Chords for Stéphane Wrembel - Learning Melodies (Gypsy Jazz Lesson Excerpt)

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
There is also the importance of playing the themes.
_ _ I heard that some people just learn the chord progressions,
and then they solo over it, but they cannot play themes,
which seems like a very strange idea to me.
I don't think I met anyone like that, but I heard some people do that,
and I don't think it's a great idea.
I think it's good to learn melodies too, because they're composed,
and because they belong to a song.
When you improvise over a chord progression,
there is always the melody going on.
_ _ _ _ And also, the melody can be _ interpreted many different ways,
and can be manipulated and be part of the solo.
The example I'm going to show is on Dark Eyes.
_ _ _ _ _ [A] _ _ [E] _
_ [Gb] Those three notes have so much character, and they are so powerful. _
[A] _ _ _ _ _ [Dm] _ _ _
[A] So it goes on the A7, _ _ _ _ _
[Dm] _ and on the D.
_ So, _ on any song, like on a [D] minor blues, _ _ _ _
[Gm] _ _ _ [Cm] _ _ [D] _ _ _
_ [G] _ _ [Cm] _ _ one can use that kind of stuff, you know?
So it's possible _ to_
There's some understanding of something,
of a piece of music that happens,
that is more profound than just thinking about it rationally.
It's just like, _ from a position of a chord, something happens.
Something melodic and stuff,
and that thing gets very strongly implanted in the [Eb] consciousness.
And then when you play, you don't realize,
but all these melodical things from learning the melodies,
they reappear.
And also, I think it's possible to work on manipulating rhythms
and stuff from the melody.
For example, let's play Dark Eyes.
So I'm going to start with a simple melody, _
and then make it a bit more and more complicated.
One, two, three.
[Am] _ _ _ _ _ [Dm] _ _ _
_ [A] _ _ _ _ [Gm] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [Dm] _ _ _
_ [E] _ _ [A] _ _ [Dm] _ _ _
[A] _ _ _ _ _ [Dm] _ _ _
_ [A] _ _ _ _ [D] _ _ [G] _
_ _ [Gm] _ _ _ [B] _ _ _
_ [Am] _ _ [Gm] _ _ [Dm] _ _ _
[A] _ _ _ _ _ [E] _ _ _
_ [C] _ [A] _ _ _ [Bb] _ _ [Gm] _
_ _ _ _ _ [E] _ _ _
_ [G] _ _ _ _ [Gm] _ _ _
[Ab] _ _ _ [A] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ [Gm] _
_ _ _ [G] _ _ [D] _ _ _
[A] _ _ [Db] _ _ _ [D] _ _ _
[A] _ _ _ [Ab] _ _ _ _ _
_ [A] _ _ [E] _ _ [D] _ _ [G] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [E] _ _
_ [G] _ _ [Ab] _ _ [Dm] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ So, I went from very simple [D] to like the octaves, [A] polyrhythms and stuff.
It's still the melody, [Ab] but see if_
[D] _ _ _ _ _
[A] _ _ [E] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [Gb] I take that [Eb] as an anchor to develop phrases and motifs and stuff like that.
_ [G] _
[Bb] And _ [Gm] _ _ [Am] _ _ _
[G] _ _ _ [A] _ [D] that kind of phrase can _ _ _ _ [D] _ _ [E] _
_ _ _ [B] _ _ _ serve as an