This way of playing chords is incredibly fun, and I love how it sounds, at the same time I am not sure exactly where I got it from.
The idea is to be more free and creative with the chords you play, and I’ll take a slow song to show you how I think about the chords and make it into a sort of counterpoint, but it isn’t real counterpoint. Mainly because studying counterpoint was a massive failure when I was a student, but I’ll get back to that.
I guess it is my take on everything I listened to from Bill Frisell and John Scofield, maybe even some Jimi Hendrix, and a bit of folk music as well. I am not really sure, but maybe explaining what goes on might even help figure that out, I am not really following a set of rules as you will see.
Jazz Guitar Comping Lesson 1
I am using Someday My Prince Will Come as a song in this almost ballad waltz tempo, mainly because it is a great tempo and progression to show how “fake counterpoint” works.
The main thing to notice, in the beginning, is that even though I am pretty active then I am not playing a lot of different chords. Instead, I am relying on arpeggiating the chords and getting them to flow into each other in a smooth way, just changing a note here and there like going from the D7 to the Ebmaj7 or Ebmaj7 to G7.
Something that I use a lot is that I am trying to voice-lead the chords, so they flow into each other, and you can actually see that as a visual thing on the first two chords where the top note moves down and the lower voices move up.
How To Sound Great On A Static Chord
This returns to using several layers, adding 4th intervals under the melody, and it also becomes clear why this works better with 2 and 3-note voicings
I am using this Cm7(11) voicing to make it possible to play that little fill with 4th intervals that then ends on the F7(13).
At the end of the first half then it is probably worth noticing that it is really just an embellished version of this:
Comp Like The Pros With Every Inversion At Your Fingertips
When I think about counterpoint, then I usually think about baroque music with a lot of layers moving, like an organ player working hard to keep it all happening at the same time.
My other association with counterpoint is the course that I had to take when I was studying at the conservatory. All Jazz guitarists had to take this, and I found myself in a class with for the rest only people studying baroque music.
The teacher was a very friendly classical composer, and this was one of the few topics at the conservatory where we actually worked from a book.
Jazz Comping Etudes Vol. 1
This was not a success! I had no real idea what I was supposed to learn, and in the class nothing was related to the music I played. You can probably imagine how showing up and writing baroque music from a set of rules was everything but inspiring. In hindsight, it could have been an interesting topic to explore in terms of learning how melodies work, but because it was not in any way related to the music I played, then it just seemed theoretical and irrelevant.
Another theory teacher later told me that it was not worth it to study counterpoint and really everything you needed to know was these two things:
I learned a lot from her, and this certainly fitted with my experience as well, so that of course, resonated with me. To immediately relate this to Jazz: these two rules explain how Parker’s octave displacement works:
Jazz Guitar Omnibook Artist Solos Transcribed For All C, 52% Off
It is actually a great demonstration of melodic tension and release. If you think that it is essential for Jazz musicians to learn counterpoint then let me know in the comments, but maybe add a real example of the benefits like this one.
As you can probably tell then, I don’t really remember anything I learned in the counterpoint class, and I am really just using it to describe that I am improvising several layers in the comping examples.
Now whether I learned to play chords like this from Bach, Jimi Hendrix or Bill Frisell, it is probably a mix. I think you can hear some of this coming from Bill Frisell’s way of working with chords, and if you think about it then the idea of playing chords and spreading them out similar to what I picked up from Hendrix on Wind Cries Mary or Little Wing.
Book Review: Fretboard Essentials Book 3: Comping Studies (applied Voicings) By Bill Farrish
The next part is almost a chord melody as a way of comping with a clear melody that is being supported by the chords under it
Except for one place, you have a simple melody that is in fact mostly moving in steps, and then there are chords.
In the Cm7 F7 bar it becomes counterpoint again with the sustained G note and then walking down to spell out the change to F7 and that is really just a melodic way to play these simple chords:
Essential Jazz Guitar Chord Rhythms
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Often you come across songs where you are comping a static chord for a few bars, and it can get a little boring with just one voicing, not adding energy and movement to the music. This video will give you some tricks to make places like that more interesting and show you how to add some beautiful chords and reharmonizations to your jazz guitar playing.
John Pisano's Jazz Guitar Comping Masterclass: Go Beyond Rhythm Guitar & Discover The Chord Comping Lines Of A True Jazz Virtuoso (learn How To Play Jazz Guitar) (english Edition) Ebook
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If you have any questions, comments or suggestions for topics then, please let me know. Leave a comment on the video or send me an e-mail. That is the best way for me to improve my lessons and make them fit what you are searching for.
Please subscribe to my YouTube channel and feel free to connect with me via Instagram , Twitter Google+ or Facebook to keep up to date with new lessons, concerts and releases. JGT: You have chosen to take on probably the most demanding role for a jazz guitarist. You are the sole accompanist for a vocalist whose chosen repertoire is steeped in tradition. (What were you thinking?)
Things I Learned About Jazz Guitar Comping From Peter Bernstein
It was a unique challenge to reinvent myself as a performer and try something new. For many years, I had grown tired of the pressures and demands of being a bandleader. I wanted someone to share the responsibilities with and wanted to simplify my life as a performer. I had known Laura for many years and always enjoyed the gigs we were on together and felt that we were a good match musically. Laura has a beautiful voice that I thought would work well in this setting and I felt my guitar work would complement her voice. Furthermore, we are both wired similarly and our personalities are a good fit. Laura is extremely organized and we work well rehearsing and planning together. As I’ve learned over the years, this is such an important aspect of a group’s success. I’ve always thrived
JGT: What can you tell us about the challenges and the differences between being a member of a combo, a solo, chord melody, player and your role with Laura Coyle as an accompanist and featured soloist?
Trey Wright: Playing duo with a vocalist requires wearing multiple hats – you are essentially the chord player, bassist, drummer and primary instrumental melodic instrument. This can be overwhelming at times, but also rewarding when it all comes together! Performing in the duo with Laura has helped me to work on my time feel and accompanying skills. In many ways, this collaboration has helped me reconnect with the guitar in an intimate way that reminds me of my days learning guitar in high school. I always loved chords and was fascinated with how they could be voice led on the guitar. For me the hardest part of performing duo is switching gears from accompanying to soloing. This is something I am still struggling with that continues to get better with time and practice.
Reading Exercises For Jazz Guitar
Although we are both inspired by the classic guitar and vocal duos of the past, especially Joe Pass and Ella Fitzgerald and Tuck and Patti, we are finding our own voice in this format. I realize that I will never be the next Joe Pass or Tuck Andress, and that is ok! I continue to find inspiration in their work but I also bring my own minimalistic approach that I developed over the years performing with
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