I love it, too! You are in for a real treat when you hear these fellows play this song: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ed2lfNlhlt_RYHU.html

‘Taint nobody’s business if I do. The Hoosier Hotshots.

No se necesitan lágrimas. Sólo alegría!

Wow! Thanks so much Ilija. I was trying to make the point that playing swing tunes need not be difficult, as long as you don't start with something like "Honeysuckle Rose." We can pick easy tunes to start with to build our basic rhythm chops on and then proceed from there to more difficult tunes.

I think that many people want to learn Swing songs and 20s/30s music..but there aren't many tutorials. And also gypsy jazz songs. Also people didn't understand that they need need to convert to close chords, because with open chords is difficult to catch that swing strum :)

Agreed. This video was made to answer a specific question in a discussion thread about easy tunes that you could actually dance to and not so much a "how to" video. Based on some of the other comments, I probably need to be a little more specific about closed chord shapes and strumming. It sounds like I should make another video about that.

Can't wait ;)

Hey thanks, Helen! If only I had taken a moment to tune it a little better before shooting the video.....

@@VoxRox is it a particular brand? what material? lovely warm sound

Yes, Sally. It is a Spruce House soprano made in Eugene, Oregon, USA. It was built as a prototype from very old koa wood stock that the builder found stashed away somewhere. I bought it because I got to try it out when it was on-loan to another musician and was super-stoked by the tone and how loud it sounds.

Hey there, Dieben. Strumming is mostly down strokes on every beat (four beats per measure.) I use all closed forms (no open strings in the chord) to get the characteristic swing sound: I down stroke and then quickly relax my grip slightly on the chord to deaden it-- to stop it from ringing. I then again firmly press the chord down in preparation for the next down stroke. In other words, you are flexing and relaxing your chording hand on each beat to make a clearly defined rhythm. Don't worry about a strum pattern...if you can get four distinct down stokes per measure you are well on your way and any upstroke accents happen all on their own. The verse for the first song would be: // D7 / D7 / G / G / D7 / D7 / G / G / / D7 / D7 / G / G / C7 / D7 / G / G // The chorus (the da da dah da part) is exactly the same as the verse.

Wow! Thank you so much for your comprehensive reply! I really appreciate you taking the time to help me understand. I can't wait to try it.

Great! Have fun!

Here is the recording by the Hoosier Hotshots that was my original inspiration: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ed2lfNlhlt_RYHU.html They play it in a different key (Eb) but since the song is so simple, it is easy to transpose it to any key that suits you and your voice. Let me know if you need help with the chords. Ciao!

The video not working at all

It plays for me in my country. Perhaps there is a problem with KZfaq playing it for you where you live. If it still doesn't work, let me know and I will try to figure something out so that you can hear the song.