Voice leading has to do with the way that the notes of a chord move to the next chord in a progression; where consideration is given to how each voice or line sounds in a musical sense.
Drawing upon a voccabulary of fixed chord shapes – which is often a start point for beginners – is not ideal when it comes to Jazz comping because it does not ensure the good movement/resolution between chords and does not provide a sense of motion where this is required.
Whilst using ‘grips’ does not require much knowledge about chord construction, in order to facillitate effective jazz comping through the observation of good voice leading, we must be able to think in terms of notes and how they relate to the chords. We must be able to think about this quickly – if we are in an improvisational context. It also requires a good knowledge of the fingerboard. Being able to do this frees everything up so we are not bound by a limited chord voccabulary: we can make up chords on the hoof – totally improvised to suit the occasion.
Whilst there are many contexts in which Jazz comping can happen – and each will take its own approach – we will assume for the sake of argument that a bassist is present. Not only does the bass provide forward moment, drive and a sense of pulse, its top priority is to play chord roots. In which case, it is not necessary for the guitarist to play them; which makes it easier to negotiate jazz harmony where some notes have to be sacrificed. If the bass plays the root then the guitarist does not have to. Instead, he can focus on other notes: 3rds, 7ths and then 9ths, 11th and 13ths; and perhaps the 5th if it is altered (sharpened or flattened). Incidentally, the 5th is the bassists second choice of note after the roots.
- basic voicings
- multi-use voicings
- using passing chords
- harmonised scales