FreddieTheCrab
Verified buyer
01/15/26
With this vid you go from having no real comping game plan to having the full offensive line at your command.
Exploring Melodic Jazz Comping
17 Distinctive Melodic and Harmonic Comping Approaches
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David Shorr
Educator
Genres
About this course
In the world of jazz, the art of comping—short for "accompanying"—is essential for any guitarist. Comping involves providing harmonic and rhythmic support to a soloist or vocalist, enhancing the overall performance while staying in the background. It requires a deep understanding of chord voicings, rhythmic patterns, and musical interaction.
David Shorr demonstrates and breaks down 17 essential comping approaches in his ‘Exploring Melodic Jazz Comping’ interactive curriculum.
”We’ll work on a colorful variety of melodic and harmonic approaches that we can use when comping for a soloist or vocalist. We’ll work on crafting more sophisticated comping parts using Drop 2 voicings, chord subs, approach chords, diminished concepts, and voice leading.
We'll also dive into triadic approaches, partial chords, using ‘Scales as Chords’ and the art of borrowing notes and dominants. You’ll learn how these melodic comping approaches can be artistically applied using backing tracks based on the changes to popular jazz standards like 'Autumn Leaves,' 'Another You,' and 'All the Things You Are.”
CONCEPTS & APPROACHES INCLUDE: The Drop 2 Chord System | Getting Through the Changes | Common Chords Substitutions | Dominant & Diminished Approach Chords | Melodic Movements | Major 6 Diminished Concept | Minor 6 Diminished Concept | Substitution Concepts Part 1 | Substitution Concepts Part 1 | Using the Scale as Chords | Borrowing Notes | Voice Leading Movements | Triadic Substitution Approach Part 1 | Triadic Substitution Approach Part 2 | Borrowing Dominants & “Chromatic Planing” | 6 Diminished with 3-Part Harmony | Block Chord Melodic Moves
You’ll have TrueFire’s interactive learning tools at your fingertips to customize your workspace and learn at your own pace.
The demonstrations and performances are tabbed, notated, and synced to the video lessons with controls for looping, slow motion, fretboard animation, and other tools designed to accelerate your progress.
You’ll also get the tab and standard notation files to print out, downloadable Guitar Pro files to edit, and backing tracks to practice and record with.
Grab your guitar, and let’s dig in with David Shorr!
David Shorr demonstrates and breaks down 17 essential comping approaches in his ‘Exploring Melodic Jazz Comping’ interactive curriculum.
”We’ll work on a colorful variety of melodic and harmonic approaches that we can use when comping for a soloist or vocalist. We’ll work on crafting more sophisticated comping parts using Drop 2 voicings, chord subs, approach chords, diminished concepts, and voice leading.
We'll also dive into triadic approaches, partial chords, using ‘Scales as Chords’ and the art of borrowing notes and dominants. You’ll learn how these melodic comping approaches can be artistically applied using backing tracks based on the changes to popular jazz standards like 'Autumn Leaves,' 'Another You,' and 'All the Things You Are.”
CONCEPTS & APPROACHES INCLUDE: The Drop 2 Chord System | Getting Through the Changes | Common Chords Substitutions | Dominant & Diminished Approach Chords | Melodic Movements | Major 6 Diminished Concept | Minor 6 Diminished Concept | Substitution Concepts Part 1 | Substitution Concepts Part 1 | Using the Scale as Chords | Borrowing Notes | Voice Leading Movements | Triadic Substitution Approach Part 1 | Triadic Substitution Approach Part 2 | Borrowing Dominants & “Chromatic Planing” | 6 Diminished with 3-Part Harmony | Block Chord Melodic Moves
You’ll have TrueFire’s interactive learning tools at your fingertips to customize your workspace and learn at your own pace.
The demonstrations and performances are tabbed, notated, and synced to the video lessons with controls for looping, slow motion, fretboard animation, and other tools designed to accelerate your progress.
You’ll also get the tab and standard notation files to print out, downloadable Guitar Pro files to edit, and backing tracks to practice and record with.
Grab your guitar, and let’s dig in with David Shorr!
What you'll learn
- Create smooth voice leading between substitute chords
- Apply drop 2 chord voicings in comping contexts
- Navigate the second half of a jazz standard progression using advanced substitutions
- Mix and match chord inversions for varied melodic lines
- Develop melodic content within block chord accompaniment
Release date: 09/12/2024 • 2h 21m runtime
Sample lessons
Autumn Etude 2: Adding Movement
Overview
Autumn Etude 2: Adding Movement
Performance
All The Things Etude 1: Small Chords
Performance
What's included
32 lessons • 23 charts • 6 Jam Tracks
Exploring Melodic Jazz Comping
Hey there, I'm David Shorr. In this course, we’ll explore melodic jazz comping, showcasing a colorful variety of melodic and harmonic approaches. Whether you're comping for a soloist or a vocalist, we'll work on crafting more sophisticated parts using drop-two chord voicings, chord substitutions, approach chords, diminished concepts, and voice leading.
