Module 12: Standards and formLesson 4advanced⏱ 75 min + every rehearsal and gig

Playing in a group

Your job in a rhythm section: comping behind soloists, pianists and singers, listening and dynamics, trading fours, stock intros and endings (tags, the Basie ending) and counting the band in.

Why the guitar's job changes when other people arrive

Alone, you are the whole band. In a group you are one voice in a conversation, and most of the time your job is to make someone else sound good. Guitarists who are excellent in the practice room and unpopular on bandstands have usually failed at one of four things: they play too much, they play in the pianist's register, they do not listen, or they do not know the conventions (intros, endings, count-offs, trading) that let a band of strangers play a tune together without a rehearsal. This lesson is about those four things. All of them are learnable, and all of them are tested the moment you sit in with other people.

Roles: who you are in each band

Behind a soloist, no piano. You are the harmony. Play the changes clearly (3rds and 7ths always present), keep a steady comping rhythm that the soloist can lean on, and leave space in the register the soloist is using. Four-note drop-2 and drop-3 shapes in the middle of the neck are ideal; the shells from Shell voicings with the root on the 6th string are a fine fallback at fast tempos. Vary the rhythm with the soloist's phrasing: busier when they leave space, sparser when they are busy.

With a pianist. Two chordal instruments playing full voicings at once is mud. The standard solutions, in order of preference: lay out entirely for some choruses (and say so with a glance); play very sparsely, one or two hits per bar on anticipations the pianist is likely to make; use three-note voicings high on the neck or small shapes on the top strings that sit above or below the piano's comping range; or play Freddie Green style four-to-the-bar (Four-to-the-bar: Freddie Green comping), which is a rhythm role rather than a harmonic one and never fights the piano. Never both comp with the same density in the same register. Agree with the pianist who comps for whom: a common arrangement is that the pianist comps for the horns and the guitar lays out, and the guitar comps for the piano solo.

With a singer. The singer is the soloist for the whole head, and a singer's phrasing is freer than a horn player's. Keep the time absolutely steady (they will float over it), play the changes plainly so they can hear their pitches, keep the register below the voice, and do not fill every gap: the gaps are theirs. Know the key they sing the tune in; it is usually not the Real Book key (Jam sessions and performance covers transposing). Give them the intro they need: a clear statement of the key and the tempo, ending on the V chord so the first note is easy to find.

In a guitar trio (guitar, bass, drums). You carry the harmony and the melody. The head is your chord-melody or single-line statement, the comping behind the bass solo is yours, and your own solo has no comping underneath it unless you supply it (sparse chords on the and-of-4 between phrases). Module 13 covers the solo-guitar skills this calls for.

In a big band or with written parts. Play exactly what is written, four-to-the-bar unless marked, and watch the leader for dynamics. Nothing you improvise there will be as useful as perfect time.

Comping behind a soloist: the example

The first four bars below are a comping pattern for a horn or guitar solo with no pianist: a Charleston rhythm (beat 1, then the and-of-2 held) from Comping rhythms, with every chord in a three-note shell so that the changes are unmistakable. The second four bars show the same chords when a pianist is playing: one anticipation per chord change, held, and nothing else. The second version sounds like almost nothing on its own; in a band it is exactly enough.

\tempo 140
.
\ts 4 4
:4 (3.5 3.3 4.2){ch "Cm7" txt "no piano: Charleston"} :8 r (3.5 3.3 4.2) :4 (-.5 -.3 -.2) r | :4 (1.6 1.4 2.3){ch "F7"} :8 r (1.6 1.4 2.3) :4 (-.6 -.4 -.3) r |
:4 (1.5 2.3 3.2){ch "Bbmaj7"} :8 r (1.5 2.3 3.2) :4 (-.5 -.3 -.2) r | :4 (1.5 2.3 3.2) r :8 r r r (3.5 3.3 4.2){ch "Cm7" txt "with piano: anticipate and hold"} |
:2 (-.5 -.3 -.2){d} :8 r (1.6 1.4 2.3){ch "F7"} | :2 (-.6 -.4 -.3){d} :8 r (1.5 2.3 3.2){ch "Bbmaj7"} | :1 (-.5 -.3 -.2) | :2 r :8 r (1.5 2.3 3.2) :4 (-.5 -.3 -.2) |

Three rules for comping behind anyone:

1. The soloist's phrase ends are your entrances. Hit on the and-of-4 or the and-of-2 after they stop, and get out of the way when they start again.
2. Match the register to the gap. If the soloist is high, comp in the middle; if the soloist is low (a trombone, a baritone, a bass solo), comp high on the top four strings.
3. Dynamics follow the soloist, a step behind. A solo that builds over three choruses needs comping that builds with it: start with two hits a bar, end with four and a bigger shape. Then drop right down for the next soloist's first chorus. The most common comping mistake is to play at one volume for the whole tune.

