Comping
Lesson time: (1min 19sec)
Tim Richards explains comping, accompanying a soloist by playing chords in one or both hands, and how varying the rhythm between the hands keeps the backing alive.
Course preview
This lesson is part of the course Exploring Jazz Piano: Major Triads
Watch a preview of the full course below.
Lesson transcript:
Left Hand Comping in Music
So, playing chords in the left hand like that, you could call that left hand comping. Comping is short for accompanying.
Joining a Band
If you were in a band and wanted to join in with someone soloing, you could:
- Play the chords in the left hand
- Use any of these triad positions
- Vary the rhythm as well
Two-Handed Comping
One of the things I did on the audio track was to play two-handed comping. Here's an example:
- Try to vary that.
- Try to vary the rhythms.
Notice that I'm playing 1, 2, 3, 2, 3, 2, 3. That rhythm is not the same as what the right hand's doing.
Timing and Interaction
Sometimes it's good that the hands play together. Sometimes, it's beneficial that they play different rhythms and interlock with each other.
About the instructor
Critically acclaimed jazz pianist and composer Tim Richards is one of Britain’s most experienced jazz educators, teaching piano privately for over 30 years, as well as at Morley College, Goldsmiths College, the University of Surrey, Premises Studios and other venues in the UK and abroad. He has produced numerous titles for Schott Music, including the best-selling two-volume Exploring Jazz Piano, Blues, Boogie & Gospel Collection and the acclaimed Improvising Blues Piano. He is also co-author, with John Crawford, of Exploring Latin Piano and Brazilian Piano Collection.More recently Schott have published Jazz, Latin & Modern Collection (15 pieces for solo piano), comprising Tim Richards originals alongside pieces by Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk, and the two volume set Beginning Jazz Piano (now a two-part MusicGurus course).“The real joy of Tim’s music… is that it is both hugely educational but also such great fun to play. Anyone with the slightest interest in learning to play or teach jazz piano should really acquire a set of Tim’s books.” PianoDaoAs a performer Tim has been a presence on the UK jazz scene since the 1980s, also playing the blues with UK and US legends such as Otis Grand, Earl Green, Dana Gillespie, Larry Garner, Joe Louis Walker and Mojo Buford. He has released over a dozen albums as a leader (featuring many of London’s best jazz musicians including Pete King, Gilad Atzmon, Tony Kofi, Jason Yarde, Seb Rochford, Ed Jones, Dick Pearce and many others), and toured all over Europe with line-ups ranging from duo to nine-piece. His latest recording, the album ‘Telegraph Hill’ by the six-piece Hextet, was described in The Observer as "A true joy from beginning to end". More info can be found on his website www.timrichards.ndo.co.uk read more