Chapter 3, PLAYING IN THE BAND, Page 1 - NORDISC Music & Text

Chapter 3, PLAYING IN THE BAND, Page 1, Chord comping 

Table of Contents 

Playing in the Band 

CHORD COMPING ....................................................................................... 3 

COMP CHORDS / VOICING ...........................................................................................................................4 

ARPEGGIO ...................................................................................................................................................10 

RIFFS ............................................................................................................................................................11 

COMP RHYTHMS .........................................................................................................................................13 

CREATING VARIATIONS ........................................................................... 17 

USEFUL VARIATION TECHNIQUES ...........................................................................................................17 

INDEX PLAYING IN THE BAND ................................................................. 18


All Aspects of ROCK & JAZZ 

Volume 3 – The Electric Guitar 

Playing in the Band 3 of 7 Documents 

ISBN 87-88619-68-0 

1st Edition, 1st Issue 

Summer 2000 Produced in Denmark 

Digital Books is a trademark of 

NORDISC Music & Text, Ryparken 6, 1. th., Copenhagen 2100 Kbh. Ø 

www.nordisc-music.com 

Text, notes and musical examples: 

© Copyright Sebastian Kalamajski 2000 

Editor, Illustrations, layout and concept, additional text 

Orchestra arrangements, rock musical examples: 

© Copyright H.W. Gade 1981-84/2000 

All rights reserved. Copying or reproduction in full/in extension not allowed. No public hire of the material 

allowed without the written permission of the publishing house.


Chord comping 

Comping (accompanying) other musicians in a jazz or rock band requires a lot of 

listening from your side. Music will flow nicely if you hear what other players are 

doing and try to complete and fresh up the rhythm, yet without too much 

engagement, which would only distract the listeners and make the other musicians 

angry. What you probably are aware of is the fact that you must be able to follow the 

rhythm of music fluently and with no uncertainty. This ability alone will make you a 

better rhythm guitarist, because you will instinctively learn how and when to assist 

your band with a well balanced rhythmic playing. 

If you already practice the rhythm exercises in chapter 4, you are on your way to developing this 

wonderful ability to cooperate rhythmically with other musicians. These exercises are designed to 

teach you the most usual (and even some unusual) rhythm figures used in music. When you play 

them for some months or even years, they will become a part of your instinctive rhythm vocabulary, 

and you will be able to automatically incorporate them in your playing style. Not bad! 

Read on and learn some comping techniques applicable for band playing. 

Fig. 1 Comping with the band


Comp Chords / Voicing 

JAZZ Comping With Small Voicings When a soloist is playing, you do not want to get in 

his/her way too much, and it can be good to lay back and comp with just two or three notes of a 

chord. The notes you choose should be definitive notes. What are they? These are the notes that 

define the type of the chord. For a maj7 chord it is the major third and major seventh. For a 

min7 chord it is the minor third and minor seventh. For dominant chord it is the major third and 

minor seventh. Altered notes and chord extensions can be added to these notes with great effect, 

because they tell us what chord is in use for the moment. Usually the root and perfect fifth of 

the chord are omitted. These are often played by bass or keyboard players. Here is an example 

of comping with definitive notes: 

Fig. 2 

Comping with Definitive Notes 

Notes 

3compdef.PDF 

Tablature 

3compjazz_tab.PDF 

Listen to the Notes 

ZOOM FUNCTION To zoom in on the notes and TABs, which often appear blurred on the 

screen, click the hyperlink of the notes or TAB to see the illustration in max resolution. 

When you need to print the notes/TABs, always print the ZOOM view for best results.


ROCK Comping Example The comping activities in rock music are normally carried out by 

one or more rhythm guitars or keyboards. As solo playing is limited to the occasional lead 

guitar or sax, a thorough knowledge of the ways jazz musicians comp the soloists is not that 

important to the rock guitar player. A couple of possible rock comping follows: 

Fig. 3 

Comping Example in Rock 

Notes 

3comprck.PDF 

Tablature 

3comprock_tab.PDF 

Listen to the Notes


JAZZ Fourth Stacks These voicings has a very special sound, and can spice up the music 

when you use them the right way. Stacked fourths are simply combinations of notes stacked 

above each other by the interval of fourth. For comping, it is wise to use a combination of two 

or three such notes, to not disturb the music itself. A three note stacked fourth can be used in at 

least three ways: based on the root of a minor11 chord (which means you will play third, 

eleventh, seventh of the chord), the major third of a maj6/9 chord (third, sixth, ninth) or the 

major third on the dom13 chord (third, sixth, ninth). Try to invent your own fourth stacks based 

on different chord forms! 

