Jazz Comping

Kelton Norris

Junior Member
I'm a beginning jazz drummer. I've played through John Riley's Bop drumming book with no problem. I listen to drummers such as Jeff Tain Watts, Max Roach, Ari Hoening, and Billy Higgins. I have a great sense of the style of music. I dont have a problem swinging at all. I just have have an issue expressing myself on the kit like a professional drummer. If I could express myself more with comping patterns and voicings, I can move to the next level. Any ideas on how I can build this area of my playing?

-Kelton
 
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Ive been learning some jazz piano at school and its really been making me think about the drum set and its role in a new way.
So, when playing piano, your throwing these chord changes out but youre using voicings and voice leading. Your goal is to attempt to voice lead as smoothly as possibly while still maintaining the harmonic structure of the tune, yet interacting harmonically with the soloist. Youre searching for a way to have the guide tones (the tones you would sing as you heard the changes pass) blend as easily as possibly with one another.

Heres a way Ive been thinking about this as it pertains to the drums. So I have my voices that Im using in these harmonic structures (all the aspects of the drum set) and Im trying to pick the guide tone voices. So I might be thinking in a strictly straight ahead jazz situation that my ride is the third of the voicing, establishes the quality of mthe "voicing" my snare drum is then functioning as a guide tone and my bass drum as more of a color tone within a chord, so possibly a b9 of a chord or a #11 or #5 or whatever upper extension I wanna visulize for that situation, sometimes it is more colorful in the situation, sometimes it is establishing the true color of the "chord" im trying to convey. At this point I would try and think of the best way to use my guide tones (snare drum) to fill out a soloists phrase, or move from one idea to the next, with the solo, following their "changes." This is something like shell voicings on a piano I suppose, there is a solid idea of what the voices are going to be fulfilling within the voicings. SO the entire time Im listening to the soloist and instead of spitting back phrases to them, Im trying to fill them out and think not only in terms of their rhythm but the harmonic rhythm as well.

When time begins to break more, Im thinking of more instruments in regards to their role and function as guide tone, quality of what Im playing, dissonance of the voicing Im choosing to use, etc etc etc. But the entire time, trying to think of the smoothest voice leading I can use.

This might have been very confusing and I apologize if it is really far off from what you are looking for.

Heres a simple way to get into it. Just listen to the soloist, focus on them to the point where you could sing the solo back once they finished, thats the hardest part. But view yourself as something you would be hearing independently, like someone else playing and play what youre hearing as what would enhance the soloists solo.

Comping has a dual meaning though, acCOMPany and COMPose, think of youre role as not only accompaniast as co-composer of the music. Give ideas take ideas. It should sound like no one person is listening to the other, but that your are spontaneously composing this music that is syncing together perfectly. Just listen. Hard. And if the soloist and everyone else is listening hard things will work.

Keep running exercises, get it to the point where you can play what youre hearing (I dont know if anyone can get there actually because your ears progress so much faster than any other element of you playing), but strive for that. And sound COMFORTABLE. Thats where solidity is gonna come for. Dont sacrifice the groove in swing music for anything. And finally, play jazz with as many and the best jazz musicians you can. Playing with recordings is great, but I could sing you a lot solos and knowing whats about to happen is far different from reacting to it on the spot. Thats number one, play with people. Itll take time and more work than you can ever imagine (or at least than I ever could) but itll start ot become natural. Just shed shed shed, play play play.
 
Well, I was using voicing as a link to ideas on the piano. These are your choices as to organizing the notes that compose a chord.

Comping is the role of the drummer, pianist, really everyone but the solist, to accompany or compliment the soloist. So adding embellishment to their phrases as they are soling. When you hear a jazz drummer playing a standard ride pattern and then plays the and of 4 on the snare drum this is an example of comping. Its a way of interacting with a soloist.
 
