Series: Playalongs

Publisher: DC Music School

Publication Date: 2012

Price: Free (21 tracks recorded at 100 bpm and 150 bpm with PDF chord charts) -or-
$24.99 (60 tracks recorded at 100 bpm and 150 bpm with an improvisation guide, PDF chord charts, and 8 studies with transcriptions and tabs on popular tunes)

Skill Level: Beginner, Intermediate

DC Music School is an online music learning platform geared towards the gypsy jazz style (although they have a few resources in other genres). I fairly recently interviewed the school’s founder, Denis Chang, and I’ve also had the opportunity to check out quite a few of their resources. I’m a huge fan of the Hono Winterstein Rhythm Guitar Series, and a great supplement to that course (or as a stand-alone product) are his Gypsy Jazz Playalongs.

There are two versions of the playalong series, a free version that includes around 20 tracks, and a paid version that includes 60 tracks along with a wealth of bonus material. The recordings are good quality, you can definitely use them at a track gig and they are fun to play along to. My only complaint is that sometimes they feel too short! When I really get into it, I am sometimes surprised when the tune comes to an end.

The tracks (in addition to the Hono Winterstein course) make a wonderful supplement to the other courses available at DC Music School. The violin etudes (which can be played or transcribed for most any instrument) make a wonderful pairing.

The free playalongs are a great place to start if you’re interested in gypsy jazz. You can access several of the tracks for free at DC Music School or on Youtube, but if you’re really interested in digging in, it’s worth paying $24.99 to get all 60 tracks.

Recommended.

The creator of DC Music School is Denis Chang. You can read our interview with Denis and his thoughts on music entrepreneurship here.

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Published by Shannon Kennedy

Shannon Kennedy is a vocalist and saxophonist living in Southern California. She is author of "The Album Checklist" and the founder of Teen Jazz. She has been contributing articles to music magaizines and websites since 2004.