Module 5: Rhythm and swingLesson 2intermediate⏱ 75 min + 15 min daily for two weeks

Comping rhythms

Learn the Charleston, the and-of-4 anticipation and six more essential comping patterns, then mix them and leave space through a ii–V–I and a 12-bar blues.

Why rhythm is most of comping

"Comping" is accompanying: playing chords behind a soloist or singer. Students assume it is a harmony problem (which voicing?) when it is mostly a rhythm problem (when, and how often?). A pianist or guitarist with six voicings and twenty rhythms sounds like a professional; one with sixty voicings and one rhythm sounds like a strumming machine. This lesson gives you eight rhythmic cells that cover most of what you hear on small-group records from the 1950s on, and shows how to combine them and, just as important, when to stay silent.

All of the examples use drop-2 voicings on strings 5-4-3-2 that you can take from the chord dictionary. Keep the chords short unless a note is written long: a comping chord that rings over the next beat muddies the soloist.

The Charleston

If you learn one comping rhythm, learn this one. The Charleston is a chord on beat 1 held for a dotted quarter (three eighth notes), then a chord on the "and of 2", then silence until the next bar. Count it "1 (2) and (3) (4)". The hit on the and of 2 is an upbeat, so it gets the swing accent and should be a little shorter than the first chord.

Why it works: it states the downbeat, so the band knows where 1 is, then pushes off the upbeat, which creates forward motion, then gets out of the way for a beat and a half. Dozens of famous rhythm-section figures are the Charleston in disguise.

Anticipation: the "and of 4"

An anticipation is a chord played an eighth note before the beat it belongs to. The most common is the and of 4: the next bar's chord is struck on the last eighth note of this bar and held (or let ring) across the bar line. Count "(1) (2) (3) 4 and – ". The new harmony arrives early, which is exactly what makes jazz sound like it is leaning forward instead of marching.

Two things to get right:

• The anticipated chord is the next bar's chord. If bar 2 is G7, the and of 4 in bar 1 is G7, not Dm7. In the notation below the chord symbol sits on the pushed beat for that reason.
• Nothing on beat 1. The anticipation replaces the downbeat; hitting the chord again on 1 cancels the effect. Either tie across the bar line, or stop the chord and leave beat 1 empty.

Eight essential patterns

Each pattern below is written over a ii–V–I in C so that you hear it against moving harmony. Bars 1–2 show one pattern over Dm7 and G7, bars 3–4 show the next pattern over Cmaj7. Learn the counting for every pattern aloud before you play it; a pattern you cannot count, you cannot vary.

Patterns 1 and 2: the Charleston and its displacement

Pattern 1, the Charleston: 1 and the and of 2. Pattern 2, the displaced Charleston: the same two hits moved one beat later, to the and of 2 (held through 3) and beat 4. The dotted-quarter length is written as an eighth tied to a quarter so that beat 3 stays visible; the next lesson explains why that matters.

\tempo 120
.
\ts 4 4
(5.5 7.4 5.3 6.2).4{d ch "Dm7"} (5.5 7.4 5.3 6.2).8 r.2 | (5.5 5.4 4.3 6.2).4{d ch "G7"} (5.5 5.4 4.3 6.2).8 r.2 | r.4 r.8 (3.5 5.4 4.3 5.2).8{ch "Cmaj7"} (-.5 -.4 -.3 -.2).4 (3.5 5.4 4.3 5.2).4 | r.4 r.8 (3.5 5.4 4.3 5.2).8 (-.5 -.4 -.3 -.2).4 (3.5 5.4 4.3 5.2).4 |

Patterns 3 and 4: four to the bar, and two and four

Pattern 3, four to the bar: a quarter-note chord on every beat, accenting 2 and 4, each chord stopped just before the next. This is the Freddie Green rhythm-guitar feel; played softly it is the most supportive thing a guitarist can do behind a singer. Pattern 4, two and four: short chords on beats 2 and 4 only, exactly where the hi-hat closes. It locks the band together and leaves beats 1 and 3 for the bass.

