Discover to Comp Like Jazz Legend Freddie Green

One of my preferred rhythm guitar techniques is the one that the late jazz master Freddie Green originated in his deal with the Count Basie Orchestra. Throughout his 50 years on the gig, Green played an acoustic archtop, unamplified. His strumming was in some cases more felt than heard, it contributed so much to Basie’s signature noise and swing. Green’s design– quarter-note strums in 4/4 time (aka “4 to the flooring”)– appears easy enough. It’s hardly ever mastered. When attempting to play in the way of Green, guitar players tend to utilize a lot of notes in their chords and to strum them too loudly. As you play through this guide on Green’s design, make every effort for a less strong, swinging feel. And make sure to utilize a metronome, set to beats 2 and 4, to keep things tight. Week One This week you’ll evaluate the most typical diatonic (within the very same secret) seventh chords, with roots on the 5th and 6th strings. Example 1 portrays fifth-string-rooted chords within the C significant scale. (If you take place to be on a 12-fret guitar, do not fret about playing the chords that fall method up on the neck.) Based on the C significant scale, Example 2 utilizes sixth-string-rooted chords. Example 3 corresponds Ex. 1, other than it leaves out the fifth of each chord– a note that Green usually prevented. The 5th is thought about inessential, as it does not specify the noise of the chord like the 3rd or seventh do. Example 4 reveals fifth-string-rooted voicings on the surrounding strings 5– 3 that likewise consist of simply roots, thirds, and sevenths. You’re back to sixth-string-rooted chords, this time without fifths, in Example 5. Novices’ Tip # 1 Learn all of these examples up and down the guitar neck by heart, as you’ll discover the chords all over the location in jazz and other designs. Week Two Example 6 utilizes the exact same chord shapes from Exs. 1 and 2, however in typical chord developments. The very first 2 bars are based upon the I– vi– ii– V in C significant; the next 2 bars are on the iii– VI– ii– V. The fifths in these chords are left out in Example 7, for a more Green-like noise. In the 3rd and 4th steps, keep in mind making use of typical tones– the Em7 and A7 chords share the fifth-fret G, and the Dm7 and G7 chords share the third-fret F. This produces smooth shifts in between chords. Examples 8 and 9 take the very same method as Exs. 6 and 7, however the very first chord in each bar is rooted on the 6th string and the 2nd one on the 5th string. In Ex. 9 you’ll see another typical tone in action; the greatest note of both the Dm7 chord and the G7 is the tenth-fret F. See if you can extend the pattern to the Em7 and A7 chords. Newbies’ Tip # 2 Always search for the 3rd and seventh of each chord in these examples. Week Three Now that you’ve woodshedded on the chords from Weeks 1 and 2, it’s time to enter Green’s comping design. In the previous examples you disposed of the fifths of chords. Years earlier, when I studied with Bucky Pizzarelli, he informed me that Green frequently distilled things down even further– ghosting all however one of the notes in a three-note chord. Basically Green played one-note chords! Example 10 shows this method with the development from Exs. 7 and 8. As you can see, all of the notes are silenced, conserve for those on the 4th string. Today you just have one brief figure, because it may take some practice and concentrate on your worrying fingers to get the music up to speed. The technique is to strum all 6 strings while fingering the three-note chords– stressing the external notes gently and letting just the 4th string ring– all while totally weakening the staying strings with the undersides of your worrying fingers. Newbies’ Tip # 3 When playing in the Freddie Green design– or jazz in basic– make certain to accent beats 2 and 4. Week Four In Example 11 you’ll discover the very first 4 bars (8, if you count the repeat) of rhythm modifications– the harmonic development from the Gershwin tune “I Got Rhythm,” among the commonest kinds in jazz, on which many other structures are based. The example starts with a fifth-string-rooted Cmaj7 chord, with just its 3rd (E) sounding. Right away following that chord, you’ll likewise see the intro of a brand-new chord type, the completely reduced seventh, which is utilized to nicely link diatonic chords. A C# dim7 chord (the underlying shape is, by fret number, X423XX) bridges the Cmaj7 and Dm7 chords, simply as a D #dim 7 then links Dm7 and E7. Example 12 reveals the whole bridge of rhythm modifications, with its series of dominant seventh chords moving counterclockwise along the circle of fifths. Keep in mind how the fourth-string notes come down in cool half actions in between the chords. After you’ve overcome all 4 weeks of this lesson– and you believe you’ve got a feel for the Freddie Green design– attempt playing through some requirements utilizing the very same technique. Play chords with simply roots, thirds, and sevenths; chords with just thirds and sevenths; and naturally, those including just one note. Make certain to preserve a swinging feel, with a focus on beats 2 and 4. The Freddie Green design need not be restricted to jazz. Whatever design you play, particularly in ensemble settings, this minimalistic method can declutter and breathe fresh life into your music. Novices’ Tip # 4 Play through the chords in a phony book utilizing voicings which contain just roots, thirds, and sevenths.

Learn more