Listening

Everything above depends on hearing the other players. Concretely, on every tune you should be able to answer: what is the drummer doing on the ride cymbal and hi-hat (that is the time you lock to, not the bass); is the bass walking or playing in two (comp more sparsely in two); where does the soloist breathe; what rhythm did the pianist just play (answer it, or avoid it); is the volume going up or down. Practise this by recording rehearsals and listening back for the moments you played through someone else's idea. Then listen to Wes Montgomery with Wynton Kelly on Smokin' at the Half Note and to Jim Hall with Bill Evans on Undercurrent, and notice how often the guitar is not playing.

Trading fours

Trading means alternating four-bar (sometimes eight- or two-bar) phrases between soloists, most often between each horn and the drummer, through one or more choruses of the form. The form keeps going underneath: the drum fours are still bars 5–8 of the tune, and the next player comes in at bar 9 on the changes of bar 9. The rules:

• The form never stops. Count through the drum fours as if the chords were being played. The example marks the chords through the drum bars so that you can keep comping the form in your head.
• End your four with a clear cadence, usually a short figure that stops on beat 1, 2 or the and-of-3 of your fourth bar, so that the drummer knows you have finished.
• Come back in on time, with a phrase that answers what the drummer played if you can.
• Nobody comps during the drum fours. Rhythm section out, except the bass if agreed.
• The order is normally the order of the solos; the last trade is often with the piano or the bass. On a blues, a common roadmap is "trade fours with the drummer for two choruses, then the head".

\tempo 150
.
\ts 4 4
:8 8.5{ch "F7" txt "guitar: 4 bars"} 7.4 10.4 8.3 :4 10.3 r | :8 8.4{ch "Bb7"} 7.3 10.3 9.2 :4 10.3 7.3 | :8 8.3{ch "F7"} 7.4 8.5 7.4 :2 10.4 | :4 r :8 8.3 10.3 :4 8.1 r |
:1 x.6{ch "Bb7" txt "drums: 4 bars"} | x.6{ch "Bb7"} | x.6{ch "F7"} | x.6{ch "D7"} |
:8 3.4{ch "Gm7" txt "guitar again"} 5.4 3.3 6.2 :2 3.1 | :8 5.3{ch "C7"} 5.2 3.3 2.4 :2 3.5 | :2 (1.6 1.4 2.3){ch "F7"} (5.5 5.3 7.2){ch "D7"} | (3.6 3.4 3.3){ch "Gm7"} (3.5 3.3 5.2){ch "C7"} |

Practise trading with a metronome or a play-along: four bars of playing, four bars of silence (counting), for ten choruses of the blues, then of an AABA tune. The silence is the hard part.

Intros

An intro sets the key, the tempo, the feel and the mood, in that order of importance. The stock choices every band knows:

• I–vi–ii–V, twice (four bars) or four times (eight bars), in the key of the tune, ending on the V7 so the melody can enter. The universal medium-swing intro; it also works as a vamp under an announcement.
• The last four or eight bars of the tune, played as an instrumental lead-in. Works for every form and tells the band exactly where the top is.
• A pedal: the V in the bass with the tune's first chords, or a I pedal, for four bars. Common for ballads and Latin tunes.
• The bridge of an AABA tune as the intro (eight bars). Less common; agree it beforehand.
• Rubato melody (the first A out of time, by the guitar or piano alone), then the count-off into time. The singer's favourite.

The example below is the count-off and the I–vi–ii–V intro, written as a band would hear it. The count-off itself is covered in the next section; here it is shown as two bars of silence with the counts marked, so that the intro starts in the right place.

\tempo 140
.
\ts 4 4
r.2{txt "one"} r.2{txt "two"} | r.4{txt "one"} r.4{txt "two"} r.4{txt "three"} r.4{txt "four"} |
\ro :2 (2.4 2.3 1.2 1.1){ch "Fmaj7" txt "intro: I vi ii V, twice"} (0.4 2.3 1.2 1.1){ch "Dm7"} | \rc 2 (3.4 3.3 3.2 3.1){ch "Gm7"} (2.4 3.3 1.2 3.1){ch "C7"} |
:1 (2.4 2.3 1.2 1.1){ch "Fmaj7" txt "head"} |

Endings

The ending is decided before the tune starts, or signalled clearly during the last chorus (a raised hand, a nod, or the leader shouting "tag"). The stock endings:

The tag. Repeat the last two bars (or four) three times, then play the final chord. On a tune that ends iii–VI–ii–V–I, the tag is the iii–VI–ii–V three times. It is the most common ending at sessions because it needs no rehearsal: everyone knows "three times".

