If you are an intermediate or advanced player in folk music, bluegrass, country, or rock, and are comfortable with the standard "campfire" or "cowboy" chords, you're ready to play swing.

If you already play (some) Swing, we'll take it from there and dig deeper.

We'll build on your knowledge and learn / review the chords and rhythms used in Western Swing, Classic Jazz like the Great American Songbook, and Gypsy Jazz. Very little theory, don't worry, no scales, solfège, or music notation.

Using common swing tunes as examples we'll learn the closed-position movable chords (you know, those not-so-intimidating-once-you-know-what-they-mean, 6s, 9s, diminished and augmented), and also look at standard progressions and turnarounds. And how to use chord substitutions to "swing up" a simple song.

Chords are only one aspect; we'll also see how to play with a "swing touch", so we'll talk about tone and feel, including the right-hand technique and rhythm patterns, and, most importantly, how to play with other musicians, in jams or bands. And if you're interested in soloing, we'll look at practical tips you can use right away. And if Gypsy Jazz is your thing, we'll learn La Pompe and 3-note chords.

And by the way, except for the chord diagrams, a lot of this class is applicable to other chordal instruments like the mandolin.

Class prerequisites: knowing how to finger the simple chords or even the basic Swing chords. That's it! We'll learn all the chord fingerings using simple diagrams. If you already know how to read a chord chart or grille, great, if not, we'll learn that too.

From previous students:

"Valuable information about pick/strum technique, chord substitutions, and how to make your solos more interesting and effective. This class has a good balance between talking and playing!"

"I've enjoyed the class and your teaching style, which I describe as practical and laid back."

"What I find valuable is the go-a-round which forces us to practice playing rhythm properly and to improvise. You are also a kind and encouraging teacher. "

Scroll down to the bottom of the page for a little video describing the class...

Learn to sing songs from the classic French Café Music repertoire (Piaf, Trenet, Montand, Gainsbourg, Brassens, etc.) as well as some more modern songs.

Every week we learn and sing together 2 new songs. Those can be famous or obscure songs, waltzes, foxtrots, tangos, political songs, romantic songs, happy songs, broken heart songs.

For each song, I read, explain, and translate the lyrics, then talk about where the song comes from, its social, political, and historical context, and the references hidden in the lyrics. All stuff you won't find on Wikipedia. And then, of course, we sing. We'll learn the melody together and work on the pronunciation, so in the end, you'll even improve your French!

You don't need to be fluent in French. Some basics of French would be helpful but don’t worry, I'll help you with the pronunciation, in fact, many people who have taken the class didn't speak French at all. Also, prior experience in singing, playing an instrument, or any music theory is NOT required.

I'll send the lyrics and chord charts of the song for each week, along with links so you can listen to the song ahead of time.

From previous students:

"The class was fun! Olivier is an excellent teacher, singer, and musician."

"It was well structured for both, more confident and less experienced French speakers ."

"Olivier was very responsive and engaging and a delightful musician who clearly knew his stuff."

Links to some songs we might do:

• https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhJ8QhZMh5W7gBBRwxKiX5nEyEBcIz-Vn

• https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhJ8QhZMh5W5UkCJjV3xx4qfT8deSTmR9

• or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/olivierzyngier

Scroll down a bit for a little video describing the class...