I'm a beginning jazz drummer. I've played through John Riley's Bop drumming book with no problem...I have a great sense of the style of music. I dont have a problem swinging at all. I just have have an issue expressing myself on the kit like a professional drummer.

Something's amiss here. If you can play through Riley's book well at a variety of tempi, and have a great sense of the style of the music, then you should have all the physical and mental tools to at least begin to express yourself well on the instrument in a straight ahead jazz context.

Perhaps your skills aren't as polished as you think, or perhaps you simply need to allow yourself a bit of time to work on improvising. It's not as though great jazz drummers became so over night. They have taken years - decades even - to work on their ideas and expressing them on the kit.

Here's an exercise - play a standard jazz ride pattern with your right hand. Optionally, play 2 & 4 on the HH, though you can also use the HH as a comping voice. Now, sing some melodic and rhythmic ideas while keeping your ride pattern going. Once you can comfortably sing your ideas, try playing them with your hands and feet. You can use existing material for the melodic content: i.e. well known heads, or ideas you've heard played by drummers or soloists in a jazz context, or even the suggested comping lines in Riley's book. It's not really important at first, we're simply trying to grease the wheels.

Basically, this exercise is about developing the connection between your physical facility (chops) and the sound in your head. In order to improvise well, the connection needs to be fast and efficient. We're trying to sing with our bodies.

Also, as soon as possible, find other musicians to play jazz with. Only in the heat of the battle - so to speak - can you really learn what works and what doesn't.
 
Hi Kelton,

As was mentioned in several replies above, try to start thinking more melodically. Also, be sure to outline the song structure as well as the phrasing that the soloist is using.

Have you tried transcribing melodic solos? It will give you a much better understanding of how jazz musicians construct ideas and solos around a song. Also, try playing a melodic solo on the drumkit. This will get you thinking more about melody and less about rhythm.

One other thing to practice is playing the melody of a tune on the drums. Orchestrate it around the entire kit. You can do this while playing time or not.

It takes practice and A LOT of playing with other people. Try to attend as many sessions as you can.

I could go on ad nauseum on this topic...feel free to contact me directly. ;-)



Good luck!
Jeff
 
That's what I thought it was...

...comping is like for example, when listening to so me John Coltrane or Miles DAvis and the drummer (not sure one of them Tony Williams) and hear the jazz ride pattern but then out of nowhere comes a random hit on the snare drum, with perhaps some of the shortest fills ever...

...it's odd, how can the drummer know when to add those comping elements, weren't the solos improvised?
 
That's what I thought it was...

...comping is like for example, when listening to so me John Coltrane or Miles DAvis and the drummer (not sure one of them Tony Williams) and hear the jazz ride pattern but then out of nowhere comes a random hit on the snare drum, with perhaps some of the shortest fills ever...

...it's odd, how can the drummer know when to add those comping elements, weren't the solos improvised?

Yes, as is the comping.

It's all about having BIG ears.

It also requires having BIG ears.

Then it's about the speed of moving from conception to physical execution.
 
...it's odd, how can the drummer know when to add those comping elements, weren't the solos improvised?

It's mostly about melodic or rhytmic motivs and manipulating them on the fly with tools you have developed over years and YEARS of practice and improvisation with other people. It also requires a great deal of trust and respect between the players involved.
 
...it's odd, how can the drummer know when to add those comping elements, weren't the solos improvised?

The drummer (and the rest of the band for that matter) must LISTEN to the soloist and play complimenting patterns (hence the term 'comping').

Listen to as many records as you can. Transcribe what the drummers play behind a solo...this includes the ride pattern AND any fills or snare hits. Pay close attention to how this stuff relates to the solo.

Even more important is to get out there and play with other people! Attend jam sessions or establish your own.

Learning how to comp appropriately won't happen overnight. It's a very specific art.

Good luck! ;-)
 
Hi DeltaDrummer
Very good examples of soloing..you are very well schooled in drum history. Thanks for sharing this information. It was great..I need to find my sticks quickly!!!!!! Denis
 
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