Rhythm is everything in Jazz and especially comping. Building a solid vocabulary of great Jazz Comping Rhythms is difficult. In this video, I am going to go over 10 examples of comping rhythms to check out.
I play each example 3 times, so you can either use it as inspiration for your own practice or even use the video as a play along and comp together with me.
For each of the rhythms, I have an illustration of how the basic pattern is and a version that is written out with chord voicings to play on guitar.
All the examples are using a turnaround in C major.
Rhythm #1 – Charleston
This first example is the “Charleston rhythm” and is very useful also as a repeating riff.
It has the clarity of the changes with the chord on beat 1 and the syncopation with the chord on the 2&
Rhythm #2 – Shifted Charleston
A variation of the Charleston is this 1 bar pattern where the whole rhythm is shifted an 8th note.
Rhythm #3 – Forward motion with Syncopation
This rhythm uses the tension of the sustained note on the 3& to move the progression forward towards the next chord stated on beat one.
Rhythm #4 – Red Garland
Red Garland is often associated with this way of mostly comping on the anticipated heavy beats: 2& and 4&.
Rhythm #5 – Basic Syncopation
This rhythm is a great way of turning the basic syncopation rhythm into a riff that sits well on top of a swing groove.
Rhythm #6 – Quarter Note Rhythms
Often the focus in comping is too much on all the 8th note upbeats and we forget that you can do a lot with quarter notes as well.
Rhythm #7 – Dotted Quarter notes
Using the dotted quarter note rhythms in jazz comping is very common and very worth incorporating into your vocabulary.
Rhythm #8 – Shifting motif
Another great way to work with rhythm is to shift a motif around. This example is a very basic version of this.
Rhythm #9 – Call-Response phrases
Besides motifs you can also use call-response as a way of generating phrases in your comping.
Rhythm #10 – Anticipated Beat 4
This rhythm is often left out but is very common in a lot of themes (and pretty much all of Salsa), so it is very worthwhile to know and feel comfortable with.
Take the Comping Rhythms Further
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