In the jazz field, comping has generally taken on a more specific role. It is what the rhythm section players do while the lead player plays the head of a jazz tune or solos over it. And check out the below video for some jazz comping rhythms you can use to. Most jazz comping rhythms are simple and straightforward. How to help your jazz ensemble pianist work with chord symbols and lead sheets. Introduce the snare and bass drum as having comping voices, which can help support a rhythmic idea either in the piano, soloist, or big band.
Players like kenny burrell wes montgomery and freddie green all possess a wide variety of comping rhythms voicing options and chordal embellishments to draw from. These patterns use the am6 from corcovado as mentioned previously. Click here to download a printable pdf of this months notation. The first and arguably the most important rhythm we will look is the quarter note rhythm. One of the most important things to remember is that comping is shorthand for accompanying. This course pack is designed for guitarists looking to build a solid foundation in lead guitar, rhythm guitar, and add a new song to your repertoire its for guitarists who. In conclusion, i strongly believe that this way of working with chords is pretty much the only jazz guitar comping resource youll ever need. The comping rhythms, melodies, and voicings of the greatest jazz guitarists are delightful to listen to, with or without a.
Comping guides, rhythms, and progressions derived from the transcriptions. Sep 03, 20 we play rhythms that complement, react to, mimic, answer, or in some way interact with what the rest of the band is doing and hopefully in a supportive and musical way. These are the absolute basic skills you need to play with a jazz band, sit in at clubs and play with friends. You can download a pdf and read the article on my blog via this link. Jim hall chords and comping techniques jazz guitar comping is an art form in its own right. The concert band notes look shockingly similar to the jazz band notes on the page. Books on the same topic are available for the same price that cover more information than just comping. If you want to consider yourself an intermediate at jazz guitar comping, heres some of the skills you should master. Once i started using the bubble in reggae music, i found it extremely useful in other styles as well, including funk, jazz, and afrocuban music. Jun 29, 2017 every time i listen to an aspiring jazz musician, i find that for many of them their rhythmic game is not at the same level as the harmonic one. Solo jazz guitarists will often play choruses of only chords and rhythm, or a combination of chords and single lines. Download all rhythms, patterns, and lesson notation in the pdf file below. Download your free 62 page pdf beginner jazz guide.
Since many published jazz ensemble pieces already include suggested chord voicings for you, the focus of this sheet is not what notes to play, but what rhythms to use. The first example is a modal blues in g major, generally sticking to the g7, c7, and d7 classic three chord trick, but with a couple of twists thrown in. Once again, if you need a primer on reading rhythms, you can check out our reading rhythms 101 lesson. Comping rhythms 10 examples you need to know jens larsen. Steve also demonstrates the use of more randomlyplaced horn punches to create rhythmic interest and variety. The first jazz comping rhythm exercise uses two eighth notes on beat one. Note that scale degrees 10 is the same as 3, 12 the same as 5, 14 the same as 7, and 15 the same as and root. Get a jumpstart on improvisation, bebop, comping, voicings lefthand and twohand, and so much more. Have you ever looked at a chord chart and not known which jazz comping rhythms to use. Moonglow comping on middle 4 strings key of eb download pdf. To do that youll need some comping vocabulary, and a good place to start is with your left hand on the snare. Developing your jazz drum comping learn jazz standards. You may play along with the demo video or set a metronome at a tempo that is comfortable for you. It is the most important role for all rhythm section players, such as pianist, bassist, guitarist and of course drummers.
It is usually referred to as comping if you play a syncopated, rhythmic style with your chords. This is because most of the formal jazz education system stresses the harmonic part of improvisation and neglects the rhythmic one. These are the absolute basic skills you need to play with a jazz. Moonglow comping on middle 4 strings key of g download pdf. Your goal is to keep increasing the speed of these medium swing grooves. When you are comping it is a big part of the job to listen to the soloist and the rest of the band and fit in what they are doing. Being able to use at least some rootless voicings for instance, on iivi. Try to get a nice swung eighth note feel when comping through this rhythm. Apr 06, 2016 in this article were going to take a look at three piano comping practice tips.
