The Jazz Box
The Gift of Comping
Accompaniment. Complimentary. Complex.
Composite. Compound. All good words to
associate with “comping,” rooted in the
sentiment of interconnected parts. A jazz
band thrives as an ecosystem, with each element contributing its essential part of the
combined activity. Jazz guitarists in the role
of comping can provide the oxygen that fuels
the fire of a soloist, or the comfortable spot
on the lawn for the soloist to come home
and relax. Whether it’s a cooking, up-tempo
number or a restrained, elegant ballad, we
need to be prepared to state the harmonic
structure, the groove and the tempo with reli-ability. On top of all of that, it’s nice to voice
chords thoughtfully so as to create a sense of
melody while moving through a progression.
Rhythm
As tempting as it may be to play chords in
all sorts of accented ways rhythmically, it is a
greater gift to the melody player—and the
soloists—to just lay it down simply. We’re talking half note rhythms here, or dotted quarter-eighths, or all quarter notes. Even all whole
notes work beautifully, say, behind a bass
solo. It works better for the overall good if
we stay committed to a groove, rather than a
disjointed series of jabs at the chords.
Drummers have a collection of “beats” that
they offer for the variety of styles that get
played during a given performance. We can
ask them to play a shuffle, a jazz waltz, a
swing, a bossa nova, or any one of the many
Latin grooves. Guitarists need to be equally
ready with a rhythmic pattern to play that
is appropriate to the style. The big question among the rhythm section that comes
before playing a tune is, “Is it swing eighths
or straight?” You’ve got to know what that
means, and find the respective one or two
bar patterns that will help to propel an
arrangement without rocking the boat.
Harmony
A sparkling ring may be beautiful on its own,
but it’s even more memorable when it’s presented as a gift in a lovely soft box. Chords
exist to support a melody. If we do our job
well, the melody lines will soar and shine
68 PREMIER GUITAR DECEMBER 2009
Jane Miller
without distraction. If we are interpreting a
lead sheet, as opposed to an exact part, we
can feel free to use tensions and substitutions that will deepen the musical statement
that is being made.
As tempting as it may
be to play chords in
all sorts of accented
ways rhythmically, it
is a greater gift to the
melody player—and
the soloists—to just
lay it down simply.
When I was in Nashville a few years back
trying out an acoustic guitar at one of the
booths at the Chet Atkins Appreciation
Society Convention, a couple of sweet onlookers, full of many years of love, enthusiasm, and experiences with both the South
and guitars, drawled out the following comment for me: “Nice holds.” It took me a
minute, but I eventually realized that they
were talking about my choices of chord forms
(I had heard people refer to them as “grips”
before, and that helped me to put it together). It is very important to collect as many
“holds” as you can in order to accompany a
melody creatively and thoughtfully. In doing
so, however, it is equally important to study
the chord forms, identify each note in the
voicing, and how it functions in the chord. I
am all for the visual aid of learning chords as
recognizable shapes, but I also ask all my students to learn the details: make a chord diagram and then write the note names across
the top of the strings, and the function (chord
tone or tension) below each string of the
diagram. In a movable form (no open strings)
the note names will change as you move it
around on the neck, but the numbers (the
function of the chord) will not. One of many
bonuses from doing this is a sharp awareness
of the notes all over the neck as you encounter them while comping.
Shortcuts
If you are quick at chord tones in theory
(quick: what’s the 5th of an A%maj7?) then
you can use that to land on the chord form
that has the 5th of A%maj7 (E%) on the high
E string. The E string is a good sight line
for me; you may be quicker at chasing the
root around on whichever string it falls. If my
chord is voiced on the middle four strings,
so neither E string is being played, then my
sight line will either be the A string or the B
string (quick: what’s the 3rd of a B%maj7?). I
know then that if I grab the form that gives
me the 3rd in the bass, as long as I put in on
D on the fifth fret of the A string, I’ll have the
B%maj7 I wanted.
Listen to the chord tones and tensions as
you practice. When you play with the band,
you will recognize the places in the music
for them. This is what makes comping as
exciting as improvising.
Jane Miller
Jane Miller is a guitarist, composer, and arranger
with roots in both jazz and folk. In addition to leading her own jazz instrumental quartet, she is in a
working chamber jazz trio with saxophonist Cercie
Miller and bassist David Clark. The Jane Miller Group
has released three CDs on Jane’s label, Pink Bubble
Records. Jane joined the Guitar Department faculty at
Berklee College of Music in 1994. janemillergroup.com
www.premierguitar.com
