

[chooseyourblues]

love the widescreen! great sound!

5 stars!

[jvballatore]

Bravo!

[00eddie0]

i like your selmer style guitar

[Octomushie]

Now do it with 2 fingers ;]

Haha Jk, nice playing.

[raindog951]

I love this tune. I keep coming back months later to play it again! Beautiful playing as well.

[masterjoel50916]

This is truely for the love of music sooths the soul. No fame no hype just beautiful thanks for that.

[MikeDevaney]

Beautiful, May I ask what kind of guitar you are playing?

[sinuhetheklown]

damn! is'nt it that wonderful? i wish someone could put those tabs & more of this videos at the reach of many people as posible,DAMMIT! again because i'm learning to play guitar & thats my favorite genre...

[minorityattack]

very impressive.

it's absolutely mindblowing to think that someone could improvise this.

how could you listen to fall out boy or justin timberlake ever again after hearing django? you can't.

[m1yamaha]

how could you ever listen to fall out boy or justin timberlake? good point though

[grevejp44]

@minorityattack well i couldn't listen to them before but i get your point

[n64wilbert]

@minorityattack Did you use to listen to talent-less musical garbage such as Justin Timberlake and Fall Out Boy? How did you discovered the master guitarist Django Reinhardt?

[gairabad]

A little bit too chromatic for my tastes, but you are obviously a skilled guitarist.

[prfctlotus71]

excellent playing. i think the thing to remember is django not only made this up, he also did it with two less fingers. so i think we all understand the genius and mastery involved. thank you for keeping the music alive.

[CtpAids]

Fantastic. How did you learn to play like that?

[doisneau]

Superb

[seaclark]

Thanks for this, it made my day.

[12675]

fingers fingers, is that all you can comprehend ? how bout that his vocabulary is so evolved that its actualy hard to absorb at times. its another language, a lost language. SWINGIN, old Europe pre-war SOUL that we can never smell touch or taste....the FEEL, INFLECTION, EMOTION...wicked, secret notes...SWIiiiiiNGiiiiiiN...Dj­ango instantly humbles every musician worth an ounce. case closed........................­..Oh and great job here btw ; )

[danohrly]

Very nicely done!

[accionmigrania]

please! for the love of god!! PUT THE TAAAB!!

[astrocelestial]

Super nice playing man, lovely phrasing. Thank you.

[AcousticMax]

Wonderful playing I never tire from listening to Django's music.

Five stars.

[guitarin1993]

What A Legend

[Tuppington]

beautiful!

[gammypage]

Yeah I wouldn't encourage only using two fingers , django would've used his other two more if he could've, it'll just mean that two of your healthy fingers will go underdeveloped.

[nanodmt]

django didnt just use two fingers...he often used his other crippled fingers to help with chords on the bottom strings

[mastaAnt1]

great job man!!! but maybe try it with two fingers...just like django!!!

[mastaAnt1]

great job man!!! but maybe try it with two fingers...just like django!!!

[WaitingForTheSunrise]

Nicely done. Good job. :D

[tim52160]

Now i see why Willie Nelson loves Django so much!

[robbourassaguitarist]

Very nice.

[fdjfdi]

mi dispiace, ma ci sono degli accordi sbagliati, che non sono fedeli a quelli della versione originale di gjango

[stebite]

very very good!!

and sweetly played!

just continue to live music as you do

[zephyrmop]

Great playing! Did you use tabs for this, or learn it by ear?

[doyoulikesesame]

I must admit I've only recently discovered Django Reinhardt's music, but... I really don't understand how he played with two fingers...

[mikew909]

very nice!

[Fightingscars]

It's interesting to see you using your fingers, it gives it a softer smoother quality. Now lets see you play it using only two fingers, Django style! ;)

[abletonreason]

Beautiful!

[Exponerad]

Great work man :) But try to make your picking "clearer" if you know what I mean. Keep it up. Sounds awesome. :) My favourit with Django is the Minor Swing with the violin solo.

[pjk]

you did an unbelievable job here! LOVED IT! The album "First recordings of the quintent of the hot club of france" knocked my socks off. I fell in love with Django. Learning that he played lead with 2 fingers just amazed me. reading the liner notes and learning that he improvised that piece of music on the spot is almost impossible to believe. Everytime I hear that piece, I still can't believe that such a fully realized piece of music was composed on the spot.

[judyz7777]

Django rocks! Check out "Gypsy Music" by Michael Chain on Youtube.

[guillemm10]

Oh Boy!! your improvisatiois so so so beutyfull!!!

