Typical chords

Another aspect that is really typical of Manouche style, it's their way of building chords, and especially the way they often use the 6th and frequently the 9th. With 6th chords and a goiod sens of rhythm for the pompe, we can have some good fun. However, people starting Manouche who have already been playing guitar for a while will have to forget about those barré chords and use the jazz fingerings. For the jazz guitarist, the transition will be smoother but there will probably be a bit of work to switch over from 7th and domninant 7th chords to 6th chords.

An excellent page of chord charts exists on manoucheries.com with nice explanations but it is in French only. My page is complementary in that I include pictures of my hand playing those chords so that the chord positions and knotty fingerings are easier to mimic.

Major chords

Major chords are very often used in their 6/9 form mostly played with the root note on a low string (E or A) but not always. Since double bass is kept simple in Manouche (not too much walking bass in other words), there's little risk in a clash with the low notes on the guitar. Typical chord positions vary according to the chord being played. Eb for instance will not be played on the 11th fret just for the sake of playing the root on the low E string. Open strings will also not be used because they can't easily be muted for the pompe. The positions are as follows.

Root on the lower E string fretted with the thumb (G6/9 here) mostly played with the root between F and C:



Root on the lower E string (G6/9 here) mostly played with the root between F# and C:



Root on the lower E string (A6/9 here) mostly played with the root between G# and D:



Root on the A string (C6/9 here) mostly played with the root betwwen B and F with the mliddle finger muting the lower E string:



Root on the A string (C6/9 here) with the fifth fretted with the thumb on the lower E string - mostly played with the root between B and F:

Minor chords

There are three widely used ways to play minor chords: with the root fretted on the lower E string, with the root fretted on the A string or in an inversed shape usually known as m7/5b (half-diminished). These three positions depend upon the chord being played in a similar fashion as for major chords.

Root on the lower E string (Gm6 here) mostly played with the root between F# and C:



Root fretted with the thumb on the lower E string (Gm6/9 here) mostly played with the root between F and C:



Root on the A string (Cm6 here) mostly played with the root between B and F with the middle finger muting the lower E string.



Half-diminished chord type (Em6 here) with the index muting the lower E string, 4 frets to the right of the root played on the lower E string or 3 frets to the left of the root note played on the A string, mostly played with the root beetwen Db and G:

Dominant 7th major chords

Some chords need to be played with a dominant 7th. For these chords, Manouches tend to prefer playing 9th chords. In short, there are two main positions for these 7th and 9th chords, that depend upon the root.

Root on the lower E string (G7 here) mostly played with the root between F and C:



Root on the lower E string (G9 here) mostly played with the root between F# and C:



Root on the A string (D7 here) mostly played with the root between C and F with the ring finger muting the lower E string:



Root on the A string (D9 here) mostly played with the root between B and F with the middle finger muting the lower E string:

Half-diminished chords (m7/5b)

There are three basic positions for these chords widely used in various standards.

Root on the lower E string (Am7/5b here) mostly played with the root between F# and C:



Root on the A string (Dm7/5b here) mostly played with the root between Bb and F with the index muting the lower E string:



Root on the A string (Dm7/5b here) mostly used with the root between B and F with the middle finger muting the lower E string:

Diminished chords

There are three basic positions for these chords also very widely used in many standards.

Root on the lower E string (Adim here) mostly played with the root between F# and C:



Root on the A string (Ddim here) mostly played with the root between B and F with the index muting the lower E string:



Root on the A string (Ddim here) mostly played with the root between B and F with the index muting the lower E string: