Here is an article about comping. Comping (an abbreviation of accompanying) is a term used in jazz music to describe the chords, rhythms, and countermelodies that keyboard players (piano or organ) or guitar players use to support a jazz musician’s improvised solo or melody lines.
How to comp chords – comping chords on the piano
I got this question from a student:
“I am struggling to comp rhythmically & unpredictably while improvising or playing from a lead sheet. I can comp chords in my left hand to a pattern (i.e., 4 to the floor or on the 1 & 3, etc) but I struggle to mix up the comping especially when improvising. I have used some of your comping patterns from the Blues Lessons as a start and then try to mix & match different patterns, but I find it very difficult to comp without being locked to a fixed pattern or combination of patterns. Any suggestions for helping to overcome this problem?” – Adam K.
This is definitely one of the more complicated aspects of playing the piano. It is relatively “easy” to play a chord in the left hand, hold it down, and improvise with the right hand. However, as soon as you try adding any type of rhythm to that left hand chord, the time seems to fall apart. So, let’s go through some ideas that will help loosen up your left hand.
First, keep control of where you are in the measure. For this example, let’s say that we are in 4/4 time…four beats per measure. It is extremely important that while comping, you do not add or remove beats from the measure. This is where a metronome or play-along track is helpful. I’ve heard students rush the time or drag because they were overly focused on comping. The lesson…the time comes first!
Second, keep your chords simple to start. Try starting with only the root and seventh of the chord, a R7 chord. Or, just the root and third, a R3 chord. So, for C7, this would be C–Bb or C–E. Simple chords allow you to focus on what is important…the time.
Now is a good point to pause and discuss “concept breakdown”. You do not have to go far to find difficult-to-understand concepts in jazz piano. Comping is a perfect example. It seems easy, but it is not. Worst yet, it is the “seems easy” concepts that make it frustrating to learn and often cause students to throw their arms up in disgust. But, there is a solution!
Concept Breakdown is just that, a breakdown of difficult concepts in to easy to handle and easier to understand parts. To break down the concept of comping, I would consider its parts:
- Chord voicing – the notes of the chord and how they are arranged
- Number of chords per measure
- Tempo of the song
- Interaction with the right hand / soloist
- Rhythmic spontaneity