Receive my bests!!

[goodbye41]

from one player to another, you have a gift my friend

[deadwoodmountain]

Outstanding job, but why didn't you do the ending with the e string lowered down to a d with those lush mysterious chord changes? That part of this piece is what makes it so unique......those last three chords--per my tab from the HOT Club website--takes me to some far away pacific atoll or something.

[adrianholovaty]

deadwoodmountain: I didn't do that last bit because I often mess it up, and this particular take of the song was going so well that I didn't want to spoil it. :-)

Thanks for asking the question, though -- it's nice to hear from a Django aficionado!

[deadwoodmountain]

You play it well, with the right feel or "touch". I don't know what it is but when I play or hear those those four chords with the lowered E, I feel like I'm in the Cook Islands or the Tuamotu Archipelago....was Django dreaming of far away islands when he wrote this? Who knows.

Mike

[delas888]

well done adrian,

yes you are very talented and down to earth.

thank you.

[BringBackBlues]

Great playing, it really made me happy.

[killaro]

wow. amazing. that was pretty darn good. i want to buy a gypsy jazz guitar.. i hope i can get one next yr. awsome man,

~keep swingin'

[bhagzik]

excellent! 5*

[Catonius]

Gorgeous, brava!

[messionice]

django was also a flatpicker

[ksyksao]

nice work, original style for this kind of guitar, bud it works...

[waldo2384]

Very nice. What strings do you use on that guitar? You get a good tone, but it does not remind me of a typical gypsy guitar tone.

[adrianholovaty]

waldo2384: Info about the guitar and strings is on my "channel" page, which you can access by clicking my username.

[318825768]

@adrianholovaty Would be much easier if you said him the info

[lysolbombs470]

Nice. Now how the hell did he manage with two fingers? Jesus.

I can't play that with all four.

[jphoenix001]

We are both ;-)

[messionice]

he used his tongue :)

[NoirMusic]

I just started studying Django in hopes of discovering this. For personal reasons, damage to my hands, I want to learn some of his tricks!! My first thought is that he probably was using open tuning...Bar with one and then pick out ancillary notes with a few others....

[hansvleeuwen]

Wonderfully played. I just have put my own contribution to Django on YT. Hope you like it.

Hans van Leeuwen

[lamiamano]

well played, with good intentions.django is an immense guitarist that can inspire anyone to compose and better himself as a musician.

My sincere compliments.bravo!

[amphibious4]

Django could make the most of 2 fingers...

[nhurtley]

Wicked programmer and musician. Nice work Mr. Holovaty.

[mattsuzo]

That was fabulous. A hats of to Django with your own styled phrasing...nice. 5 stars

[deetman6]

Beautiful! You capture the Django feeling perfectly!

[wahkean]

Nice playing! Now imagine doing that with only two fingers like Django.

[TheDreadPirateJack]

beautiful

[samuelshepard]

just wondering if thats a gitane or a different off brand of the selmer

[adrianholovaty]

samuelshepard: Yes, it's a Gitane DG-250M.

[samuelshepard]

cool. so how does it play/sound? is there one out there thats better?

[adrianholovaty]

samuelshepard: I love it. It's a great guitar, especially for the money.

[samuelshepard]

yeah? how much did you pay for it? and is it acoustic electric too?

[thetiler]

Nice! Thanks for sharing the wonderful melodies!

[andocrates]

"Nice. The next step is to do it the same way that Django did it :)"

I guess in your brain that makes sense, but why would he want to clone another artist? When we spend the hours days and weeks it takes to learn this shit it's for our own musical growth not to sound like someone else.

[brenttopia]

Nice. The next step is to do it the same way that Django did it :)

[xHarry2112x]

Not worthy! Not worthy!  Now I have to go work on my chops.

[justgus87]

complimenti... bravo

[Dannik11]

f*** Vai. This is great!!!

[mattstiehl]

Respect man this is amazing

[kennytheworm]

i know talent when i feel it. incredible job.

noice!

[WhatAboutJazz]

nice!

[MrDooDahMan]

Oh to be able to play like that, exquisate

[ECoo0P]

very beautiful and unique sound. its well played but it may be a bit too repetitive to be considered improvisation

[hobofury8]

Very well done, beautifully played.

[thriftdig]

Always loved this tune from a live Chicago concert w/ D. Ellington. Those 4 tracks from the LP are amazing. Hard-to-find. Great Job!

[BlueTrane5]

Where did you find those tracks

[thriftdig]

On a LP released in 1979 (I think) called "The Versatile Giant" on Inner City label. Has 4 live cuts from 1946. Google it. You can find it real cheap.

