Livestream | Accompaniment Essentials in Gypsy Jazz

Hi, I’m Dallas Vietty—an accordion performer and educator based in Pennsylvania, USA. I’ve been teaching accordion online for over a decade, helping players bring artistry, groove, and creativity to their music. In this livestream, I’m diving into one of the most essential and exciting skills in jazz: accompaniment.

This session, “Accompaniment Essentials in Gypsy Jazz,” is all about how to support the melody and the ensemble with style and sensitivity. We’ll look at when to play—whether it’s during the melody with long tones or short, grooving support, or between phrases where you can add color with fills and chords. Knowing when to play is just as crucial as knowing what to play.

Then we’ll break down a progression of skills to help you build your chord vocabulary. If you’re newer to jazz, I’ll show you how to use sixth chords and build a simple but solid approach with just one shape per chord. As your skills grow, we’ll explore inversions, voice leading, rootless voicings, and eventually more advanced tools like passing chords, substitutions, and spread voicings that involve both hands.

We’ll also cover the execution—how to make your accompaniment clear, rhythmically solid, and sensitive to the group. Great accompaniment can raise the energy or bring calm and support, depending on what the music needs in the moment. This is the heartbeat of playing jazz with others.

Whether you’re just starting to accompany or looking to add depth and detail to your playing, this livestream will give you ideas you can apply right away. Grab your accordion and let’s dig in.