We'll also dive into triadic approaches, partial chords, and using scales as chords, along with the art of borrowing notes and dominance. You'll learn how to artistically apply these melodic comping techniques with backing tracks based on the changes to popular jazz standards like Autumn Leaves, There'll Never Be Another You, and All the Things You Are.
The course includes tab sync, notation, looping controls, and fretboard animations to help you practice and learn at your own pace. Ready? Grab your guitar and let's get started!
We'll also dive into triadic approaches, partial chords, and using scales as chords, along with the art of borrowing notes and dominance. You'll learn how to artistically apply these melodic comping techniques with backing tracks based on the changes to popular jazz standards like Autumn Leaves, There'll Never Be Another You, and All the Things You Are.
The course includes tab sync, notation, looping controls, and fretboard animations to help you practice and learn at your own pace. Ready? Grab your guitar and let's get started!
The Basics
Before diving into the course, it’s important to cover a couple of foundational concepts. You should have at least a basic understanding of jazz harmony. This includes knowing how a 7th chord is constructed, what it means to alter a dominant chord, and the different ways you can do so.
You should be familiar with terms like flat 9, sharp 11, flat 5, and flat 13. If these concepts are new to you, I recommend starting with an easier course and exploring some of the other material on the site before tackling this one. If you’re comfortable with these ideas, let’s get started.
You should be familiar with terms like flat 9, sharp 11, flat 5, and flat 13. If these concepts are new to you, I recommend starting with an easier course and exploring some of the other material on the site before tackling this one. If you’re comfortable with these ideas, let’s get started.
Autumn Etude 1: Drop 2 Structures
In this segment, we'll start by learning about the drop-two concept in the drop chord voicing system. Then, I'll show you how to play a set of voicings over changes based on Autumn Leaves.
Autumn Etude 1: Drop 2 Structures
In this segment, we'll start by learning about the drop-two concept in the drop chord voicing system. Then, I'll show you how to play a set of voicings over changes based on Autumn Leaves.
The Drop 2 Chord System
What you just heard is a chord study based on the changes to Autumn Leaves, using only drop 2 chords. I'll first explain what a drop 2 chord is and why they're common and useful for guitarists. A drop 2 chord involves taking a chord voicing that’s easy to play on the piano in close position and making it playable on the guitar. For example, if we take a C major 7 chord and move it to G major 7, the notes are G, B, D, and F#. On the piano, you could stack these notes in close position, but on the guitar, it’s nearly impossible due to the physical constraints of the instrument. Drop 2 simplifies this by rearranging the notes—numbering them from the top down, we drop the second voice by an octave, making the chord more playable and adding movement to our chord accompaniments.
Getting Through the Changes
Now that you're familiar with the drop system and drop 2 chords, let's go through the chord changes used in the etude. We start with a C minor 7 in root position, using a drop 2 voicing with E flat in the melody voice, which is crucial for voice leading and creating a melodic pathway through the harmony. From there, we move to F dominant 7 in third inversion, a voicing that may be new to you but offers strong voice leading by shifting just two notes to reach Bbmaj7 in first inversion. The bass and inner voice movements are minimal but effective. This leads to an Ebmaj7 in root position, and then to one of my favorite voicings, a second inversion A half-diminished chord, which sets up a smooth transition to a standard D7 without extensions, allowing the plain dominant sound to provide sufficient tension. This resolves to a G minor 7 in second inversion, with the flat 7th on top, creating a strong melodic line even with minimal movement. Remember, comping doesn’t always require constant movement; sometimes, it's best to let the harmony breathe by holding a chord for a while.
Autumn Etude 2: Adding Movement
In this section, we're going to go through a slightly more complex version of the etude based on the changes to 'Autumn Leaves.' We're also going to talk about a variety of different ways to inject some movement into our chord accompaniments.
+ 25 more lessons
Reviews
3 results
elaborate107B
Verified buyer
09/24/25
good teacher
All I can say is : buy it , its a very profound and deep insight of the topic and can broaden your horizons . . .
boogie50
Verified buyer
12/01/24
Opens up a whole new approach
Great courses. Really helps take your comping to the next level. Work thru the course and in the end, you'll sound like a pro.
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