​​Gypsy Swing  Rhythm Guitar

Introduction To Gypsy Jazz Rhythm
Caffe Lena 4 Week Class  February, 2026
Presented by Chuck Kish    [email protected]
Check Additional Resources Online:  http://hotclubofsaratoga.com/learn


What is Gypsy Swing?
Gypsy Rhythm: La Pompe (the pump)
Basics to begin the journey:
  • Role of rhythm player is similar to drummer while also providing the chordal foundation
  • Beat 1 (and 3) is like ride cymbal or kick drum
  • Beat 2 (and 4) is like clap of high hat
  • emphasize beats 2 and 4
  • strums are quick
  • chords should sound “dry” but notes are heard, not just a “chick” as in some styles
  • separate beats or strokes
  • keep strumming hand and wrist loose and relaxed, almost all work is done by the wrist
  • La Pompe is the pumping action of the chording hand to dampen chord after strum, stopping the sustain to separate strokes
  • between beats 1-2 and 3-4 strumming hand resets to position above strings
  • many variations of all this used for effect, emphasis, variation, like drummer uses fills
 La Pompe - Downstroke Style
  •  Used by many modern players; Gonzalo Bergara Quartet is good example
  • All beats are downstrokes
  • Beat 1: stroke  is down often emphasizing lower strings with quick reset of strum hand; kind of a growl
  • Beat 2: stroke is down dropping strum hand through all the strings as if they are one; let gravity help, similar to a "chick" in a 
    "boom-chick" mandolin chop style
  • Keep both beats very dry for now
  • Repeat for beats 3 and 4
                         Down – reset          Down                   kind of a    rump   che
                             (lower strings?)        (all strings as one)

Read this excellent article by Denis Chang for more background and history of gypsy rhythm:
http://denischang.com/index.php/2015/08/11/the-secrets-of-authentic-gypsy-jazz-rhythm/

Week 1: Gypsy Jazz Style, La Pompe, Power Chord of GJ
  • la pompe: downstroke style
  • powerchord of gypsy jazz #1
  • minor swing

Week 1: ​Listen, Practice, and Play Along 

Gonzalo Bergara Quartet is a great example of the dry downstroke rhythm style we are learning in week 1. Listen to their version of Minor Swing paying particular attention to the downstroke style played here by Jeff Radaich. Watch his strumming at 1:06-1:12, and 2:01-2;05. Notice how most of the movement is in the wrist and how fluid and clockwork like it is. Also note that while playing with definite intent/intensity that he is not forcing it or playing particularly hard or loud.

MINOR SWING
1. Play along with this and try to match the tempo and chord sound.

2. And now play rhythm along with Django. Play the same downstroke rhythm as with the play along trying to match the tempo, not the rhythm guitar sounds here which is upstroke style. Start playing after introduction.

MINOR BLUES
3. Now try doing the same thing but in the key of G-minor. Everything is the same but 2 frets lower for each chord.

​4. And now play  rhythm along with Django in Blues En Mineur. (Yes, same song.) Remember match the rhythm. Start playing after introduction,

​5. Remember the 3 finger chord you learned is being used as both a minor-6 and a dominant-7. So, use it to play a twelve bar blues. Here you will be playing C7 at fret 3, F7 at 8, G7 at 10. 

​6. When you're comfortable with the changes in the downstroke la pompe, play along with Django focusing on matching the tempo and your downstroke technique. Make beat 1 and 3 growl, keep it all very dry. No intro on this one.
​

Week 2: Upstroke LaPompe & More Movable Chords

La Pompe - Upstroke Style
  • Upstroke Style as Django & Joseph Reinhardt, Hono Winterstein, Fapy Lafertin, Rosenberg Trio, Pearl Django, etc.
  • First beat is a quick up-down, second is down like in down stroke style
  • Beat 1: extremely quick upstroke followed by quick down stroke and reset, some like all the strings some emphasize lower strings
  • Beat 2: like in downstroke dropping strum hand through all the strings as if they are one; let gravity help
  • Repeat for beats 3 and 4
    1. Down – reset          Down                   kind of a    phtup   cha
​
Dark Eyes chords with chord diagrams.

​Dark Eyes rhythm play along - moderate tempo

Dark Eyes Lead Sheet w Tab

A version of Dark Eyes at slow tempo speeding at end.

