Bossa Nova comping

[AmundLauritzen]

I've been playing swing/bebop for a few years now, but the bossa nova still is a mystery for me in regards to how to comp in a way that doesn't step on the toes of the rest of the band. When comping on a bebop tune I avoid the low E string when I can in order to stay out of the bassists way, but I noticed a lot of good bossa nova players play these big chords including the low E string and they make it work somehow. I know the bass usually alternates between the root and fifth, but what about tritone subs? Wouldn't it clash if one guy chooses a sub and plays the bass note while the other doesn't?
I've been looking for instructional material on this subject, but it seems limited. Preferably I would like to find something done by brazillian guitarists since those are heads above anyone else. I want to be able to play like that. The really good cats there have perfect time, and I am searching for clues for how to learn bossa nova correctly. There are a lot of non brazillians who play it with syncopated bass, bad voicings etc and I want to avoid that. Can anyone point me to instructional material that ensures that I learn authentic voicings for comping in this style? There's got to be something out there. Thanks!

[gersdal]

Try this:


There's a lot on comping, although the title indicates else wise...

[randalljazz]

this is the best single resource, by a brazilian. many examples from actual recordings of top players (toninho horta, oscar castro-neves, joao bosco, etc), with and without lower strings.



Amazon.com: The Brazilian Guitar Book (9781883217020): Nelson Faria: Books

[Bill C]

+1 Another vote for Nelson Faria's book.

[ronjazz]

Both of these books are excellent, but applying the principles is the hard part. I would recommend 2 sources: the Sinatra/Jobim recordings, and any or all of Joao Gilberto's recordings. Gilberto invented bossa-nova guitar, and Jobim learned directly from him. On the Sinatra recordings, Jobim tends to stay in the higher register and avoid basses, while Gilberto's accompaniments make use of such devices as 3rds, 5ths and 7ths in the bass to create countermelodies. Also, if you are working with a bassist, roll off your own bass frequencies, in general , the bass will be far enough away (a fifth or more) that there should be very little clashing even if the guitarist is using the 5th and 6th strings. The "real" bass register starts at our C on the 5th string, so avoiding notes below that might be your choice if you're hearing interference with the actual bassist.

[AmundLauritzen]

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions! Ron, that cleared it up a bit for me. I'll my ear and listen closely whenever I approach the bassists register. I will see if I can find some performances from Joao on YouTube so I can see what he is doing until I can get that Nelson book.

A pianist I play with showed me a book once called "Inside the brazillian rhythm section". While it featured a few voicing examples for guitar, it was not a strictly guitar oriented book. I had the chance to check it out, as well as the accompanying CD. I mean that book is worth the price just to hear the performances on the CD. It grooves like no tomorrow, and there are certainly a lot to learn, but it was not focused enough on the guitar for me to spend money on - at this point. I think more experienced players will greatly benefit from it though. Hopefully, I'll get remotely close to the level of those brazillians during my lifetime, heheh. Right now I need to learn the right voicings and voice leading, as well as get as many different claves as possible in my repertoire.
Speaking of claves, do you usually decide on a common clave with the drummer before playing? Someone told me once that you need to play the same clave as the drummer. Thanks!

[cosmic gumbo]

Latin Guitar

[ronjazz]

Well, the clave is the basic rhythmic structure, so a brief discussion might be in order. However, in music of African origin and influence, such as samba, there are different parts for each rhythmic instrument, including hand drums and shakers, etc. In bossa, the drummer does play the clave, the guitar plays off it, and the drummer and guitarist can improvise a bit on the rhythms. Your best way into that is to play along with whatever you can find that you know the changes to. Gilberto's Ipanema is in D, so sketch those out and play along with his youtube with Caetano Veloso. Gilberto is so free that you will think you are lost more than once, it's excellent training.

[mhch]

The hard part of playing good bossa nova guitar is to get the habit of constantly varying rythm patterns and accents across the song

I recommend Carlos Arana two books on Brazilian Guitar,

Bossa Nova Guitar: Essential Chord Progressions, Patterns, Rhythms and Techniques: Carlos Arana:

which are very didactic and thorough, specially on using the many possible pattern variations. In my opinion, these books are the only ones providing something more than enumerating a few patterns.

[ronjazz]

Listening to Gilberto or Romero Lubambo is also a great way to hear the variations, both rhythmic and harmonic.

[Jimand]

Originally Posted by ronjazz

Listening to Gilberto or Romero Lubambo is also a great way to hear the variations, both rhythmic and harmonic.

Romero Lubambo has a DVD of Bossa Nova comping patterns. I haven't seen it.

http://www.amazon.com/Bossa-Guitar-L.../dp/B00076YPPI

[L_Totti]

In my opínion you just need to listen to a lot of Bossa records , until it becomes as natural as Bebop...

[FatJeff]

Originally Posted by mhch

The hard part of playing good bossa nova guitar is to get the habit of constantly varying rythm patterns and accents across the song

I recommend Carlos Arana two books on Brazilian Guitar,

Bossa Nova Guitar: Essential Chord Progressions, Patterns, Rhythms and Techniques: Carlos Arana:

which are very didactic and thorough, specially on using the many possible pattern variations. In my opinion, these books are the only ones providing something more than enumerating a few patterns.

Is this book in French, or in English?