To comp over a blues on guitar, start with low shell voicings of each chord, then add a little bass motion: walk to an inversion of the same chord, slip in a chromatic passing chord a half step from your target, and land important chords on beat one. Keep it clear and out of the other players’ way.
Comping is super important, and it’s super fun. I remember trying to do this kind of moving bass line with the chords and being very confused: how are you playing all these chords when there’s only one chord in the bar? It’s actually very simple. This lesson takes a blues in F, plays one option, and explains every move.
How do you make one chord move for a whole bar?
Keep the same chord, but move the bass. On F7, I start with a shell voicing and then walk the bass up to the first inversion, with A on the bottom, to lead us to B flat 7. Nothing crazy, just a little bass motion.
The chords in between are passing chords. If you want to talk about notes, one of them is kind of an E flat major first inversion and the next is E major, which is kind of wrong, but it’s just a chromatic chord. Sometimes you just need to think about where you’re going and not pay too much attention to the little details.
On B flat 7 I do exactly the same thing, literally copy and paste. It’s a really nice, simple device that gives a lot of motion while the harmony stays on the same chord. Back on F, I do the same thing in reverse. Then I had one more quarter note to fill, and I knew I was going to B flat, so I played a B7: a chromatic chord into B flat. You can also think of it as a tritone substitution.
How do passing chords lead you through the blues form?
Pick a target chord, then treat the chords before it as a line that leads there. In the middle of this blues my target is D7, which leads to G minor, so everything before it is chromatic motion toward that point.
- Bar 5, B flat 7. I just play B flat through the whole bar.
- B diminished. The diminished chord is symmetric: move it up a minor third and you get the same notes. So B diminished and D diminished are basically inversions of each other.
- F over C. Really just a triad, literally F major, but with C in the bass.
- Down by half steps. F major, E major, no shame, E flat, then D, my D7 target. You could also hear it as a diminished chord on the 7th degree of G, and it leads me to this beautiful G minor.
On G minor I want a little more motion, so I play G minor, then an A diminished as a passing chord to G minor in first inversion. You have this all the time in classical music and in a lot of styles: to extend the one chord, add a diminished on the second degree. With G minor, the 7th degree is F sharp, so it’s basically F sharp diminished over A. The bass just goes G, A, B flat, literally 1, 2, 3 of G minor.
Then I play a B diminished, because I’m trying to lead to C7. With music we’re thinking about tension and release, and I think a lot in anchor points: the more important beats of the bar or the form. C7 is important for me to articulate on beat one, so the line before it is built to land there.
Don’t feel bad that you’re playing the same chord for four beats. It’s great. Sometimes you don’t need to move all the time.
Rotem Sivan
What do you play in the last four bars?
Add a ii-V. If you have an F7 chord, you can always add a ii-V to the mix, and that gives you a little more room to move around.
In the video I play an F major voicing, then C minor in first inversion, which is the ii going to the V. Then an F7 in third inversion, with E flat in the bass, going to G minor, then D flat 13 or something of that nature, C7, and back home to F. It’s a little more chromatic, just to challenge myself. If your 12 bar blues form isn’t solid yet, get that clear first, because every one of these moves is aimed at a spot in the form.
How much should you play when you comp?
Keep it simple. I’m basically playing shell voicings and keeping it low, which I definitely like, especially with two guitars, or even just guitar and bass.
When we’re comping you don’t necessarily want to play all the colors and all the extensions, because you don’t even know what the other player is going to do, unless you can read minds, which sometimes happens too. We want to give them, whoever they are, the singer, the bass player, the pianist, something clear rhythmically, and something harmonically that won’t get in their way. Each case is different. Sometimes you want to throw a curveball, but it’s a vibe to just let it be: give them the colors, give some motion, nothing crazy.
The next step is mixing more melodic content in with the shell voicings, so the resolutions feel even stronger. The blues guitar chords lesson covers the chord shapes themselves if you want more of them under your fingers.
How do you practice comping over a blues?
Take one ii-V-I and find different ways to connect the chords. Here’s how I’d go about it:
- Know the chord tones. See the 1, 3, 5 and 7 of every chord. F7 is F, A, C, E flat. Listen to it, sing it, hear it. Then do the same with B flat 7 and the rest.
- Connect two chords. Take G minor to C7 and try to find different ways to get from one to the other. There are many, many options.
- Add a chromatic chord. Whether it’s a triad substitution or just bluntly a chord a half step beneath or above your target, adding one here and there does the trick.
- Then add more. When you feel super comfortable with shell voicings on the 5th and 6th strings, add more inversions with more extensions to resolve.
For today: put on a slow blues in F, play only F7 and B flat 7 shells, and on each one walk the bass up to the first inversion with a passing chord in between, copy and paste. I keep coming back to that same device, and it really works. If you want those shapes and inversions built from the ground up, Jazz Chord Essentials covers the four main 7th chord colors and every inversion on the 4th, 5th and 6th string sets. And when it’s your turn to solo, Simple Blues Soloing is a framework for hearing, feeling and creating over the blues.
Frequently asked questions
What chords should I use to comp a jazz blues?
Start with shell voicings, kept low on the guitar. They give the singer, the bass player or the pianist something clear without stacking colors and extensions they might not want. Once those feel comfortable on the 5th and 6th strings, add inversions and extensions.
What’s a passing chord?
A chord that leads to the next one rather than standing on its own. A simple version is a chord a half step above or below your target, like B7 going to B flat 7. Think about where you’re going, not the little details.
Can I add a ii-V to a blues chord?
Yes. If you have an F7 chord, you can always add a ii-V to the mix by putting C minor in front of it, and that gives you more room to move around. G minor to C7 near the end of the form works the same way.
Is it OK to hold one chord for a whole bar?
Yes. Don’t feel bad playing the same chord for four beats. Sometimes you don’t need to move all the time. Just playing G minor for the bar can feel great, then a little motion, then the resolution.
Put on a blues in F and comp one chorus with nothing but shells and one moving bass line. Try to listen to it and feel it.
