5/22/2018 Comping - Wikipedia

Comping
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
"Charleston" rhythm, simple rhythm
accompanying, and the left-hand part of a solo pianist.[2] commonly used in comping.[1]
 Play example 

Contents
Types
Chords
Drums
Horns
Drum solo
Roles
Adapting to soloist
Soloing
See also
Further reading
References

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 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.

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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 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).

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.

Roles

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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 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.

References
1. Hughes (2002), p.6.
2. Hughes, Fred (2002). The Jazz Pianist: Left Hand Voicings and Chord Theory, p.5. ISBN 9780757993152.

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