Embellishments and effects

Manouche style uses various embellishments and effects such as a the appogiatura, the trill or the vibrato. Without being exhaustive, I'll talk about some which are often used.

Appogiaturas

An appogiatura is one or more notes that precede the note that should actually be played in the melody or the chord. This technique is often used in Manouche music. In all the following examples, it is important that the target note be played right in time, whereas tha appogiatura should be played a bit earlier. All the appogiatura notes are picked.

The first example is a chromatic descending 3-note appogiatura. It's widely used by Tchavolo Schmitt for instance.
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However a chromatic 3-note appogiatura can also be ascending.
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Simple single-note appogiatura is common and most of the times, it is played with an ascending half-tone or tone glissando. Only the appogiatura note is picked.
Half tone glissando (840 KB)
Tone glissando (840 KB)
The simple single-note appogiatura is more scarcely played descendingly and it's usually only with a half tone. There again, only the appogiatura note is picked. Biréli Lagrène uses this effect for some of his ballads and on several consecutive notes played in a descending chromatic way.
Half-tone glissando (430 KB)
Another kind of chromatic appogiatura can be played with two descending notes of which only the first one is picked, the next two notes being played in pull-offs, in other words by releasing the pressure of the fretted left hand fingers.
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Cut

A "cut" (a term that comes from violin vocabulary) is a quick pull-off to the target note from a note that is located a half-tone or a tone above the target note. This embellishment is probably one of the most typical of the Manouche style so you really should integrate it to your vocabulary to sound Manouche. A cut can be played "binary" or ternary (swinged): it's also useful to feel the slight difference between those two.

Half-tone bianry cut:
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Whole tone binary cut:
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Half-tone ternary swinged cut:
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Cuts are typically used in a descending context on a unique string: if two notes are played on the same string, as soon as the second note is picked, the first one is hammered again, that is without picking, only with the left hand finger hitting the fret as on this example, and whichever the distance with the first note may be:
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Vibrato

Vibrato is an effect that comes from the variation of the target note frequency using an exaggerated pressure on the string with a left hand finger, followed by a pressure release. There are several ways to obtain a vibrato, either with an horizontal oscillation of the finger on the fret, or by a vertical oscillation of the finger on the fret. The speed of this oscillation determines whether a vibraoto is slow or fast. Though each vibrato must be playable with all four fingers, it's more often than not the ring finger that is chosen due to the fact that is can be better controlled.

Horizontal vibrato : the palm of the hand stays at an equal distance from the neck. The finger must be pinned at the same place (first example). If the finger moves as is the case on the second example, that creates parasite noises ans the control over the sound is tougher. The third example shows a vibrato played with each finger.
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Bad! (430 KB)
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Soft vertical vibrato : the side of the hand rests under the neck and the finger presses and moves the string downwards (or upwards) before the release, several times in a row. This vibrato, when played very quickly without the hand touching the neck, gives the typical Rosenberg sound. The second example shows a vertical vibrato played with each finger.
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Strong vertical vibrato: this kind of vibrato is the one that gives his typical sound tp Stochelo Rosenberg, the absolute master of this movement. It is very hard to achieve (I can't do it properly on the following videos) because it demands a lot of strength in the left arm. The palm of the hand must not be in contact with the neck like previously. The movement only stems from the forearm that is really tensed and that must literally shake. You can use another finger to more firmly bend the string. When this vibrato is applied onto the high E string, the string must be bent upwards (which is far from being easy). For the other strings, you can bend the string downwards, or oscillate around the string, alternatively above and under (easier).
Strong vibrato on the A string (370 KB)
Strong vibrato on the high E string (520 KB)

Bend

The bend changes the pitch of a note by a quarter of tone, by a half-tone or more seldom by a tone. The bend is played the same way as a vertical vibrato: by pressing the side of the left hand under the neck. On the lower E, A and D strings, the string is bent downwards. On the G, B an upper E strings, it is bent upwards (though this is not a rule of thumb). It's a very widely used effect. Pay special attention to the pitch of the note played: it must be in tune.
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The bend can also be prepared before the string is actually picked to give a kind of descending effect.
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Percussive effect

This effect is obtained by playing a note, muted by the right hand, just before actually picking the note and letting it ring, with two consecutive downstrokes (first muted, second let ring), while preserving swing spirit.
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