Berklee pressjazz piano comping free sheet music download. Jazz drums thelonious monk institute of jazz online jazz handbook. In this section you learn three essential jazz rhythms that you can apply to any of your comping and chordwork in a jazz style. Comping studies include different inversions, substitutions or variations. It also is commonly found in gospel, soul and funk.
Using up beats as often as down beats, comping rhythms are very distinctive and characteristic of a jazz swing feel. Continuing our exploration of cool things to do with a jazz blues chord progression in a rhythm section, id now like to demonstrate an accompaniment, or comping, technique favored by jazz guitarists, pianists and organists alike over a swingstyle walking bass line provided by a bassist, second guitarist or keyboardists left hand. Jim hall chords and comping techniques learn jazz guitar. Looking for jazz piano comping by berklee press sheet music download. Berklee jazz piano is just one example of many books that are better jazz piano texts than jazz piano comping. Or are you looking to get the best in quality for berklee press jazz piano comping free sheet music download. I noticed master jazz pianists like herbie hancock and danilo perez playing similar types of rhythms when they were comping.
Moonglow comping on top 4 strings keys of g and eb download pdf. The syncopation is the most important thing to note here. Developing basic comping rhythms jazz guitar lesson youtube. Jazz guitar comping rhythms exercise to make your own. These piano comping practice tips are meant to give you specific exercises to practices that will improve your harmonic understanding and help you learn the chords to a bunch of jazz tunes. Play through this example and keep the volume of each. If you think about it your primary role as a jazz guitarist is to be a great accompanist. Introduction to jazz drumming goals and waypoints goal learn the rhythms in the. Jazz comping follow the instructions on the downloadable worksheet. Whether they are supporting a vocalist an instrumental group or even a.
Ive had so many viewers requests on how to play jazz guitar rhythm comping. Jan 28, 2019 now well let the bass player do the walking, which will free up our hands to play bigger, bolder chord voicings and more varied rhythms. The drummers main job in the rhythm section and jazz group is generally supportive, but you will also be given opportunities to solo. Heres a chord melody arrangement example with giant steps. Jazz guitar comping rhythms exercise to make your own jens. Even if you are only a guitar with vocals, however, it is still used as a base for your comping. All studies come in pdf format and will be emailed directly to you within 24h. Essential jazz guitar comping rhythms twg terence wright guitar. Every time i listen to an aspiring jazz musician, i find that for many of them their rhythmic game is not at the same level as the harmonic one. In this lesson we will examine some of the most widely used and effective comping rhythms in jazz.
The horn player has to learn style and listening responsibilities. Every note of these 11 burning performances by peter martin has been transcribed so you can see exactly what a modern master plays on some of the mostplayed tunes in jazz. Eighth note rhythms are frequently used in jazz comping. H ilton c hicago c hicago, illinois december 16, 2005 special thanks to. The rhythm section of th e n ew trier h igh school jazz ensem ble w innetka, illin ois and jim warrick, coordi nator of jazz studi es.
Have fun exploring these rhythms, and when ready head down to the jazz blues challenge below and go for it. A blog of jazz drumming transcriptions and ideas, that charts my investigation into drumming and jazz. An approach to comping by jeb patton shows how the masters of bebop piano comped behind jazz soloists, complete with many transcriptions endorsed by benny green, monty alexander, etc. Creative comping is designed for guitarists looking to build their rhythm guitar vocabulary and better connect with their music through comping. Start with the chords, then move on to the rhythms when ready, and as always. The jazz guitar comping video lesson of your dreams. Joining the jazz band as a pianist or any other rhythm section instrument is much di. Table of contents 1 all of me 2 all the things you are 3 alone together. Rhythm is widely seen as the most important element in jazz music and many other musical idioms. The comping rhythms, melodies, and voicings of the greatest jazz. Jazz piano comping how to comp the jazz piano site. Youre job here is to support the soloist by providing a rich harmonic background for them to play or to sing over.
Comping rhythms for jazz piano now that you can walk a bass line, and know which notes to play for a nice 4note voicing sound with your right hand, lets talk about rhythm and give you something to practice. Comping on the off beats is an effective tool which works well with the underlying bassline by accenting the up beat. Jazz piano roadmapjazz piano roadmap chordscale system chord voicings block closed shell rootless open quartal so what upper structures locked hands this jazz piano roadmap summarises all the key concepts you need to understand in order to play and appreciate jazz piano, and attempts to show how these ideas are related. Comping is one of my favorite things to do, as i find it brings together the best of harmony, melody. Youre there to support the soloist, not to show what you can do on the drums. After this is comfortable, take any other chords you know, drop the root note off, and see what new shapes and sounds you discover in your comping.
