A Comping Master Class with Jim Hall
By Adam Levy
From Guitar Player, August '99
At first hearing, most listeners concentrate on Jim Hall's
improvised lines. His lyrical phrases -- and the spaces he leaves
between them -- are something special. Hall's understated comping is
less immediately obvious, but when you listen closely, his chordal work
is at least as focused and musical as his single-note playing. Hall
comps sparsely enough to avoid distracting soloists, yet he'll spur
them on by subtly spicing up a tune's harmony and rhythm. n "Comping is
really about listening," says Hall. "So is improvising, of course, but
then you're listening to yourself -- hearing the phrase you've just
played and reacting to it to create a melodic narrative. When comping,
your job is to listen to the soloist and react."
Small Is Beautiful
With that in mind, Hall relies on two- and three-note voicings for
accompaniment. "They keep the music clear and uncluttered," he
explains. "Big, full-voiced chords are hard to move gracefully, and
they tend to get in the soloist's way. With smaller shapes, you can
easily alter one or two of the notes in your chord to better compliment
what the soloist is playing."
To illustrate his point, Hall plays Ex. 1 -- the harmony for the
first eight measures of "All the Things You Are." As you can see, he
regularly omits chord roots. Many of his voicings consist only of the
chord's 3 and 7. The G and C at the beginning of measure 4, for
instance, form an abbreviated Amaj7. Compare Hall's chord choices to
the original chords above them.
Quartal Magic
This example shows how quartal harmony (chords built in fourths)
figures prominently in Hall's palette. Quartal chords are cool not only
because they sound hip, but because they are harmonic chameleons. For
example, the three-note quartal voicing in measure 1 could stand in for
many different chords: Fm7(11), Bm7(11), A6/9, A13, D6/9, D13, and
G795. The quartal E7sus4 in the second measure is an odd substitute for
the song's original harmony (Bm7), but voice-leads perfectly to Hall's
E7sus4 chord in measure 3.
Ex. 2 shows how Hall comps through in the next eight bars of "All
the Things You Are." Again, artful voice-leading makes his harmonic
substitutions sound as natural as the song's original changes. Notice
the open-voiced triads in the last two measures. These wide, simple
sounds are a clear departure from the compact extended and altered
voicings Hall played to this point.
Bass-Chord Dialog
One reason Examples 1 and 2 sound uncluttered is that Hall leaves out
virtually all the bass notes. However, he regularly employs another
type of comping that does include sparsely placed bass notes. Ex. 3
shows how Hall applies this technique to a blues in G. Notice how the
bass and chords play off each other, creating a musical dialog. "I
think of bass notes and chords as the left- and right-hand parts a
pianist might play," says Hall.
He attacks the bass notes (in this example, the notes below the
staff and the lowest voice in each four-note chord) with his pick,
grabbing the rest with a hybrid pick-and-fingers grip.
Green Rhythms
"Of course, you can always just play straight 4/4 rhythm," says Hall
playing Ex. 4. "I think of this as a drummer playing time on the
hi-hat. I keep my right hand moving up and down in eighth-notes, and
just play accents where they're needed. Sometimes I'm hardly hitting
the strings at all." Jazzers often call this "comping Freddie Green
style" in homage to the great rhythm guitarist in Count Basie's big
band.
Harmonized Bass Lines
Another technique is what Hall calls a "harmonized bass line." The idea
is this: Walk a quarter-note bass line on the sixth string and drag
simple chord voicings (usually just the 3 and 7) along the third and
fourth strings to shadow the bass line.
This type of comping is particularly effective if you're playing
without a bassist. When making up your own harmonized bass lines, be
sure to treat the line as the most important element. This isn't about
hip chord voicings; it's about making a strong bass line and creating
momentum with a steady rhythm.
Ex. 5a shows a walking bass line for the first four bars of a
blues in G. Ex. 5b shows Hall's harmonization, and Ex. 5c shows a
variation.
Work It Out
Practice these comping techniques until you can make them swing with
any kind of chord progression at any tempo. Apply them to your favorite
standards. "For practice, record yourself playing a melody, and then
comp along with the tape," Hall suggests, though he adds that this is
no substitute for playing with living, breathing musicians.
Hall finishes our comping lesson with a bit of Zen guitar
philosophy: "One of the most important lessons I've learned is you
don't have to play all the time. When you're not sure what to play, lay
out. In other words, don't just do something -- sit there."
