The First 5 Comping Patterns to Teach Your Students
Rhythm is an essential cornerstone of jazz. In the same way you build melodic vocabulary for use in soloing, students of jazz must build a rhythmic vocabulary to aid in comping behind others as well as add variety to their improvisation. Outlined below are five bread-and-butter rhythms that will help your students develop an authentic sound in their school band.
1) Freddie Green’s ‘Four-to-the-bar’ rhythm
Made famous by Freddie Green during his time with the Count Basie band, this quarter-note pulse provides stability and a great swing feel when timed correctly. Although deceptively simple, students should focus on not rushing the pulse and instead feeling the “pocket” of the beat to make it swing most effectively.
2) The ‘Charleston’
Originating from the Charleston dance of the 1920s, this rhythm has become a staple in great jazz compers. To provide maximum swing, the second beat should be short (and in some cases accented) to contrast with the longer dotted quarter-note.
3) The displaced ‘Charleston’
The “Charleston 2.0” is a fantastic teaching tool for demonstrating how rhythms can be displaced to fall on different beats within the bar. In this example, the first beat falls on the ‘&’ of 1 instead of the downbeat. This same strategy can be applied to any rhythmic pattern to facilitate more interesting comping and soloing.
4) Straight-forward syncopation
This rhythm can easily be explained as adding an additional beat between the first and second beat of the Charleston. However, it is also a great example of a syncopated riff that can be repeated throughout a chorus to achieve momentum through the form.
5) The “Red Garland”
With the emphasis on the ‘&’ of 2 and 4, this rhythm utilized heavily by the renowned pianist Red Garland is another rhythm that can prove effective when repeated throughout an entire chorus. Better yet, the anticipatory note on the ‘&’ of 4 teaches students the principle of anticipating the first chord of the next measure by playing it on the last beat or half-beat in the previous measure.