\tempo 132
.
\ts 4 4
(5.5 7.4 5.3 6.2).4{ch "Dm7"} (5.5{ac} 7.4{ac} 5.3{ac} 6.2{ac}).4 (5.5 7.4 5.3 6.2).4 (5.5{ac} 7.4{ac} 5.3{ac} 6.2{ac}).4 | (5.5 5.4 4.3 6.2).4{ch "G7"} (5.5{ac} 5.4{ac} 4.3{ac} 6.2{ac}).4 (5.5 5.4 4.3 6.2).4 (5.5{ac} 5.4{ac} 4.3{ac} 6.2{ac}).4 | r.4 (3.5 5.4 4.3 5.2).8{ch "Cmaj7"} r.8 r.4 (3.5 5.4 4.3 5.2).8 r.8 | r.4 (3.5 5.4 4.3 5.2).8 r.8 r.4 (3.5 5.4 4.3 5.2).8 r.8 |

Patterns 5 and 6: the and-of-4 push, and the Charleston plus 4

Pattern 5, the push: a chord on beat 1, then the next chord anticipated on the and of 4 and tied over the bar line. In the example the push happens twice in a row (G7 is pushed at the end of bar 1, Cmaj7 at the end of bar 2) so you can feel the chain. Pattern 6, Charleston plus 4: 1, the and of 2, and beat 4. The extra hit on 4 fills the gap and makes a busier, more driving bar; bar 3 begins with the tied Cmaj7 from the push, so there the pattern starts "in the air".

\tempo 120
.
\ts 4 4
(5.5 7.4 5.3 6.2).4{ch "Dm7"} r.4 r.4 r.8 (5.5 5.4 4.3 6.2).8{ch "G7"} | (-.5 -.4 -.3 -.2).2 r.4 r.8 (3.5 5.4 4.3 5.2).8{ch "Cmaj7"} | (-.5 -.4 -.3 -.2).4{d} (3.5 5.4 4.3 5.2).8 r.4 (3.5 5.4 4.3 5.2).4 | (3.5 5.4 4.3 5.2).4{d} (3.5 5.4 4.3 5.2).8 r.4 (3.5 5.4 4.3 5.2).4 |

Patterns 7 and 8: all upbeats, and a two-bar phrase

Pattern 7, all upbeats: short chords on every "and" and nothing on the beats. It is intense, so use it for a bar or two at a time, typically to build towards the end of a chorus. Notice that the last upbeat of each bar is the next chord: the and of 4 is always an anticipation. Pattern 8, a two-bar phrase: 1, the and of 2 and the and of 4 (tied over), then beat 3 of the second bar. Longer cells like this stop your comping sounding like a loop.

\tempo 132
.
\ts 4 4
r.8 (5.5 7.4 5.3 6.2).8{ch "Dm7"} r.8 (5.5 7.4 5.3 6.2).8 r.8 (5.5 7.4 5.3 6.2).8 r.8 (5.5 5.4 4.3 6.2).8{ch "G7"} | r.8 (5.5 5.4 4.3 6.2).8 r.8 (5.5 5.4 4.3 6.2).8 r.8 (5.5 5.4 4.3 6.2).8 r.8 (3.5 5.4 4.3 5.2).8{ch "Cmaj7"} | (3.5 5.4 4.3 5.2).4{d} (3.5 5.4 4.3 5.2).8 r.4 r.8 (3.5 5.4 4.3 5.2).8 | (-.5 -.4 -.3 -.2).2 (3.5 5.4 4.3 5.2).4 r.4 |

Leaving space

Good comping is at least a third silence. The soloist needs room to breathe, the bass needs beats 1 and 3, and a chord that arrives after a rest has far more impact than the same chord in a stream of chords. Three habits to build:

1. One idea per bar, sometimes per two bars. A single Charleston in bar 1 and nothing in bar 2 is a complete musical statement.
2. Listen before you play. If the soloist is playing a busy run, lay out or play one chord on 4. If they hold a long note, that is your moment for a rhythmic figure.
3. Rest on the downbeat deliberately. Patterns that start on the and of 1 or on 2 feel lighter and leave the bass line exposed in a good way.

The next example runs an eight-bar ii–V–I–vi loop and mixes the patterns, with a silent half-bar and several anticipations. Notice that no two consecutive bars use the same figure, and that the Am7 bar is almost empty.

