Comping (jazz)
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In
Types
In a standard jazz combo, the pianist or guitarist typically comps during the horn and double bass solos by improvising chords and 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 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 3rd, 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 are 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. One solution is for the two comping instrumentalists to play sparsely.
Chords
Comping is almost always improvised by the comping musicians based on a
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
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 "
For example, during the standard jazz chord progression ii7/V7/I/VI7 (in the key of C Major, this would be Dm7/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 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).
Drum solo
During a
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
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 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
In a tune, if a soloist starts playing in a
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
See also
- 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)
- Basso continuo, a similar type of accompaniment in Western classical music
Further reading
- Green, Andrew (2005). Jazz Guitar Comping. ISBN 0-9700576-4-4.
References
- ^ Hughes (2002), p.6.
- ^ [1] "Glossary of Jazz Swing" from Mezz Mezzrow's 1946 biography"
- ISBN 9780757993152.