Fig. 4 

Comping with Fourth Stacks 

Notes 

3comp_4.PDF 

Tablature 

3comp-4-tab.PDF 

Listen to the Notes


JAZZ Chords Played on Four, Five or Six Strings The bigger chord fingerings sound best 

when there are not so much other comping instruments in the band, or when it is meant to let 

the guitar sound loud. This of course creates a little more pressure on you, as your guitar 

dominates the harmonic background. If you play something wrong others will immediately 

notice it, so make sure you are really capable of handling all the chords and finger shifts. To 

make your comping more interesting you can play varied chord fingerings for the same chord, 

or use the CAGED-system as described in chapter 4. 

You can even apply voice-leading technique, where one note in a chord goes to the other in the 

next chord with least possible movement. This procedure is also mentioned in chapter 4. 

Chords, that comes in the end of a section or in the end of a song should be ”reinforced ” with a 

couple of root notes, to make the music sound as it definitely ends. 

ROCK / JAZZ One Voiced Background Lines The most usual way to comp with a line based 

on just one single voice is to use leading notes. These notes are the ones that naturally lead into 

another chord note, in the following chord. Actually, we have already skimmed through it in the 

straight rhythms paragraph, but it feels good to give you more advice on this simple and 

effective comping technique (see also the All Aspects of ROCK & JAZZ /1 Music Theory on 

Transitive Harmony and advanced modulations). 

General rule for one voice comping is to create a line, which moves by whole or half steps and, 

when chord change arrives, smoothly leads to the next chord note. The best way to begin such 

line is on a chord note, followed by other scale notes, and gradually leading into next chord 

note. As a rule of thumb, chord notes should be played on the strong beats of the bar (1 st and 3 rd 

beat in a 4/4 meter, 1 st beat in ¾ meter). Other notes should be played on other places in the bar. 

Here is an example, using only diatonic notes:


Fig. 5 

Single Note Line 

Notes 

3linsing.PDF 

Tablature 

3single_note_tab.PDF 

Listen to the Notes


(One Voiced Background Lines, Continued) 

You can also make smaller variations in rhythm and range of a one voice background line. For 

example: 

Fig. 6 

Varied Single Note Line 

Notes 

3lin_var.PDF 

Tablature 

One voiced comping sounds great when playing in a big band, or when other musicians are 

playing many complex chord voicings. It is also a great substitution for small band guitarist 

who mostly uses larger chord fingerings.


ARPEGGIO 

ROCK / JAZZ Both rock and jazz guitarists may arpeggiate the chords – play one note of a chord 

after another – to comp the band. All notes are usually allowed to ring out through entire 

arpeggio to emphasize the sound of the particular chord. Various rhythms and succession of 

notes may be applied for arpeggio playing. See example below: 

Fig. 7 

Arpeggio 

Notes 

3arpeg.PDF 

Tablature


RIFFS 

ROCK / JAZZ Riffs are often used in rock music but can also be found in jazz (bebop for 

example). The riff consists of a small “tune” and is usually repeated throughout the song or 

section of the song. Riff is often built out of scale notes of the present key, and is outlining the 

harmonies (chords) of the song. For example, if one section of a song is built on chord of D 

major, riff is built in a way to accentuate the chord notes, mostly the root (D). A good riff is 

catching listeners attention, and many famous rock songs are built around just one interesting 

riff. Both in rock and jazz, the riff is often played in blues scales over major chords.


