Mike's Master Classes

Jazz Guitar Comping & Looper Pedal Basics

Randy Johnston·
5.0 (2 reviews)·INTERMEDIATE·Comping·11 lessons
$14.95
Sign in for member pricing →
Solo guitar gigs can overwhelming and scary. There’s no one there except you and your guitar, on stage or in a corner of a restaurant. You’ve called upon your inner Joe Pass and Tuck Andress but it’s still not enough... Enter the world of guitar looping! By playing a tasteful comp, recorded live (none of that pre-recorded backing track stuff), you can add an edge of energy to your solo sets. Randy Johnston is here to help you. In this latest masterclass, you’ll discover how to get a solid time feel so that your comping is swinging and solid. Swing and groove is everything so if you want to lock into the pocket, this class is for you. Randy will share some very practical real world tips on using a looper for your solo sets (and show you the exact guitar looper of his choice and why he uses that model.) In addition to the practical looper tips, Randy shows you exactly how to practice and develop musical comping chops. People talk about using the metronome but not many will show you how to really practice with it. We all have heard about practicing with the metronome on 2 & 4 but why does Randy also practice with the metronome on all 4 beats? Find out in the class. This is an info-packed, actionable and usable class (just like any of Randy’s videos). No filler material, just a solid 33 minutes of info that you can use immediately in your next practice session. Even if you’re not going to use a looper, this class will help you tune up your rhythmic comping chops.
  • 2 Pages of PDF materials in standard notation (Rhythmic Notation, Chord Chart and Chord Block Diagrams).
  • Full video is 33 minutes

Course Content

Lessons

  • Jazz Guitar Comping & Loop Pedal Basics FULL2016
  • Adding Upbeats253
  • Basics of Comping267
  • Charleston Rhythm Variation and Closing Thoughts313
  • Comping vs Generating the Rhythm277
  • Comping with the Pick139
  • Comping with the Thumb166
  • F Blues111
  • Feeling the Hi-Hats92
  • Introduction210
  • What to Play199

Reviews & Ratings

5.0
2 reviews
5
2
4
0
3
0
2
0
1
0
Bob B
Verified Purchase
4/3/2019

"Randys Looper & Comping Course"

Another Hit For Randy !! Incredibly Well Explained and packed with GREAT Info on Comping. and using a looper pedal...........After some nice comping examples, Randy Plays a Lot Of Choruses of single line soloing over his comping loop, which is an F Blues. Very Tasteful Licks , well worth learning. QUESTIONS: Randy, how specifically do you use the looper on a solo guitar gig? My guess would be that you play the melody first and accompany yourself without the looper. Then You turn on the looper & play chords only for one full chorus. Then You solo over the loop that you just made............ Then maybe you go back and play the melody with the looper.......... Then turn off the looper and do a tag ending or any ending that you choose........ Look forward to hearing how do do do you do actually do it! Thanks, Bob B.

Robert Minchin
Verified Purchase
3/26/2019

"Another great video"

Another great course by Randy. Randy is a real pro and I find that anything he teaches is worth listening to and practicing. He is a great teacher, concise and to the point and breaks things down into small logical bits of information.

Related Courses

About the instructor

Randy Johnston →
Randy Johnston makes learning jazz guitar fun. He takes an approach to teaching jazz in it's simplest form. Each class will improve your abilities and get you ready to perform. Randy Johnston is one of the most widely recorded and prolific guitarists of his generation. He has released 12 albums as a leader for the Muse, Highnote, J Curve, Mel Bay, and Random Act labels and has appeared on dozens of recordings with other top recording artists. In addition to his recording career, Randy has toured and played with some of the most acclaimed names in jazz, including Lionel Hampton, Houston Person and Etta Jones, Lonnie Smith, and has played for 17 years as a regular member of the Lou Donaldson Quartet. He has traveled the world concertizing, both as a bandleader and side musician, performing at the top clubs and festivals all over the United States, Europe, Japan, Thailand, and South America.