Simple Comping Rhythms

[metallibeast]

Hi I'm wondering if any of you could show me some simple jazz comping rhythms or if you know of any websites that could be of help...

I know nothing about playing jazz on guitar and I've been thrown into Jazz Ensemble and is having a hard time.

I'm suppose to learn this songs by next week

I could write a book
Stella by Starlight
There will never be another you
Body and Soul

Comping, improv and melody...

Any help would be appreciated.

Last Q...kind of stupid... When the drummer is hiting on the ride is it always in triplet as in
1 e a
tin tin tin

or

1 e a 2 e a
tin tin tin tin

Thks for the help

[Guni]

Hi metallibeast,

Quite a challange to learn this in one week :-). But lemme try to give ya some directions.

Most importantly is the 2+4 feel, so put you metronome on beats 2 and 4 when practicing the tunes and the rhythms below. It might take a while to get used to this ...

Also I included a typical Ride pattern for the Swing style (the 2 eigth notes are played with the triplet feel, ie on 1 (e) a).

Listen to some swing to get to know the feel....

Give me a holler if you need more ....

[Guni]

ah right and regarding melody: learn it one octave higher than written in the leadsheet. Remember that the guitar is a transposing instrument ....

Guni

[metallibeast]

I think its really SAD that there ISN'T a single guitar teacher in my college.

It SUCKS big time.

I feel that its kinda strange for someone like me who is is studing in a music college and there ain't no body that I can ask for help!!!

What's the reason for putting the metronome on beats 2 and 4?

[Guni]

so you are saying that you are studying at a music college without any music teachers ???? erm ... .

re: 2 + 4

in rock / pop music the accents within a meassure are on 1 and 3.

rock: (this is not a general rule as such but just something to watch out for......)

1 is the strongest
2 not so strong
3 stronger than 2 but not as strong as 1
4 kinda like the 2

In Jazz accents are on 2 + 4 which has a different feel to it - it's own drive. To practice this feel we use the metronome on beats 2 and 4, ie on the strong beats. I think best is that you listen to some recordings of the tunes you have to learn and try to focus on the rhythm and it's flow ......

Guni

[EricV]

so you are saying that you are studying at a music college without any music teachers ???? erm ...

No I think he meant that he is studying at a music school with no guitar teacher...
Eric

[Guni]

ah yeah right - still ....

Guni

[pcd]

You might check out this site, which has a lot of info on chords, turnarounds, etc:http://guitar-primer.com.

[Guni]

well, looks like a chord dictionary but are there any strumming rhythms???

[Bongo Boy]

Originally posted by metallibeast
Hi I'm wondering if any of you could show me some simple jazz comping rhythms

I don't know what "comping rhythms" means...are you guys talking simply about rhythm guitar parts to accompany some lead instrument, or are you talking about drums/percussion? Thanks.

[Guni]

Hi Bongo,

Comping is an abbreviation for accompaniment. Mostly this term is used in Jazz, in our case jazz rhythm guitar. So, for Rock / pop ya would call it strumming patterns and for Jazz comping patterns.

Guni

[metallibeast]

Hi,

Guni, I got a q for you.

My ensemble teacher told me its not necessary to play every chord when comping and I shouldn't keep playing the same comping rhythm over and over again.

My question is, is there a formula for this or I should just go by my feelings, playing when I feel there is a need to?

Btw has anyone of you use fingerweights b4? www.fingerweights.com

saw an ad in a mag so I check the website out. I always thought that we should be as relax as possible when playing, especially when we are playing fast, won't the extra weight kinda tense us up even more since we gotta use more strength with the extra weight on us?

What do u guys think?

Metallibeast

[Guni]

Originally posted by metallibeast
My ensemble teacher told me its not necessary to play every chord when comping and I shouldn't keep playing the same comping rhythm over and over again. My question is, is there a formula for this or I should just go by my feelings, playing when I feel there is a need to?

Yes, this is correct. This is what I really love in a Jazz setting: You gotta listen closely and feel when to play something or when to keep quiet. Also it's about taste on how much you wanna support the melody / soloist with your playing. Sometimes it might sound best to pay nothing, somtimes it's good to play some kicks (maybe together with the drums), somtimes a rhythm throughout will work well. I recommend listening to some recordings - listen to what guitar or piano is doing...


Regarding fingerweights: never used them and I am very sceptical about such stuff. Most of the time we do have enough strength anyway and we use too much strength to fret the notes. It's more about learning to coordinate fingers and the strength used to play and not about building up more strength.
We're not body builders.

Guni

[EricV]

Guni...

I think Steve Morse really found a good term for this interaction... when he was jamming with Al Di Meola and McLaughlin, he said that it was free improvisation, and it really needed "radar ears" =)

Anyway, I agree about the fingerweights. I havent tried them, but I used to use way too much strength with the left hand, and it took me a while to relax the hand. So I dunno whether using those weights might be such a good idea.

What I DID use was the Gripmaster. It´s kinda the same thing. But... I got the "light one" which really doesnt need much strength, so it doesn´t mess up your touch.
But it´s a neat thing to take with me whenever I travel and can´t play the guitar... like, when I i.e. go somewhere in a car, or I go to a business appointment and have to wait, I take out the Gripmaster. Not too work on strength ( after a few years of playing, you have that anyway ), but it´s cool to keep the left hand fingers in sync... and also helps to warm-up
Eric

[Bongo Boy]

Okay metallibeast, time's up. How did it go? What did you do? How did it feel when it was over?

Based on what I read recently in a paperbound book that has short bios on 100s of jazz artists, I think the jazz guitar guy Sonny Sharrock is credited with packaging the concept of "free improvisation" as a style or genre. Seems he also pissed a lot folks off...a feature I adore in a musician.

I think Sonny punched his ticket in the early 90s, but an interview with him, featured at Jazz Guitar Online, is one helluva interview on the topic of improvisation. He characterizes guitarists in an intriguing way--a recommended read fer shur. See

http://www.jazzguitar.com