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Comping

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Jazz Guitar Rhythm

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"Charleston" rhythm, simple rhythm commonly used in comping.[1] Play

example (help·info)

Comping (an abbreviation of accompanying; or possibly from the verb, to

"complement") is the chords, rhythms, and countermelodies that keyboard
players (piano or organ), guitar players, or drummers use to support a jazz
musician's improvised solo or melody lines. It is also the action of
accompanying, and the left-hand part of a solo pianist. [2]

The term comping is also an abbreviation of compiling, whereby the best

sections of several takes are "comped" into one track. [3]

Types
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Shows en Vivo Aquí guitarist typically comps during

ABRIR
solos by improvising chords and
Los Youtubers Te Sorprenden en Escena
countermelodies.

The chordal accompaniment used in jazz is different from the chordal

accompaniment style used in many types of popular music, such as rock
and folk.

In a rock or folk band, a guitarist or piano player will accompany by

playing primarily root-position triads consisting of the notes of the
chord known as the root, 3rd, and 5th. In the key of C, the G chord
would include the notes G, B, and D (the root, 3rd, and 5th of the
chord). In a hard rock or heavy metal music band, a guitarist often
comps by playing power chords (root, fifth and octave, or for fast
chord changes, just root and fifth).
In a jazz band a guitarist or pianist will comp by playing a variety of
chords that include the notes of the chord known as the 3rd, 7th, 9th,
and 13th (jazz chord players often omit the root, because the bassist
usually plays the root. The fifth of the chord is also omitted, except
when the fifth is flattened or sharpened). In the key of C, the G7
chord in a jazz context might be performed by playing the notes B, E,
F, and A (the 3rd, 13th, flat 7th, and 9th notes of the chord). As well,
jazz compers may use altered chords that contain flattened or
sharpened 5ths, sharp 11ths, flat or sharpened 9ths, and flat 13ths
for some songs or soloists. For example, an altered G7 chord might
be played with a basic voicing, often the 3rd (B) and 7th (F), along
with some of the following notes A♭, A♯, C♯, and E♭ (♭9, ♯9, ♯11,
♭13), subject to the taste and style of the performer and/or the
bandleader.

In combos with a guitar player, the guitar player usually comps for
soloists. If there is both a pianist and a guitarist, as sometimes occurs in
organ trios or big bands, they may either alternate comping or comp at the
same time. Having two chordal instruments comp at the same time is
difficult to do well. The two compers may make different, clashing
interpretations of the same chord (e.g., the pianist may add a flat 13th,
while the guitarist plays a natural 13th), or the texture may become overly
cluttered. This may also result in a fight between the pianist and guitarist.
One solution is for the two comping instrumentalists to play sparsely.

Chords

Comping is almost always improvised by the comping musicians based

on a chord chart, lead sheet (which contains the chords written above the
melody), sheet music, or, in country music, the Nashville number system.
The exception is well-known progressions (e.g., 12 bar blues) and jazz
standards such as "I've Got Rhythm", known colloquially as "Rhythm
Changes". For well-known progressions, the bandleader may simply say
"solos on blues changes" or "solos on Rhythm Changes", and the comping
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musicians are expected to be familiar with these chord progressions. Top

soloists playing with the most advanced comping musicians may simply
call out the name of jazz standards, and the sidemen will be expected to
know the chord progression. For example, the soloist may request
"Autumn Leaves" without providing the compers with a chord chart or
sheet music. The compers at the highest professional level would be
expected to know this tune.

Since there are many variant versions of these chord progressions, the
comping musicians will have to come to an unspoken consensus on
which chords to use. For example, there are many different turnarounds
used for the last two bars of a 12 bar blues; however, if the bandleader,
playing Hammond organ, plays I/VI7/ii7/V7 for the turnaround, most
skilled compers will hear these chords by ear and then replicate them in
subsequent choruses (each full playing of the 12-bar progression is
colloquially called a "chorus").

Drums

During swing-feel songs, drummers will usually comp with one hand on
the snare drum while playing time on the cymbals, typically on the ride
cymbal (see drum kit). More skilled drummers often comp with even all
three limbs excluding their right-hand ride pattern (snare drum, bass drum,
hi-hats). They will most likely develop the simple jazz drum pattern and
add a few "bomb" bass drum notes for extra effect.

Horns

In small jazz ensembles ("combos") with more unusual instrumentation,

horn players (e.g., saxophone, trumpet, etc.) can comp by playing the
melody line in the background, or by playing a sequence of notes called
"guide tones" which outline the harmonic framework. Guide tones are
usually the 3rd, 7th, or 9th notes of a given chord. Guide tone lines are
constructed by descending (or ascending) through the guide tones of the
chart, normally by semitone or tone. For instance, in a duo for saxophone
and bass, the saxophonist might comp during the bass solo by playing
guide tones.

