Gypsy-jazz · Electric guitar
Gypsy jazz electric guitar rhythm: la pompe
The gypsy jazz electric guitar rhythm in 4/4: the strum only goes down (↓). Beat by beat, one mark per beat: ↓ (↓) ↓ (↓). Play the audio here in your browser, set the tempo anywhere from 50 to 200 BPM and follow the grid, which marks every subdivision.
Sound summary
Gypsy-jazz is played with a chord strum — 4/4, straight (even subdivisions) — for the electric guitar: the groove drives the chord (A) with down-strokes, and the muted hits (x) give it bounce. In practice it sounds: A↓ — (A↓) — A↓ — (A↓) —.
How to count it
There are 4 beats per bar (4/4), split into eighth-notes (two per beat). Say the beats: 1 e, 2 e, 3 e, 4 e. Keep the beat with your foot and follow the grid: each box is one subdivision.
The rhythm grid
A = chord · ↓ down-stroke · x = muted · (x) = ghost (light graze) · — = no stroke
The ↓/↑ direction follows the bowed-string arcada convention (ᴨ down, V up; Ribeiro 2017). The muted and ghost strokes follow Cantalice 2022.
How to play it
Right hand
Strum the chord (A) all down (↓). The trick is regularity — same force, same gap between one stroke and the next. On the (x) hits, mute: rest the hand on the strings at the attack for the percussive “chka” that gives the groove its bounce. Don’t stop the arm on the rests — it keeps moving in the air, it just doesn’t touch the strings.
Left hand
The left hand gives the harmony: hold the whole shape clean from start to finish, leaving the right hand to the rhythm. Make the change on the last beat, the hand already heading to the next chord. For the (x), loosen the fingers without lifting off the strings — they go silent but stay put, ready to ring again.
Example in Am7
With an Am7Am7Am7Am7 held, let the same chord ring under every stroke — close your eyes and follow just the right hand’s rhythm. Then change only the left-hand shape to take it into any song.
Common mistakes
- Letting the (x) ring like a note. It is percussion, not chord — if you don’t mute, the groove loses the “chka” that drives it.
- Running the subdivisions. The faster the pattern, the easier to push ahead — lock the tempo on the metronome before speeding up.
- Stopping the arm on the rests. The hand never stops — it keeps swinging in the air and only touches the strings on the next hit. That’s what holds the time.
Guided practice
- Down-strokes only. Strum the chord on every down-stroke (↓), no up-stroke yet.
- Even the strokes out. Focus on keeping every down-stroke the same force and spacing.
- Bring in the (x). Lay the hand on the strings on those hits so the percussive “chka” enters the groove.
- Close with the metronome. Go slow first and raise the BPM only once the pattern comes out clean.
You already get the logic of the groove. Now put it in time: hear the pattern, follow the count and practice slowly until every stroke lands in its place without rushing. In Chord and Fret, the Metronome and the Rhythm Trainer help with that drill, free.
Open the trainer →Variations & related patterns
Once the strum is steady, play the same pattern over Gypsy-jazz progressions: rhythm and chord changes in one exercise. In Chord and Fret, Progressions by Rhythm plays progressions from many styles, with diagrams and audio, free.
Apply to progressions →