How to comp: five left-hand rhythms for beginners

Ask a beginner what the left hand does in jazz, and they usually say “it plays the chords”. True, but incomplete. In a jazz group the pianist comps, short for accompanies, and comping is as much about rhythm as about notes. A great comper sounds like a second drummer who happens to play harmony.

This lesson gives you the simplest jazz voicing and five rhythms to play it in. Every example has a bass line, so you hear what comping really is: a conversation with the band.

The simplest jazz voicing: two notes

For comping you don’t need big chords. Two notes are enough: the 3rd and the 7th of each chord, the guide tones. They tell the ear whether the chord is major, minor or dominant. The bass player takes care of the root.

In a ii–V–I in C:

• Dm7: F and C (3rd below, 7th above)
• G7: F and B (7th below, 3rd above)
• Cmaj7: E and B (3rd below, 7th above)

Notice how little the hand moves: F stays, C falls to B, then F falls to E. Listen with the bass:

Rhythm 1: one long chord per bar

Start with the simplest: play the chord on beat 1 and hold it to the end of the bar, together with the bass. Your only job is to change chords exactly in time, on the first beat of the new bar.

Rhythm 2: beats 1 and 3

Now two hits per bar, on beats 1 and 3, together with the bass. It sounds calm and a little old-fashioned, which is fine. What matters is that every hit is exactly in time.

Rhythm 3: the Charleston

The Charleston is the rhythm every jazz pianist knows: a short chord on beat 1 and another on the “and” of 2. Count “1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and”, and play on the bold syllables. It has a lift that even notes on the beat don’t have.

Keep the chords short, almost staccato. A short chord swings; a held chord drags.

Rhythm 4: anticipation

Now the most jazz-sounding move of all: play each new chord an eighth note early, on the “and” of 4 of the bar before, and hold it. That is the only hit in the bar. This is called an anticipation. It makes the music lean forward into the next bar.

This one feels strange at first, because you change chord before the bass does. Practise it slowly, counting out loud, until the anticipation feels natural.

Rhythm 5: the “and” of 2 and 4

Now play on the “and” of 2 and the “and” of 4. This is the anticipation feel you just learned, twice in every bar: the “and” of 2 anticipates beat 3, and the “and” of 4 anticipates beat 1 of the next bar. Count “1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and”, and play on the bold syllables.

Play the chords staccato: very short, then lift the hand. Short chords leave space, and space is what makes it swing.

You never land together with the bass, so the two of you fill different spaces. It’s light, it swings, and it leaves plenty of room for the soloist.

Putting it together: mix the rhythms

Real comping never repeats one pattern for long. The pianist changes rhythm every bar or two, answers the soloist and anticipates the next chord.

And the most important rule: you don’t have to play every chord. Leave rests. Comping is there to support the right hand (or the soloist), not to cover it. When the right hand plays a phrase, the left hand plays less, or stops. When the right hand rests, the left hand can answer.

Here is a 12-bar blues in F. The right hand plays three short phrases from the blues scale; the left hand mixes the five rhythms and leaves whole bars empty to make room:

For the blues, the guide tones move by half steps: F7 has A and E♭; B♭7 has A♭ and D. One finger moves down a half step, the other down a half step too, and back. You barely leave one hand position.

How to practise comping

1. One rhythm per day, ii–V–I in three keys, with a metronome on beats 2 and 4 (the jazz way).
2. Count out loud while you play. If you can’t count and play at the same time, slow down.
3. Mix two rhythms: Charleston for two bars, anticipation for two bars.
4. Comp for a recording. Put on a blues you love and comp along softly. Listen to what the pianist on the record does, and copy one idea.
5. Record every take and listen back. As a listener you hear your time far better than while you play.

Mistakes I hear most often

• “I can’t miss a chord!” Yes, you can. You don’t have to play every chord: rests make room for the right hand and the soloist, and the bass player keeps the harmony going. Leaving chords out is part of comping.
• Holding every chord. Short chords swing. Lift your hand.
• Playing on every beat, all the time. Space is part of comping. Leave bars empty.
• Too loud. Comping supports; it doesn’t lead. Play softer than the melody.
• Rushing the anticipations. The “and” of 4 is late in the bar, not halfway. Count it.
• Big chords too early. Two notes in good time beat five notes in shaky time.

Questions students ask

Do I need a bass player to comp?

No. When you play alone, add the root on beat 1 with your left hand and comp with the right, or play the guide tones with the root added underneath.

When can I use bigger voicings?

As soon as two-note comping feels easy in several keys. The next step is the four-note rootless voicings in my lesson on Bill Evans voicings: the rhythms on this page work exactly the same with them.

How do I know which rhythm to use?

Listen to the soloist. When they play a lot, comp less. When they leave space, answer them. When the music builds, anticipate more. That listening is the real skill, and it grows with every tune you play.

Recommended listening

Ten lessons in comping from the records. Listen to the piano only: when it plays, when it waits, and how much space it leaves.

1. “Oleo”, Miles Davis Quintet · Relaxin’ (1956): behind the trumpet solo only the bass plays; piano and drums come in on the bridges
2. “Bags’ Groove”, Miles Davis · Bags’ Groove (1954): Thelonious Monk, piano: listen to how much space he leaves
3. “So What”, Miles Davis · Kind of Blue (1959): Bill Evans answers the bass with two short chords
4. “Straight, No Chaser”, Miles Davis · Milestones (1958): Red Garland, piano
5. “Walkin’”, Miles Davis · Walkin’ (1954): Horace Silver, piano
6. “Blues March”, Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers · Moanin’ (1958): Bobby Timmons, piano
7. “Sandu”, Clifford Brown and Max Roach · Study in Brown (1955): Richie Powell, piano
8. “Four”, Miles Davis Quintet · Workin’ (1956): Red Garland, piano
9. “Sister Sadie”, Horace Silver · Blowin’ the Blues Away (1959)
10. “Freddie Freeloader”, Miles Davis · Kind of Blue (1959): Wynton Kelly, piano