comping in a band with a bass player and soloist

rafapak · #1 07-21-2011, 07:05 AM

hi guys

when you play chordal accompaniament for a soloist and when you use voicings that cover E1 string you piss off the soloist. When you use voicings that cover E6 string you piss off the bassist. Does it mean that when comping in a band with a bass player and a soloist one should rather use voicings on middle four strings ( BGDA)?

Jake Hanlon · #2 07-21-2011, 07:09 AM

i've never met a soloist who was pissed off about using your top string, I don't know if you read that in a book or if you were told that by a teacher or peer but it's perfectly fine to use the whole instrument to comp for someone. You just have to actually listen to them and be sensitive to what range they are in and try to avoid being in their way.

In all honesty most soloists don't care anything about what voicings you play as long as it's in time and you're not playing wrong notes. Only really studied (not meaning people who went to school for music) people who pay attention on higher levels will make a comment about you being too close to where they're playing all the time.

rafapak · #3 07-21-2011, 07:53 AM

thanks for reply

Kman · #4 07-21-2011, 08:43 AM

The main thing is the feel. The time has to be good. Focus on that.

I generally stay away from the low E string.

swingsurseine · #5 07-23-2011, 09:39 AM

You should always try to use your mid 4 strings when comping with a bass. What´s important for doing this is that your lowest note shouldn´t actually be the bass note of the chord you are playing. The bass already takes care of that for you. So instead, try on focusing on the 3 and the 5 of the chord, and possible extensions.

Most of the time, 3 notes per chord are enough, big voicings usually just add unnecessary amounts of "fullness" to the sound, I personally think the "air" gets lost.

rafapak · #6 07-23-2011, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by swingsurseine

You should always try to use your mid 4 strings when comping with a bass. What´s important for doing this is that your lowest note shouldn´t actually be the bass note of the chord you are playing. The bass already takes care of that for you. So instead, try on focusing on the 3 and the 5 of the chord, and possible extensions.

Most of the time, 3 notes per chord are enough, big voicings usually just add unnecessary amounts of "fullness" to the sound, I personally think the "air" gets lost.

do you imply that seventh should not be played in the lowest voice because it is in close distance to the root already occupied by the bassist? Do you think that for comping the best voicings are the ones with the third plus the seventh plus extension ?

swingsurseine · #7 07-23-2011, 11:42 AM

I try to comp on the DGB strings, so having the seventh as the lowest voice does not really hurt it here, since it is pretty far away from the bass at this point. however, having it on the lower frets of the A string kind of clashes to my ears. Actually, that´s quite right. 3/7/extension or 7/3/extension are actually my preferred voicings. A nine or a sixth as an extension doesn´t hurt most of the time.