The second example is a more uptempo jazz blues in the key of bb major, an ideal chord comp for horn and sax players. Ray santisis berklee jazz piano offers far more information and is presented in a way that will educate students of every level. Whether they are supporting a vocalist an instrumental group or even a big band. Jazz piano techniques, rhythms and voicings youtube. Building a solid vocabulary of great jazz comping rhythms is difficult. All of these are chord tones ct, and therefore, these are not tensions. This book can be used as a progressive study of comping or simply a source of ideas. The first example shows how two eighth notes can be used together over a static chord. Sep 12, 2017 searching for berklee press jazz piano comping sheet music pdf. In straight 8ths, the 23 son clave is an excellent groove for bossa nova and samba. Jazz guitar rhythm chops by don mock pdf booklet of examples in full music notation and tablature beyond basics current dvd cover vhs tape cover original dvd cover.
Rhythm is widely seen as the most important element in. Get your free 64page jazz guitar pdf and start learning now. Although rhythms and voice leading are found throughout the book, they are isolated for study in particular sections. Piano comping practice tips cocktail piano lessons. Focusing more on the interpretation and accompaniment of music through comping and grooves, rather than just solos and soloing. If you listen to players like joao gilberto, you will see that the basic rhythm stays the same, although there are variations. Instead of making a set of comping rhythms i decided to make this exercise so you can add some rhythms to your vocabulary. Piano comping avoid root position chords, use shell voicings at first, for example. I love the creativity and the musical conversations that develop between a soloist and rhythm section in jazz. Figure 1 has us comping on a 12bar jazzblues progression in the key of g, using fournote voicings on the top four strings exclusively, except for the final chord. Jazz piano basics dan davey tensions are non chord tones that are added to a chord to change the colortexture of the chord. Moonglow comping on top and middle strings key of eb download pdf. Developing basic comping rhythms if you want to see more examples of how i comp and what sort of ideas i have for comping then you can also check out these two lesson in my webstore.
These comping ideas are just part of the vocabulary to help have deeper conversations. This lesson teaches you how to practice and use common jazz comping rhythm patterns. Jazz drums thelonious monk institute of jazz online jazz. Beginner jazz guitar lessons archives jamie holroyd. Sep 24, 2015 developing basic comping rhythms jazz guitar lesson. This collection of jazz etudes is intended to aid with the development of basic jazz. Comping with shell voicings on any standard while sight reading the chord symbols. Jazz guitar comping rhythms exercise to make your own youtube.
Developing basic comping rhythms jazz guitar lesson. Jazz chords 11 complete lessons for guitar matt warnock. Introduction to jazz guitar chords and comping styles. Comping is a term coined by jazz musicians, which means accompaniment. Join thousands of other guitarists who have learned from this ebook. In swing, the 23 son clave is the grandaddy of all comping rhythms. Jun 21, 2017 comping is a term coined by jazz musicians, which means accompaniment. The first rhythm you learn is one of the most popular and important jazz comping rhythms, the freddie green groove. Barry galbraith guitar comping free download as pdf file. In this chapter you learn these four important chord shapes as well as explore two essential jazz comping rhythms. Jazz drumming blog transcriptions elvin joes, art blakey.
Creative guitarist pack pentatonics, comping, and autumn. From the great recording artist and studio guitarist barry galbraith comes the first comprehensive material on the art of jazz guitar comping. Encourage them to listen to rhythms found in the pianist. We will be providing you with some comping patterns that you can use right away in a bossa nova setting. Most people are struggeling to find good way to develop their comping, and especially coming up with good rhythms to support a soloist in an interesting and varied way. The ii v i is the most important progression in jazz, and therefore its the best place to start when learning jazz guitar. They typically use voicings with or without bass notes and different string sets low, high, etc. In this lesson i am going to take a simple rhythm that everybody needs to know anyway, and i am going to show you how to develop that into more interesting rhythms. The rhythm is often played using a cross stick on a snare drum by a percussionist.