Swinging when playing solo guitar?

[SammieWammie]

Just a quick question I have, how do you swing while playing solo guitar, chord melodies and walking comps and such. I know how to swing, I still can't but I know what swing is, how you play lines behind the beat, accent the offbeats, changing the timing how much behind the drums and bass you're playing to make it more interesting etc. But when you are playing the bass and possibly the backbeat on the guitar with chords and lines how do you do it? E.g a walking comp I guess you'd want the walking right on the beat but should you be comping in swung rhythms? That would mean when the bass and the chord both hit on the one they would be coming in at different times which doesn't seem right. Also with chord melody, how do you play behind the beat if you are the beat? While playing lines you can play the 8th notes swung but when playing more than one part it gets confusing where separate parts should be placed rhythmically.

[CGKnight]

I'm also interested in an answer to this. ^^

[matt.guitarteacher]

The beat is implied whether you're playing it or not. A sax player, playing solo on the street, can have everyone tapping there foot and feeling the beat even if he rarely plays "on it". You don't have to have a reference instrument playing on the beat.

With guitar you simply have more possibilities available with multiple voices interacting.

Find some good walking bass exercises and try to get a feel for it. There doesn't have to be set pattern. Sometimes the bass could be playing more on the beat and other times it could've upper voices. I usually put the melody kind of where I want it to be beatwise and have theother parts interact with it to make it swing. Mostly a feel thing.

Listen to some good piano trios and try to get that feel.

[SammieWammie]

Thanks Matt, so you're feeling the beat in your mind and probably feet too as if you have drums going and play in relation to that, even if not playing on that, am I right? What about when walking and comping, should you have the walking quarter notes right on the beat and comping off the beat or should you be walking late as well?

[JakeAcci]

Listen to Monk play solo!

[matt.guitarteacher]

Originally Posted by SammieWammie

Thanks Matt, so you're feeling the beat in your mind and probably feet too as if you have drums going and play in relation to that, even if not playing on that, am I right? What about when walking and comping, should you have the walking quarter notes right on the beat and comping off the beat or should you be walking late as well?

I'm no pro on this stuff either, but you should be able to

1) put the bass note on the beat with the chord on the following "and"
2) put the chord on the beat with the bass note on the following "and"
3) put the bass note on the "and" of the beat with the chord on the following beat
4) put the chord on the "and" of the beat with the bass note on the following beat
5) play everything on the "and" of the beat and still swing
6) play everything on the beat and still swing like crazy

but again, it's just a feel thing. A lot of bass players play just slightly ahead of the beat the whole way through, but not by any measurable note value. It's not something you really think about. It's a feel. Listen to a lot of trios and try to just play in the style of the pianist's left hand. It's all over the place. Do the same thing for the bass player. Then, both at the same time.

This is an extreme example but....: Keith Jarrett Trio - All of You - YouTube

For the first 2 minutes there's barely anything on the beat. A lot of off-beat accents and playing around the beat, but it's there, implied by everything else that's going on.

[derek]

Originally Posted by SammieWammie

Thanks Matt, so you're feeling the beat in your mind and probably feet too as if you have drums going and play in relation to that, even if not playing on that, am I right? What about when walking and comping, should you have the walking quarter notes right on the beat and comping off the beat or should you be walking late as well?

I would say yes to all the above. I am tapping out the rhythm, and can hear it in my head. If you mess with it so you are on and then lay it back, that contrasts the thing, making it more pronounced when you do.

[timscarey]

Originally Posted by matt.guitarteacher

The beat is implied whether you're playing it or not.
.

Indeed,

+1

I like to rock my foot back and fourth...... heel, toe, heel, toe, 1, 2, 3, 4,

It helps put the groove somewhere other than my fingers, from there I just imagine a drummer and go for it. Matt's got some good advice.

[Socrates]

I came across this guy on youtube and I think it is a great example of playing swing on solo guitar.

http://youtu.be/GV3ELc6NCEc

He manages to pick out the melody - often in octaves - while interjecting nice chordal stabs in the gaps, there is no need to have a bass note for every beat cos the listener's mind fills in the gaps.
His internal pulse must be spot on to play like that.
I would recommend taking a standard that you are familiar with and try to give it similar treatment, maybe starting really slow and steady to begin with and gradually working up to a faster pace.
I wouldn't worry about improvising lines until you are comfortable with the technique though, this guy has obviously been stranded on a desert island with nothing but an Archtop for half his life