An Approach to Comping : The Essentials

Chapter 1A

Chapter 1A: Boogie Woogie Comping Rhythms

To get started, let’s take a C7 chord in root position (C, E, G, Bb) starting on the C below
middle C. Drop the root and fifth down an octave. Playing an open fifth (C and G) two oc-
taves below middle C creates a classic bluesy sound and provides a solid foundation for
our boogie-woogie bass figure. Use your left hand (LH) to play the root and fifth, leaving
your right hand (RH) to play the 3rd and 7th. Keep in mind, for dominant seventh chords
the 7th is flattened.

FIG. 1
C7 C7

? 44 ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’

? 44 b www b ww
w ww

The 3rd and 7th form the core of most jazz chords. They identify the quality of the chord
(whether it’s major or minor, etc.) and whether it’s a major 7th, minor 7th, or diminished
7th. For now we will limit ourselves to the dominant seventh chord as we begin our dis-
cussion about comping rhythm. Effective comping can often drive a rhythm section. To
create forward motion, chords are often anticipated and upbeats are utilized.

Comping Exercise #1: Comping on the Upbeats. Throughout this workbook you will
be given various comping exercises to target a specific comping problem. For our first
comping exercise, use a classic boogie-woogie bass pattern in the LH (see below). Above
it practice comping on all of the upbeats of a measure by following the four examples
below. Keep in mind, the triplet notation is used to make it easier to synchronize the
hands. Normally the RH figures in the FIG. 2 would be written on the “and of 1,” “and of
2,” “and of 3,” or “and of 4.” In other words, often when comping, the upbeats actually
happen a little later, closer to the third triplet of the beat. The precise location of the
rhythmic occurrence has to do with the individual pianist and their sense of swing. For
now, just be aware of this rhythmic subtlety.

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Chapter 1A An Approach to Comping : The Essentials

FIG. 2

? 44 .. ‰ ‰ b œœ Œ bœ
Comping Rhythm 1 CR 2
Ó .. .. Œ ‰ ‰ œJ Ó ..
J
3 3

? 44 .. ‰3 j j .
. .
. jœ ‰ œ j ..
œœ œœ b œ n œ œœ ‰ œœ b œ n œ œœ ‰ œœ b œ
3 3 3 3 3 3 3

nœ œ œ bœ nœ

? .. Ó bœ bœ
‰ ‰ Jœ Œ .. .. Ó ‰ ‰ œJ ..
CR 3 CR 4
Œ
3

3 3

? .. ‰3 . . j ..
œœ b œ n œj œœ ‰ œœ b œ n œj . . œœ ‰ œœ b œ n œj œœ ‰ œœ b œ
3 3 3 3 3 3 3

œœ nœ

Ahmad Jamal and Red Garland are famous for making use of the “and of 2” and “and
of 4” to propel the rhythm section forward. Red often uses the rhythm while comping
behind Miles; Ahmad often uses it in his left hand while soloing with his right. Of course,
as we will see in Chapter 5 of this volume and in Chapter 3 of Advanced Concepts and
Techniques, the two pianist’s acute rhythmic sense is much more involved than just
playing the “and of 2” and “and of 4.” But for now, let’s experiment with these two im-
portant rhythmic occurrences over the boogie-woogie bass figure. Also, try playing the
“and of 1” and “and of 3”.

FIG. 3

bœ œ bœ œ
CR 5 CR 6
? 44 .. Œ ‰ ‰ œJ Œ ‰ ‰ Jœ .. .. ‰ ‰ œJ Œ ‰ ‰ Jœ Œ ..
3 3 3 3

? 44 .. ‰3 j j .. .. œ ‰ œ jœ ‰ œ j ..
n œ œœ ‰ œœ b œ
3 3 3 3 3 3 3

œ œ bœ nœ
œ œ œ œ bœ nœ œ œ bœ nœ

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An Approach to Comping : The Essentials Chapter 1A

Here is some more upbeat practice. This time play the 3rd and 7th on the “and of 3” and
“and of 4”; the “and of 2” and “and of 3”; and the “and of 1” and “and of 2”.

FIG. 4

bœ œ bœ œ .. .. ‰ ‰b œœ ‰‰ œœ Ó
CR 7 CR 8 CR 9
? 4 .. Ó ‰ ‰ œ ‰‰ œ .. .. Œ ‰‰ œ ‰ ‰ œ Œ ..
4 J J J J J J
3 3 3 3 3 3

? 4 .. ‰3 3 j ‰3 3 j.. .. ‰3 3 j ‰3 3 j.. .. ‰3 3 j ‰3 3 j..

4 œ œ bœ nœ œ œ bœ nœ œœ œœ b œ n œ œœ œœ b œ n œ œœ œœ b œ n œ œœ œœ b œ n œ
œ œ œ œ

Below is a composite pattern made up of upbeats.

FIG. 5

? 44 .. Œ bœ bœ œ œ
‰ ‰ Jœ Ó ‰ ‰ Jœ ‰ ‰ Jœ Œ ‰ ‰ œJ
3 3 3 3

? 44 .. ‰3 j j j j
n œ œœ ‰ œœ b œ n œ œœ ‰ œœ b œ n œ œœ ‰ œœ b œ
3 3 3 3 3 3 3

œœ œœ b œ nœ

?Ó bœ bœ œ
‰ ‰ Jœ Œ Ó ‰ ‰ Jœ ‰ ‰ œ ..
3

J
3 3 3

? j ..
œœ ‰ œœ b œ n œj œœ ‰ œœ b œ n œj œœ ‰ œœ b œ n œj œœ ‰ œœ b œ
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

nœ
We are now ready to apply the boogie-woogie bass pattern to a simple three-chord, 12-
bar blues. As you change chords move the open fifth in the LH up or down to the root
and fifth of the next chord. In the RH strive for good voice leading. This means moving
to the closest 3rd and 7th available. In most cases, the 3rd will move to the 7th of the next
chord, and the 7th will move to the 3rd.

No matter what happens harmonically in later chapters to this blues progression, it is

important never to lose sight of this simple three-chord progression. It is the deep har-
monic structure of the 12-bar blues. From here, as you will see in Chapter 2, we can find
different ways to navigate through the form, but at its core, the deep harmonic structure
never changes.

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