\tempo 126
.
\ts 4 4
(5.5 7.4 5.3 6.2).4{d ch "Dm7"} (5.5 7.4 5.3 6.2).8 r.2 | r.4 r.8 (5.5 5.4 4.3 6.2).8{ch "G7"} (-.5 -.4 -.3 -.2).4 r.4 | (3.5 5.4 4.3 5.2).4{ch "Cmaj7"} r.4 r.4 r.8 (3.5 5.4 2.3 5.2).8{ch "Am7"} | (-.5 -.4 -.3 -.2).2 r.4 (3.5 5.4 2.3 5.2).4 | r.2 (5.5 7.4 5.3 6.2).4{ch "Dm7"} r.4 | r.8 (5.5 5.4 4.3 6.2).8{ch "G7"} (-.5 -.4 -.3 -.2).4 r.4 r.8 (3.5 5.4 4.3 5.2).8{ch "Cmaj7"} | (-.5 -.4 -.3 -.2).4{d} (3.5 5.4 4.3 5.2).8 r.2 | r.4 (3.5 5.4 4.3 5.2).8 r.8 r.4 (3.5 5.4 4.3 5.2).4 |

Varying patterns over a blues

A 12-bar blues is the best place to practise this because the form is short enough to loop and long enough to need variety. The chorus below uses a simplified jazz blues in F (the full jazz-blues changes come in a later module): four bars of I7 with a IV7 in bar 2, two bars of IV7, then I7, VI7, ii7, V7 and a I7–VI7–ii7–V7 turnaround.

Read the chorus bar by bar before you play it and name the pattern in each bar: Charleston (1), displaced Charleston (2), Charleston plus 4 (3), stabs with an and-of-4 push into the IV chord (4–5), two and four (6), Charleston (7), an and-of-1 push plus 4 (8), Charleston (9), a chain of two upbeat pushes (10–11) and a quick ii–V with the V pushed on the and of 2 (12).

\tempo 110
.
\ts 4 4
(3.5 3.4 2.3 4.2).4{d ch "F7"} (3.5 3.4 2.3 4.2).8 r.2 | r.4 r.8 (1.5 3.4 1.3 3.2).8{ch "Bb7"} (-.5 -.4 -.3 -.2).4 (1.5 3.4 1.3 3.2).4 | (3.5 3.4 2.3 4.2).4{d ch "F7"} (3.5 3.4 2.3 4.2).8 r.4 (3.5 3.4 2.3 4.2).4 | r.4 (3.5 3.4 2.3 4.2).8 r.8 r.4 r.8 (1.5 3.4 1.3 3.2).8{ch "Bb7"} | (-.5 -.4 -.3 -.2).2 r.4 (1.5 3.4 1.3 3.2).4 | r.4 (1.5 3.4 1.3 3.2).8 r.8 r.4 (1.5 3.4 1.3 3.2).8 r.8 | (3.5 3.4 2.3 4.2).4{d ch "F7"} (3.5 3.4 2.3 4.2).8 r.2 | r.8 (3.5 4.4 2.3 3.2).8{ch "D7"} (-.5 -.4 -.3 -.2).4 r.4 (3.5 4.4 2.3 3.2).4 | (1.5 3.4 0.3 3.2).4{d ch "Gm7"} (1.5 3.4 0.3 3.2).8 r.2 | r.4 r.8 (1.5 2.4 0.3 1.2).8{ch "C7"} r.4 r.8 (3.5 3.4 2.3 4.2).8{ch "F7"} | (-.5 -.4 -.3 -.2).4 (3.5 3.4 2.3 4.2).8 r.8 (3.5 4.4 2.3 3.2).4{ch "D7"} r.4 | (1.5 3.4 0.3 3.2).4{ch "Gm7"} r.8 (1.5 2.4 0.3 1.2).8{ch "C7"} (-.5 -.4 -.3 -.2).4 r.4 |

Exercises

1. Clap and count all eight patterns from memory, 100 bpm, click on 2 and 4. Two minutes.
2. One pattern per chorus: loop the ii–V–I–vi (bars 1–8 above) and play pattern 1 for a whole chorus, then pattern 2, through to pattern 8. 110 bpm.
3. Change every bar: the same loop, but a different pattern in every bar, decided in real time. If you hesitate, play pattern 4 (two and four) while you think.
4. The blues chorus as written, 90 bpm, then 110, then 140. Then play two choruses: the written one and your own variation.
5. Silence drill: comp the blues playing only one chord per bar, anywhere you like, and nothing else. This is harder than it sounds and is the fastest way to learn to leave space.

Quiz