In jazz styles, rendering a song's harmony -- particularly in relation to the soloist or melody player -- is an art form often called "comping." In this lesson we'll be looking at some fresh ideas for comping, with the main goal being to break away from the guitaristic tendency to play all of a chord's tones simultaneously. Instead, we'll take a more pianistic approach, handling chordal movement as stacks of staggered melodies.

Ex. 1 is a IIm7b5-V7-Im progression in A minor. See how the melody (up-stemmed notes) and the chords (down-stemmed) move independent of each other? Though this takes a little extra finesse on the part of both hands, the resulting effect is much more interesting than just nailing the chords on the downbeat of each measure. You may want to try practicing the melody and chords separately, then joining them when you're comfortable with each element.

Ex. 2's more dense approach works great for slow ballads, where time may seem to stand still without some kinetic comping. Like Ex. 1, this style is typically pianistic. Make sure to let all the notes ring out for their full value, as the richness of the voices rubbing together is essential to the magic of this method.

Practice these examples until you can play them without peeking at the page. Only then will you be able to vary them to suit your own creative tastes, and that's really the point -- to get them conceptually, then use them as models for crafting your own musical phrases. As with any new skill, your study time will be greatly enhanced by lots of listening. Check out jazz pianists, such as Bill Evans and McCoy Tyner, and guitarists who play pianistically, like Jim Hall, Joe Diorio, and Ed Bickert. Study this lesson and listen to these players, and you'll be tinkling the imaginary ivories faster than you can say "Bosendorfer."