For example, during the standard jazz chord progression ii7/V7/I/VI7 (in
the key of C Major, this would be d minor 7/G7/C/A7), a horn player might
play the guide tones, in whole notes, C (minor 7th of d minor), B (third of
G7), A (sixth of C; sixths are added to major chords and dominant seventh
chords in jazz even when not specified) and G (minor 7th of A7). This is
only one possible guide tone sequence. A second guide tone sequence (in
whole notes) might be F (minor third of d minor), E (sixth of G7), D (ninth
of C Major; as with sixths, ninths are often added to chord voicings even
when not indicated), C# (major third of A7).
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Drum solo
During a drum solo, the entire band may tacet (called "laying out" in jazz
slang). Alternatively, the pianist (and possibly the bassist and/or guitarist
or organist) sometimes comps, often using a predictable pattern of
rhythmically played chords called "hits". A well-known example is the
second half of "Take Five", with Dave Brubeck's piano vamp comping for
Joe Morello's drum solo. During piano solos, pianists often comp for
themselves, playing melodic lines and solos with the right hand while
comping with the left hand.

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Roles
While any jazz instrument can be used for comping, the chordal rhythm
section instruments (piano, organ, and guitar) have developed the largest
collection of pedagogical materials about comping. Since a jazz soloist
has such wide-ranging harmonic, melodic, and rhythmic possibilities,
chordal instrumentalists must have a similarly wide range of tools at their
disposal to support the soloist properly.

Comping musicians must know many different types of chord voicings so

that they can match the mood the soloist is trying to create. To support
some soloists, a comper needs to use very simple voicings (such as the
3rd and 7th of a chord). However, for other soloists who play in a very
dense, complicated style, compers may need to use chords with many
additional extensions, such as 9ths, 13ths, and altered voicings; they may
also re-harmonize chord progressions depending on the soloist, thus
creating a feedback of idea exchange between the soloist and the comper.
For the most sophisticated soloists, a comper may need to be able to
respond in real time to newly improvised implied chord changes.

Compers must have an understanding of rhythm that allows them to

respond to the rhythms and beat patterns the soloist plays, such as Latin
or Afro-Cuban rhythms. As well, they must have a melodic sense based on
a knowledge of a huge repertoire of different scales and scalar patterns, to
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be able to improvise countermelodies to supplement the soloist's

melodies and fill in empty spaces.
By comping, pianists, organists, and guitarists provide the "glue" that holds
the rhythm section together. They take the soloist's improvised solos and
melodies and add harmonies (as a bass player does) and rhythms (as a
drummer does). By doing this, the comper helps ensure that the band is
always at the same energy level as the soloist. Wynton Kelly and Herbie
Hancock are examples of pianists who are responsive when comping.
Oscar Peterson usually comped busily, while Count Basie comped
sparsely. There is no single appropriate way to comp for a soloist.

Adapting to soloist

A comper adapts his or her style to that of the soloist. In a jazz band with
multiple soloists, this may require different styles for different soloists. For
example, the saxophone player in a band may imply many extensions and
altered chords in his soloing (e.g., b9, b13, etc.). For this soloist, a comper
may decide to play altered dominants and dense harmonies. The next
soloist, a jazz guitarist, may play sparse, delicate melody lines, with lots of
space. For this soloist, the comper may use open voicings, omit passing
chords, and try to play mainly in the space left by the soloist. If a soloist
starts implying a certain style or feel in his solo, whether this is Afro-
Cuban music or hard-driving swing, the entire rhythm section may shift to
this style to support him.

In a tune, if a soloist starts playing in a jazz-rock fusion style, the comping

musicians may adapt and shift into a rock-influenced groove. A guitarist
who is comping may turn on an overdrive pedal to add rock music-style
"growl" to his tone. A guitarist may also use other effects units, such as a
chorus effect. A keyboardist playing Fender Rhodes electric piano or
Hammond organ may turn up his preamplifier to produce a natural tube
overdrive tone for his sound. A drummer may shift to a rock style of
drumming.

Soloing

In all but the largest big bands, the comping sidemen in a jazz show are
often called upon by the bandleader to improvise a solo. Here, the comper
takes centre stage and performs an improvised melody line. For 1920s
Dixieland and some Swing era jazz, the comper may embellish the melody
line and improvise by ear during his solo. For Bebop-style groups, the
comper playing a solo will often base his improvisations on the chord
progression of the song. Bebop tunes often have one, two or even three
chord changes per bar and some tunes change keys every few bars; as
such, it is hard to solo "by ear" on a Bebop song.

See also
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Chord chart
Organ trios, a type of ensemble which poses particular comping
 challenges, since there are usually two chordal instruments which
have to share the accompanying tasks (e.g., Hammond organ and
guitar)

Further reading
Green, Andrew (2005). Jazz Guitar Comping. ISBN 0-9700576-4-4.

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References
1. ^ Hughes (2002), p.6.
2. ^ Hughes, Fred (2002). The Jazz Pianist: Left Hand Voicings and
Chord Theory, p.5. ISBN 9780757993152.
3. ^ Lesa Soundz, 4 Sound Engineers,
http://www.4soundengineers.com/what-is-comping-the-audio-
editing-technique-all-engineers-should-know/

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Categories
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Categories:
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Jazz terminology
Rhythm section
Guitar performance techniques
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