Week 3: Turnarounds, Gypsy Bossa, Let's Learn Some Songs

Ending a Song: Turnarounds: There are a few typical ways to end a song with some variations in each.
Examples are in the key of C and G so you can try both chord shapes. These turnarounds are played "only" when repeating the song - turning it around.
  • Simply stay on the last chord off the tune. (That is, no turnaround and used to end the last chorus.) 
    • | C / / / | C / / / |  
    • | G / / / | G / / / |
 
  • I-V7: ending chord is I the then the V7 : 
    • | C / / / | G7 / / / |   or  *| C / / / | C / G7 / |*
    • | G / / / | D7 / / / |   or  *| G / / / | G / D7 / |*
 
  • This one is the most basic and the one to focus on in the beginning. * This one fits over other most often.*
    • I-ii7-V7: the ii is minor, V is dominant 7: 
      • ​ | C / / / | D-7 / G7/ |     Variation is I-II7-V7:  *| C / / / | D-7 / G7 / |*
      •  | G / / / | A-7 / D7/ |     Variation is I-II7-V7:  *| G / / / | A-7 / D7 / |*
      • ​​The ii-V7-I  is a key progression to know. You will find it everywhere in jazz. Here, as a turnaround the ii-V  in the last bar leads back to the I-chord at the beginning of the song. It is commonly referred to as "two five one."
        • In key of C:   | D-7 /  G7 / | C / / / |          In key of G:    | A-7 / D7 / |  G / / / |
​
  • I-vi-ii7-V7:  The 1-6-2-5: 
    • | C / A-7 / | D-7 / G7 |        | G / E-7 / | A-7 / D7 / |      Lots of variations in this - some more "loose" than others.
      • I-VI7-II7-V7:   | C / A7 | D7 / GY / |    | G / E7 / | A7 / D7 / |  This just replaces dominant 7  chord for the minor 7 chords.
Gypsy Bossa
In la pompe we play on the beats with the emphasis on the 2 and 4, basically playing on the quarter notes. The easiest way to describe the gypsy bossa is that we are playing eighth notes. Instead of counting and strumming 1 2 3 4 for each measure we are playing 1  & 2 & 3 & 4 &. Here is a Gypsy Rhythm master, Hono Wintersteen, playing Bossa Dorado. Ignore the chords for a minute and just focus on the strumming in his right hand and the "release"/muting (like in la pompe) in his left hand.
​ 

Swing Gitane or Bossa Gitane - Why Not?

Chords

​Rhythm Play Along (upstroke style)
Picture

Bossa Dorado -  A favorite call at Gypsy Jams
Chords:  This song needs the Dm (not m6). Any m7b5 chord is also half diminished. ​So the Em7b5 and Am7b5 can be called E half dim and A half dim, symbolized as shown.​
Practice your Gypsy Bossa Rhythm with this backing track.  Ignore the intro for now. I would also stay on the Dm in the 7th bar right into the 8th bar, ignoring the A7.
(A little dive into the reasons this chart is different than the one above...Sometimes "less is more". What this chart does is realize that the "move it 3 frets "rule" make the Cm6 and D7 the same" so ignores the Cm6 and also that the Em7b5 chord is the same as a Gm6. In the B section it ignores the ii-IV pattern as is often done in early jazz and just stays on the D7 in both bars 17 and 18.) 

Why not play along with the composer of Bossa Dorado, Dorada Schmitt.

A poor quality, old but well known video of the Rosenberg trio playing Bossa Dorado.

Adding to the Repertoire

Coquette
This tune, part of the basic repertoire, is a form that is common in genre in which we play the A part twice, B part once,  A part once.
 or AABA.   ​Look at the most basic structure of the song is here first.​

​Play along with Django... Notice that the rhythm section is sticking to the basic structure outlined above. This simplification is more common in early jazz while the more complicated changes are more modern.

The backing track below follows what you might more often find in jams these days. Remember the ii-V leading to the I-chord concept we looked at above? In more modern styles, the V7 is often converted to the ii-V.  You can see this below in bar 3-6 where the A7 (the ​V) is replaced with two ii-V patterns (Em-A7), which leads to the D in bar 7 (the I). The same thing is done in bars 17-18, where the the basic version sits on a D7, this version choses the Am7 to D7 leading to the G (that's a ii-V-I in the key of G).
This version follows the ii-VI concept. Also notice the difference in rhythm styles. Joscho Stephan playing rhythm first uses the upstroke style. Gonzalo Bergara playing rhythm second uses the downstroke style.

​I Can't Give Your Anything But Love
This tune, part of the basic repertoire, is a form that is common in genre.
​The most basic structure of the song is here first.​
​* simpler would be to skip the A-7 and just use D7 here.
** this could stay G, but using the D7 (V-chord) brings it back around to the beginning again.
The last 8 bars illustrate a chord progression, called the “Christophe Variation”, found often in tunes. There are variations of it but all are similar. A common variation is using a Cm rather than the C#dim.

