It’s Friday. Which means I’m feeling lazy (and hopefully you are too). So instead of bombarding you with words… you get some sweet sweet music.
If you’ve never heard of Django Reinhardt, I (and just about any guitar player) highly recommend checking him out. You’ve probably heard his music (in movies like Something’s Gotta Give or Sweet and Lowdown) – or the similar Gypsy Jazz style. And even if you don’t dig the sound, you can at least appreciate the skill.
This is a guy who lost the use of all but two fingers in his left hand. TWO FINGERS. Yet still, he could produce some of the most amazing sounds out of his guitar. Check out the video for the full effect (Particularly around the 19 second mark – it is unreal. Watch his left hand and listen to the sound it produces).
So I’m sharing this for two reasons:
1. I love the music.
2. Whenever I feel stuck (or a student feels stuck) – it’s an incredible motivator to see Django play and persist. And not only that – but play at a high (if not the highest) level.
If you want more, you can check out the excellent film: Life After Django Reinhardt (Streaming on Netflix).
That’s it. Enjoy.
7 replies on “The Best Guitar Player EVER Only Used Two Fingers…”
Stanley BRADDOCK
my first three finger will only bend in the first joint my little finger works correctly
Thanks Steve. We gotta make do with the tools we got. If you have trouble, you can always try alternate tunings that don’t require a ton of finger dexterity.
Thank you. I have Two fingers on my right hand and felt I could never learn to play. In 52 and gonna start now!
Yeah Bryan! Good for you – don’t let it stop you. You’ll absolutely have to adapt your learning/playing – but it definitely can be done. Keep me posted on your progress and let me know if you have any questions/need any tips!!
[…] Check out this post (and video) of Django Reinhardt. One of the best guitar players ever, and he only used two fingers. He lost the use of his pinky and ring fingers, leaving him only able to play guitar with his pointer and middle finger. […]
[…] impact on how you hold your pick. For example, if you want to play those awesome quick notes of Gypsy Jazz players, you’ll be using a super thick pick (like the thickness of a big button that’s been […]