Fig. 8 

Riffs 

Notes 

3riff.PDF 

Tablature 

Listen to the Notes


Comp rhythms 

JAZZ Straight Rhythm An easy way of comping is to play chords on the beats of the rhythmic 

meter. For example if you play in 4/4 meter, you play chords on the 1 st , 2 nd , 3 rd , 4 th beat of the 

bar. Here is an example of this type of comping style: 

Fig. 9 

Straight Rhythm, Jazz 

Notes 

3strgt_j.PDF 

Tablature 

Listen to the Notes


ROCK Straight Rhythm A similar approach can be applied to power chords in rock music: 

Fig. 10 

Straight Rhythm, Rock 

Notes 

3strgt_r.PDF 

Tablature 

Listen to the Notes


JAZZ Single Note Bass Line If you play in a big band, you do not want to clash with other 

instruments too much. It is common to play a single note line on the lower strings. The notes 

you play should be chord notes, maybe with some chromatic notes between played on the weak 

(2 nd and 4 th ) beats. Remember to use voice-leading technique, where one note in a chord leads 

smoothly to another one in next chord. Example: 

Fig. 11 

Single Note Bass Line, Straight Rhythm 

Notes 

3linstrg.PDF 

Tablature 

3single_note_straight_tab.PDF


JAZZ Adding the ”And”-of the Beat to a Straight Rhythm Line Bass lines played in a 

straight rhythm (as above) can be combined with other chord notes played in different rhythms. 

Until now, you have played every note on the beats of the bar, but you can also use the ”and” of 

the beat to play on. Rhythmically you divide the quarter note beat into two eight notes, and play 

bass (and maybe chord notes too) on the first eighth note of the beat, and continue with playing 

chord notes on the second eight note (-and) of the beat. It may look like following: 

Fig. 12 

Bass and Chord Notes, Off-beat 

Notes 

3bassoff.PDF 

Tablature 

3bass_chord_tones_offbeat_tab.PDF 

Listen to the Notes

Chapter 3, PLAYING IN THE BAND, Page 17, Creating Variations 

Creating Variations 

A musical arrangement can be varied in many ways, and you should be aware of that 

when you create and play music with your band. Variation is almost necessary to 

catch attention of the audience, and avoid them to get bored and fall asleep. There 

are many ways to vary your guitar comping, and they should be applied with care, 

according to what other band members are playing. Generally, you should vary your 

playing for every new section of a song, and even when you want to lead musical 

events into the following song section. Variations in music will allow your listeners 

to hear that something new is happening, and it will give your music a lift. 

Do not forget to cooperate with other musicians. For example: if your band has a singer, it is usually 

meant that he/she should be in focus during the singing part, so stay back and do not demonstrate 

your knowledge of hundred chord forms over entire fretboard – it will turn music into chaos, merely 

appreciated by others. Remember – you are not the only one in the band!!! 

Useful variation techniques 

Change the rhythm. From slow half notes to faster quarter notes, from 4/4 meter to 1/4 triplets, 

from straight rhythms to syncopated rhythms etc. There are many possibilities. 

Change dynamics. From loud section to soft section. 

Change harmony. From three string chords to six string chords. From bass strings to treble 

strings. Use chord substitution techniques. Use different chord fingerings for the same chords. 

Change instrument, hehe, just kidding!!! 

Change activity of your hands. Take more breaks, or play denser. 

Home

Chapter 3, PLAYING IN THE BAND, Page 18, Index Playing in The Band 

Index Playing in The Band 

1 

1/4, 17 

1st, 2, 7, 13 

2 

2nd, 13, 15 

3 

3rd, 7, 13 

4 

4th, 13, 15 

A 

Altered, 4 

Arpeggio, 10 

B 

Band, 1, 2 

Bass, 15, 16 

Beat, 16 

C 

Chord, 3, 16 

Comping, 3, 4, 5, 6 

F 

Four, 7 

Fourth, 6 

J 

Jazz, 13 

O 

Off-beat, 16 

Orchestra, 2 

R 

Rhythm, 13, 14, 15, 16 

Riff, 11 

S 

Stacked, 6 

Straight, 13, 14, 15, 16 

T 

Tablature, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 

13, 14, 15, 16 

Transitive, 7 

V 

Variation, 17 

Variations, 17 

Volume, 2

Chapter 3, PLAYING IN THE BAND, Page 1 - NORDISC Music & Text

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