Triads or Shell voicings?

[MarkRhodes]

There's definitely different schools of thought in terms of guitar harmony. It really depends on what you like to hear. .

Excellent post. I like the shell voicings with lots of 3-7 resolution (-the bebop / Sheryl Bailey approach) I also like the 6th chord a lot for swing-style comping. I just love that sound. I don't do as much with 4ths but may experiment more with that in the coming year.

It's good to be well versed----especially if one wants to play in different settings: solo, duet, combo, big band, or just to play along with records in various jazz styles--- but I think Reg is right when he talks about players needing a "default," whether it is picking, fingering, or chord voicing. You have to have some things you can do without thinking about them.

[Irez87]

Whoa, Chirillo's videos are quite popular on this thread. It was a hoot and a holler studying with James, and he was a stickler about musicianship (sing, sing, sing). In terms of triads, I can't get enough of 'em. Three-note chords an two-note chords are easier to hear and really manipulate. When I studied with James, he had me go through GVE's Guitar Method. I still go back to that book, I think there is a whole thread of GVE on the site.

With triadic and dyadic comping, you can focus on hearing the lines of each chord change. A big component of my comping studies these days have been on horizontal movement versus vertical pictures. I know that Howard Morgan embraces the idea of movement as well.

In terms of musicianship, go to muse-eek.com and check on Bruce Arnold's two note studies. I have been using these studies as well as time studies and singing studies to really increase my competence in comping. I think that accompaniment is most exciting when you are truly in the moment with the band and the improviser. Stock grips were the reason why I got bored of comping, as they always seemed so rigid to me (play this voicing here, and that voicing there).

After studying triads, I found that I could combine them with stock grips and dyads to make my comps more lyrical and responsive. Listen to pianists play, they often use dyads and "shells" all over. Listen to Jim Hall with Paul Desmond, small chords done beautifully.

[alt-G]

I use these chords and this is my application. These rhythm chords are the basic ones. After lerning those you can
add tones like 13ths and 9ths to them. The chords on the voicings section will give you nice chords without roots. The rhythm chords will give you a foundation and the voicings will extend your knowledge.
Fretbuzz