This book aims to acquaint the jazz guitarist with the fundamentals of comping,
that will stand him or her in good stead for most playing situations, whether it's big
...
Jazz Guitar A c c o m pa n i m e n t
By Victor Saumarez
CONTENTS (click on heading) Introduction...............................................3 Big Band and Gypsy....................................4 Four-in-a-Bar Rhythm...............................5 Chunking, Boom-Chick, Uptempo. .............6,7,8 Adding Harmony.......................................9 Extensions and Altered Notes. .......................10 Three Note Chords...................................... 11 Parallel Movement......................................12 Modern Jazz Comping...............................13 Basic Rhythmic Patterns..........................14 Closed Voicings........................................15 Voice Leading..........................................16 Walking Bass Lines..................................18 Basic Rhythm Patterns.............................19 Walking the Blues....................................20 Advanced Rhythms..................................21 Latin Jazz...................................................24 Samba.......................................................25 Bossa Nova..............................................26 Chord charts............................................28 II V I Progressions...................................29 Extensions & Alterations....................30,31
INTRODUCTION
This book aims to acquaint the jazz guitarist with the fundamentals of comping, that will stand him or her in good stead for most playing situations, whether it’s big band, gypsy, bebop, or duos. The book is split up into sections, with practical exercises and either video or audio samples as learning aids. It can be used as a comprehensive guide in its own right, or to dip into in order to complement, or build on what the individual player already knows. Accompaniment is an important aspect of playing jazz guitar. It takes various forms according to the setting, or lineup and also the style. It is basically playing the harmony or chords, with the aim of providing a backdrop for the soloist. Early forms of jazz guitar accompaniment, or ‘comping’ as it commonly referred to, were played using a downward strum on every beat (quarter note), and is still characteristic of the gypsy style, and big band playing. Comping later developed into broken rhythmic patterns, or ‘stabs’ and chords became more harmonically dense, or complex. This later style lends itself particularly to small bands settings. Playing is duos is a excellent way to cut your teeth, and requires a specific set of accompaniment skills. Latin Jazz comping is a large topic, so I cover the basics essential for any aspiring jazz guitarist. To make the best use of the book, learn the exercises in a methodical manner, and at a pace which you are comfortable with. It can never be over-emphasized that being thorough and patient pays the highest dividends. Immediately apply what you have learnt to playing situations. Victor Saumarez
Big Band and Gypsy Sometimes referred to as chunking, boom chick, or ‘le pump’ in France, this is a very good starting place for any jazz guitar enthusiast, as it lends itself to easy-to-follow selfaccompaniment when learning to improvise. For that reason, it is often over-looked by more seasoned players, but like any aspect of playing, when done right it can propel the rhythm, providing a richly textured background that will inspire any competent soloist. Since it is not currently a widely used form of playing, there are few leaders in the field from which to draw inspiration. Rather, it has remained the domain of a few past innovators such as Freddie Green, Carl Kress and the gypsy stylists, the latter probably being the closest to having a homogenous technique, and of course are still current. So the methods presented here draw from that pool, rather than owning any particular allegiance. Whatever the influence, the goal is always to provide solid time keeping, and a swinging groove. The examples that follow start with straight forward harmony, executed with a light, even strum. Particular attention needs to be paid to the downward stroke, and the left hand release which mutes the sound. To break up the monotony of static harmony, more chords are introduced to add colour and interest. In contrast to even strokes, emphasis can be applied to beats two and four, while releasing the left hand for shorter durations. Hence the term ‘boom-chick’. Three note chords, while more simple harmonically, free the left hand to create simultaneous bass and chordal movement, and are very effective for certain types of accompaniment. The gypsy style is more even, relying more on the left hand release, and is executed energetically to project volume.
Four-in-a-Bar Rhythm Watch the video, and then try the exercises that follow. The first exercise called Chunking, is a light swinging feel, with even emphasis on all four beats of the bar represented by the symbol / / / /. The second exercise called Boom-Chick, places more emphasis (volume) on beats two and four, and shortens the stroke of beats one and two, hence the onomatopoeia “boom-chick”. The third exercise is uptempo and the use of book-chick for faster rhythm playing is more economical, and less intrusive than even strokes. Gypsy style rhythm has many different approaches, but generally the strokes are more even that in boom-chick, even for very uptempo tunes. Useful tips when playing in this style are to relax the right arm, so that the wrist does some of the work. Releasing the left hand immediately after each downstroke with the right, takes a little mastering, but after a while both hands will sync so you won’t even need to think about it. Notice that with boomchick, the left hand does not release on beats one and three. It is sometimes difficult to avoid striking open strings, but many of the fingerings automatically suppress sound. An upstroke plays an important part in this style of playing. I prefer to use it sparingly on verses, bridges, turnarounds etc. It involves a light half-beat upward stroke, immediately preceding the bar you wish to signpost.
Click inside box above to play movie clip
Chunking E b7
Fmaj7
D7
&c ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ T A B
5 5 7 8
6 6 5 6
5 5 4 5
B bm7
Gm7
5
E b7
&’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ 5
3 3 3
6 6 6
3
6
Am7
9
Dm7
Gm7
6 6 5 6
C7
&’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ 9
5 5 5
6 5 7 5
5 13
Em7 b5
A7
8 7 8 7
5 6 5
Dm7
3 3 3 3
G7
Gm7
3 3 2 3
C7
&’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ 13
5
6 5 7 5
3 4 3
3 3 3
3
3
3 3 2 3