\tempo 140
.
\ts 4 4
\ro :2 (2.4 2.3 1.2 3.1){ch "Am7" txt "tag: three times"} (0.4 2.3 1.2 2.1){ch "D7"} | \rc 3 (3.4 3.3 3.2 3.1){ch "Gm7"} (2.4 3.3 1.2 3.1){ch "C7"} |
:1 (2.4 2.3 1.2 1.1){ch "Fmaj7" txt "final"} | (0.4 0.3 1.2 5.1){ch "F6/9"} |

The Basie ending. Named after the Count Basie band's stock closer: the band hits the final tonic chord in a short rhythmic figure with a chromatic neighbour chord in the middle, holds the tonic, and then the piano answers with a quiet three-note figure high on the keyboard. Small groups have many versions of the figure; the one below, with stabs on 1, the and-of-2 (a half step up) and 4, is a common one and is the version this course uses whenever an ending is called 'Basie'. Guitarists imitate the whole thing: the three chord stabs, the held chord, then the three-note answer on the top string, here built from tones of the 6/9 chord. Whatever version your band uses, the rhythm of the stabs is the part everyone must agree on.

\tempo 120
.
\ts 4 4
:2 (3.4 3.3 3.2 3.1){ch "Gm7"} (2.4 3.3 1.2 3.1){ch "C7"} |
:4 (7.4 7.3 8.2 8.1){d ch "F6/9"} (8.4 8.3 9.2 9.1){d ch "Gb6/9"} (7.4 7.3 8.2 8.1){ch "F6/9"} |
:1 (-.4 -.3 -.2 -.1) |
:2 r :8 8.1{st} 10.1{st} :4 13.1{st} |

Other endings you must recognise:

• Ritard on the last phrase, then a held final chord with a cue to cut off. The ballad ending; watch the leader for the cut.
• The "stop on the and of 4": the band hits the final chord on the and-of-4 of the last bar (an anticipation) and holds. Common on up-tempo tunes.
• The IV–#iv°–I or IV–iv–I plagal ending, or the backdoor (iv7–bVII7–I): a two-bar extension after the last tonic.
• Ending on the bII: holding the chord a half step above the tonic (a bIImaj7#11 or a bII7#11) as the final sound, resolving or not. Agree it; it surprises people.
• Vamp and fade: repeat the last two bars quietly until the leader cuts.

Count-offs

The count-off is the leader's most important two seconds. A bad count produces a bad tempo for the whole tune, and a vague count produces a ragged first bar. The method:

1. Find the tempo before you count. Sing the melody silently, or the hardest phrase of the tune, at the speed you want, and tap it. Count from that, never from a guess.
2. Medium and up-tempo swing: "one, two, one two three four". The "one, two" fall on beats 1 and 3 of the first bar (so they are a half note apart), the "one two three four" on the beats of the second bar. Snap your fingers on 2 and 4 of both bars while you count, which is also what the drummer's hi-hat will do.
3. Ballads: "one, two, three, four" on every beat for one or two bars, quietly, so that the slow tempo is unmistakable; or count "one, two, three, four" in eighths if the tune has a double-time feel.
4. 3/4: "one, two, three, one, two, three" (two bars). Latin and straight-eighth tunes: "one, two, three, four" in a straight, even voice; a swung count will produce a swung first bar.
5. Count in the voice you want the band to play in: loud and clipped for a fast tune, soft and warm for a ballad.
6. Cueing without counting: when the tune starts with a rubato intro or a vamp, the count is replaced by a nod on the bar before the band enters, or by playing the pickup clearly. Look up when you do it.

If someone else counts, do not play until the beat they counted to; a guitar that enters on "four" wrecks the first bar.

Dynamics and the shape of a performance

A performance has an arc, and the rhythm section makes it: the head at a medium level, solos that each build from low to high, a drop before each new soloist, the drum trades or the last solo as the peak, the head out at the original level, the ending slightly bigger. Within that arc, your tools are how many notes you play per bar, the size of the voicing, how hard you pick and where you sit on the neck. Rehearse dynamics explicitly: play one chorus of a blues as quietly as you can, then one as loudly as you can without distortion, then shape a four-chorus arc on purpose. Most bands never do this, and you can hear it.

Exercises

1. Two densities. Play the comping example, then comp through a whole AABA tune twice: once as if there were no pianist (Charleston or four-to-the-bar), once as if a pianist were playing (one hit per change, held). Record both and listen for the difference.
2. Register. Comp a blues three times with a play-along: on strings 6–4 only, on strings 5–3 only, on strings 4–1 only. Decide which register suits a tenor solo, a trumpet solo and a bass solo.
3. Trading. Ten choruses of the F blues with a play-along, trading fours with the imaginary drummer: your four, four bars of silent counting. Then eights. Then with a real drummer.
4. Intros. Play the I–vi–ii–V intro in F, Bb, Eb, C and G, ending each on its V7, from memory, counted off by you.
5. Endings. Play the tag and the Basie ending in F, then move both to Bb and Eb. Then practise saying the ending out loud and counting off a tune in one breath.
6. Count-offs. With the metronome silent, count off a tune at 120, 160 and 200 bpm, then check the metronome. Repeat until you are within five bpm every time.

Quiz