Chord Voicings Masterclass

How to Comp: Modern Comping and Beyond

Juampy Juarez·
5.0 (1 review)
·ADVANCED·1 lesson·1h 3m of video

About this masterclass

Juampy Juarez teaches the art of comping in a vast array of group settings — duo, trio, quartet, and solo guitar — along with rootless comping concepts. There are no formulas for better comping, but there are rules, vocabulary, and tips to get you started, and Juampy lays them out here — with listening always as the key.

What's covered

  • Three-note guide chords and guide tones — why small chords work better than big ones behind a soloist, with movable shapes demonstrated over a C blues and a C minor blues
  • Rootless voicings, inversions, quartal harmony, and chords without bass
  • Rhythm fundamentals: putting the metronome on beats 2 and 4 to internalize the backbeat, and quarter-note Freddie Green-style comping
  • Combining three-note chords with bass lines to hold the tempo when there's no bassist
  • Adapting your comping to different instruments — bass, trumpet, sax, guitar, voice
  • Licks and vocabulary from greats like Jim Hall, Bill Frisell, Lenny Breau, Ed Bickert, Freddie Green, and Jimmy Wyble

Any good player needs to be good at comping, not only soloing — and the more you know about chordal theory, the more these ideas feed your composing and arranging. Juampy invites you to join him in becoming a better comper. 9 pages of PDF included.

Lessons in this masterclass

Lessons

  • 1How to Comp: Modern Comping and Beyond1h 3m

Reviews & Ratings

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james seaberry
Verified Purchase
6/13/2013

Good news; this class is much more accessible for those less advanced or less theoretically-minded than some of Juampy's other classes like Set Theory and Dodecaphonics. Don't be afraid to jump into this one. The material is clear, well-organized without being daunting to absorb.The production values (lighting, sound, camera work & positioning) is extremely good, so that you can see and hear clearly what he does with every note. Much better background than a blank wall as well. There is a lot of material here, even in the asides, such as the difference in note sustaining between Ed Bickert and Lenny Breau when playing similar things. Only thing I would suggest is a more thorough mention of the importance of different timbres when comping, i.e., not playing way up high when comping behind a trumpet and picking near the bridge, not playing way down low when comping behind a tenor or bari, etc. Juampy mentioned this at one point in reference to staying out of the bass player's way, but there are other considerations I think could have been covered more. Aside from that, this is an excellent class, and I recommend it to all upper-level beginners, intermediates, and advanced as well.

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About the instructor

Juampy Juarez
Juampy Juarez is one of the most versatile, original and innovative players of his generation, He lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Juampy can play jazz, rock, fusion or heavy metal with equal facility.