Below is the version more typically played. The chord additions add movement and variety to the rhythm but the basics of the song are unchanged. Sometimes when playing rhythm it adds to the music by mixing between basics and movement moving through several choruses as the song goes on. A most important aspect is to listen to the music as a whole and the other musicians in the ensemble for cues on when one way might be more fitting, appropriate, or tasteful than another. The preference of the soloist(s) is also important.

 In this version by Django with the Quintet of the Hot Club of France, they stick more to that basic version. 

Notice these top players using more variety in the song. In the Django version with a larger ensemble and vocalist, the simpler version doesn't "crowd the space under the vocals/solos. In this smaller ensemble below that version may not be as fitting.
​
​Lulu Swing
This tune is very similar to Coquette. Try this one as both a swing and a bossa. All of chords should be familiar. Notice the descending line of dom7 chords as an interesting turnaround complementing the melody. Also, in the last measure of part B, Try this chord in place of the Eb7. It’s an Eb7#9 – the “Hendrix chord”. This is a handy movement to remember.​
Lulu Swing 
This is Robin Nolan. a well known player and teacher and his brother Kevin. In addition to playing along, learning the song here, notice Kevin's solid rhythm playing in the upstroke style. The upstroke is a whisper and easy to miss, emphasizing the concept of it being one motion. Also notice his strumming of the full 6 strings every time regardless of what is sounded and what is muted.

​Week 4: I Got Rhythm In So Many Songs

Rhythm Changes: Rhythm changes is a chord progression named for it's source song - I Got Rhythm. You'll hear a song called in a jam and someone will say, "It's rhythm changes in D."

Let's look at I Got Rhythm. In many rhythm changes tunes, you could just play the I-chord for the first 4 bars of the A parts. In this tune, playing it as I-V, works better.
It is often played this way. There are variations in rhythm changes with substitutions - this is the main idea behind the progression.
  • In the A-parts
    • Am7 is a common substitution for a C (Vi subbed for I).
    • We talked previously about using ii-V  for a V7 like in bar2.
    • The turnaround is in the second line in A-parts is fairly typical. Of course, there are variations.
  • The B-part features a fairly typical Cycle of 5ths through dominant 7 chords. (Each successive chord is the dom7 chord a 5th below (or a 4th above) the previous chord.) This emotes a constant movement toward resolution until you end on the V7 chord resolving to the I-chord -- the song's key.
Playing Rhythm Changes in Different Keys
  • Rhythm changes in the key of C is based on the chord roots mostly on A-string roots. Knowing this, you can just move the same progression to other A-string based keys. Move the pattern up 2 frets and you're in the key of D; 3 frets and it's Eb, etc.
  • Rhythm changes in the key of G is based on the chord roots mostly on the E-string. Knowing this, you can just move the same progression to other E-string based keys. Move the pattern up 2 frets and you're in the key of A; 3 frets and it's Bb, etc
Being able to play the pattern in different keys opens many tunes up to you since so many tunes are based on this progression. Often tunes are variations of rhythm changes with changes here and there. Or songs may use just the A-part or its variations in sections of the tune or just the B-part in other cases.
Use the chord grips that are most comfortable for you. Bar chords are fine. Shortened chords work, too.
This video gives you an idea of all the songs that use the A-part of rhythm changes or its variations.

​Some Variations In Rhythm Changes
Here's one of Django's tunes, Daphne. Use whatever chord grips you like. In this tune, Django uses the A-part of Rhythm changes in D. Instead of the usual B-part, he replaces it with the A-part BUT a half step higher in Eb, returning to D for the final A.
Form  AABA
If you listen to this playalong on Youtube, you can slow it down to whatever feels comfortable. Better yet follow this link and get the FREE playalongs from DC-music School. Denis Chang is renown for his study and teaching in this genre. HIs videos are super. With his playalongs you can change the speed and much more. https://www.dc-musicschool.com/courses/1734/
Play along with these well known Gypsy Jazz guitarists.

​Swing 42 is another tune using the A-section in 2 different keys - C and E. It has a slight variation in the 5th bar of the A-section. Otherwise it is straight ahead rhythm section. Notice that to change keys the last chord before the key change is the V7 chord of the new key. This is the most straight forward way to move from one key to another.
Play along with the masters, Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli. Stellar...


​RESOURCES

The Fundamental Chords 
Play Along ~ Backing Tracks Django In June Django in June is a yearly weeklong school/camp/festival/gathering at Smith College in Northampton, MA, bringing the most outstanding Gypsy Jazz players and teachers worldwide. In addition, there is a wealth of materials online. The Gypsy Jazz Standards collections are transcribed reliably with many thanks to Jack Soref.

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