Rhythm and accompaniment in jazz
Copyrighted materials: to view and download resources from this lesson, you’ll need to be in the UK and
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can identify idiomatic playing styles of the rhythm section instruments and understand how they interact.
Key learning points
- Rhythm sections have idiomatic ways of comping (playing the accompaniment).
- Chordal instruments (piano, keyboard or guitar) comp using syncopated rhythms and extended chords.
- The typical jazz ‘swing groove’ uses swing quavers, syncopated rhythms and accents, without heavy use of kick drum.
- Drummers sometimes use brushes to create a softer timbre.
- The bass often plays walking bass lines.
Keywords
Comping - when the rhythm section play an accompaniment to a melody; there are many different styles of comping
Extended chords - chords that include more than three notes
Brushes - drum sticks with bristles that drummers often use to create a soft, gentle timbre in jazz
Accent - a note that is emphasised more than other notes
Common misconception
Rhythm section musicians follow detailed notation when playing.
Rhythm section musicians will follow simple information, usually just the names of the chords. They then 'comp', improvising their rhythms based on those chords.
Teacher tip
Pupils can extend their learning by exploring inversions of the extended chords. Encourage them to play the chord sequence while moving their hand on the keyboard as little as possible. This is more in keeping with jazz piano technique than jumping between root position chords.
Equipment
DAW, MIDI keyboards
Licence
Sign in to continue
Our content remains 100% free, but to access certain copyrighted materials, you'll need to sign in. This ensures we’re both staying within the rules.
P.S. Signing in also gives you more ways to make the most of Oak like unit downloads!