[thriftdig]

If you really want them and can't find the LP, I would be happy to burn a CD for you.

[HumbleBoy69]

Very nice version of the song.

Amazing chord changes!

[DG320]

Nice job, lovely tune. You're getting good at this. I'm surprised how sweet your 250m sounds,. Did you make any modifications to the bridge? had a couple of opportunities to play a gitane. in 1 store both a 255 and a 500: both nice sounding (this was a couple of years ago) the one's i played after that were disappointing (harsh sounding). still looking :-)

[adrianholovaty]

DG320: Thanks very much. When I shot this video, I had inserted a popsicle stick under the bridge to raise it slightly. Since then, I've replaced the bridge with a taller one, and it's made a great difference in the guitar's tone and volume.

[w00taap02]

youre good;) but django did it all whith 2 fingers;)

[wangzanzai]

you made me cry

[obg92]

brilliant! spot on! no buzz no hesitation!

[wavydavey]

Nice Job. Now if we could figure out how django did it with just two fingers.

[deetman6]

Beautiful! I am an avid listener to Django, and you really captured the mood he sets...while making it your own. Well done!!

[stikmand]

sounds really great

[Moose1223]

sounds great! nice and full sound and all that

[snowgnome650]

very cool guitar. look up maccaferri or selmer style

guitars. gitane makes some nice copys of these.

their d-500 sounds awsome.

[adrianholovaty]

snowgnome650: Thanks. Indeed, I am playing a Gitane guitar in these videos -- the DG-250M model.

[freakguitar1]

lol 1:35 xD

[reateguitare]

Added to YouTube's group "Selmer"

Thanks!

[celestialsam]

Very good! Impressive, my friend!

[LK0405]

what guitar you playin?

[plinkytx]

Nicely done.

[petal1981]

wonderful.

[fishycrossit]

i didnt think it was possible for this to be played by anyone else, but here you are

[fulvio95]

qualcuno sa'come cercare lo spartito di questo brano?

[fulvio95]

bellissima la melodia..ha il sapore di musica classica in certe parti.complimenti per l'esecuzione

[exitthegame]

flawless, absolutley perfect! a definite 5 star :D

[VengefulTikiGod]

Very very nice! What a pretty song, I want to learn it now.

[fishycrossit]

its an improvisation on an improvisation, my favorite django piece, cept he had two fingers...

[hombrepileta]

if this an improvisation, u r damn good soon

[uschaurischuum]

You made a good job! Thank you for the exciting guitar lesson! Take care, Uschaurischuum

[JackLipnick]

great stuff! you should also post your gypsy version of the mario theme.

[xenopus98]

Nice Selmar Maccafferri. Most gypsy jazzers i've seen use those super stiff picks, but your finger stylin sounds really warms up the song. Nice job.

[adrianholovaty]

Thanks, xenopus98. I do indeed use the super stiff pick (the Wegen brand) when playing gypsy jazz -- it definitely helps make that authentic sound!

[cartoonage]

beautiful play that you make on your guitar. congrats!******

[dorianperez]

Spanish: Tu técnica es Pésima, pero a pesar tocas la guitarra excelentemente, sin errores... Nice, keep doing stuff like that..

[adrianholovaty]

dorianperez: Thanks for the comment. Please do let me know if you have any suggestions for improving technique -- I know very little about "proper" technique, as you noted! :)

[jimitwotimestwo]

¿Qué tiene de malo como toca? explica porfavor.

[dorianperez]

Me refiero a la técnica. La posición no es la correcta a la hora de tocar una canción clásica no crees? Y sobre todo con esa dficultad. Segun la respuesta para adrianholovaty, te sugiero la posición de la guitarra en cuanto a tu cuerpo y la posición de la muñeca. Pero es nada más sugerencia, ya que se ve que estás acostumbrado a tocar la guitarra así y así lo haces bien.

[DrumMasterT]

Wow!! Very good!!! Really nice guitar as well!!

[belfastgypsy1]

you sir are a genius..one of my favs and I play a version but this is beautiful..

[contagiousyawns]

wow..

[solemn]

How long have you been playing guitar?

[yorkiefamily]

i love your music

[poopsex111]

you have a good ear. start writing your own stuff.

[tweedleshawn]

Nice, man.  Very nice.

[spyflag]

awesome chords!

[prerecordedeulogy]

Oh and great guitar playing.

[Psera]

Awesome...I play this in the background now while I do other stuff. Very relaxing!

[freerun999]

amazing! rated 5 stars!