Jazz chords - online course in jazz comping for vibes by Ted Wolff

Today there are many books and methods available that introduce the principles of jazz music. A true art form, jazz is a rich and vibrant mode of musical expression that captivates audiences all over the world.

During a typical jazz performance, a soloist is accompanied by a rhythm section made up of a chordal instrument (piano, guitar, or vibes), a bass player, and a drummer. The role of the chordal instrument is to provide harmonic support for the soloist. This job is often called "comping", and it is the focus of this course.

Comping requires many of the same skills as improvising. Both the soloist and the accompanist are attempting to create spontaneous music that describes, or suggests the tonal centers of the tune, while inventing melodies and textures that have logic, form, and direction in their own right.

The information, exercises, and examples presented here are designed to help the vibist learn about the art of comping. This is not a course that requires the student to memorize a gazillion different chord voicings. Each lesson presents information and ideas that teach you how to create your own chord voicings instinctively, and how to use those voicings to effectively support the soloist. Our goals are:

Keep the memorization down to a minimum.
Become skilled at modifying and re-structuring basic voicing concepts to fit the moment.
Create colors and sounds that can inspire the soloist.

A good accompanist can make a good improviser sound even better. The relationship between soloist and accompanist is like a dance; a creative interplay of ideas and emotions.

Interactive games to help you learn

Try out the interactive exercises that you can do right on your computer. There are also graphic notations and some Flash audio clips to help make all these concepts and ideas as clear as possible. You'll need to be sure Javascript is enabled in your browser. For best results use Firefox version 1 or higher, or Internet Explorer version 7 or higher. The audio requires a Flash plugin for your browser. If you need one get it HERE .

This mini-course consists of 3 lessons. Lesson 1 contains concepts, ideas, and exercises to help strengthen and speed up the ability to recognize the notes that make up tonal centers (the key areas) of tunes.

Lesson 2 will go into detailed analysis of the all the chords you see most often - maj7, maj6, min7, min6, dom7 with both natural and altered tensions, dim7, and min7 b5 chords.

Lesson 3 will talk about voice leading and developing a musical, creative approach to move from one chord to the next. You'll learn a technique I call the Top-Down Approach to comping. There will be more interactive exercises to develop the speed necessary to move accurately and musically from one chord to the next.

These lessons are meant to stimulate your imagination and improve your understanding of basic music theory. They strive to give you the tools to spontaneously construct chord structures that describe the key center accurately, and have valid musical merit as well. So.....when you are ready, let's START.