Comping with two notes: the guide tones

When my students start jazz piano, most of them already know their triads. Then they open a lead sheet, see Dm7 – G7 – Cmaj7, play all four notes of each chord with the left hand, and it sounds heavy, muddy and not at all like the records.

The fix is simpler than it sounds: play fewer notes. Two are enough.

The two notes that matter

Every 7th chord has a 3rd and a 7th, and these two notes tell the ear almost everything:

• the 3rd says major or minor;
• the 7th says what kind of 7th chord: major 7th, 7th or minor 7th.

These two notes are called the guide tones. Play only them in the left hand and the chord is already there. What about the root? In a band, the bass player plays the bass line, and the roots are part of it. The 5th adds almost nothing. So your left hand is free to play just the colour of the chord.

Listen to three chords on C. The bass is the same; only the two notes change:

Two ways to play them: 3–7 and 7–3

You can play the two notes in two orders:

• 3–7: the 3rd below, the 7th above (C7: E–B♭);
• 7–3: the 7th below, the 3rd above (C7: B♭–E).

Why learn both? Because switching between them is what lets your hand stay in one place while the chords change. Always choose the one that is closer to the chord before.

The ii–V–I: one note moves a half step

The most common progression in jazz is the ii–V–I: Dm7 – G7 – Cmaj7 in C. With two notes, it looks like this:

Follow the notes. The F of Dm7 stays and becomes the 7th of G7. The C falls a half step to B, the 3rd of G7. Then F falls a half step to E, and B stays. At each change one note stays and one note moves a half step. This tiny movement is the skeleton of jazz harmony, and two notes put it right under your fingers. Press All 12 keys to hear it go around the circle of 4ths:

Give the left hand a rhythm

A chord held for a whole bar sounds like a hymn. Jazz pianists play the left hand short and rhythmic. The first rhythm to learn is the Charleston: a short chord on beat 1 and another on the “and” of 2. Here are the guide tones in the Charleston rhythm, under a short melody I wrote for this lesson:

Practise the left hand alone first, counting “1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and”. Then play the melody with the right hand. When the two hands feel independent, you are comping for yourself.

Two notes in a 12-bar blues

A blues in F uses three chords: F7, B♭7 and C7. The left hand plays only the 3rd and the 7th of each chord, and the bass player plays the bass line:

• F7: A – E♭ (3–7)
• B♭7: A♭ – D (7–3)
• C7: B♭ – E (7–3)

Now watch what happens when the chords change. From F7 to B♭7, A falls a half step to A♭, and E♭ falls a half step to D. The 3rd of F7 becomes the 7th of B♭7, and the 7th of F7 becomes the 3rd of B♭7. From F7 to C7 the same thing happens upwards: A rises a half step to B♭, and E♭ rises a half step to E.

This half-step motion is the heart of jazz voice leading. When chords move by a 4th or a 5th, as they do in the blues and in every ii–V–I, the 3rd of one chord sits a half step from the 7th of the next. So the hand barely moves, and the chords sound connected, like voices singing. The only bigger move is from C7 to B♭7 (bars 9–10), where both notes step down a whole step. The whole blues lives under one hand position.

How to practise

A short, regular routine works far better than one long session a week. Ten minutes a day is enough:

1. Two minutes: three chords on one root. Cmaj7, C7, Cm7, then the same on F, B♭ and so on. Say the notes out loud.
2. Four minutes: the ii–V–I in three keys. Today C, F and B♭; tomorrow E♭, A♭ and D♭; then G♭, B, E; then A, D, G. Four days, all 12 keys.
3. Two minutes: the Charleston rhythm. The same ii–V–I with a metronome or a backing track at 80, left hand short.
4. Two minutes: one chorus of the blues in F, left hand only, then with a simple right-hand line.

Go slowly enough that you never stop. A ii–V–I played in time at 60 teaches you more than one played at 120 with pauses.

Mistakes I hear most often

• Playing too low. Down in the bass, two notes turn into a growl. Keep the lower note between about D and A♯ below middle C, where the examples on this page sit.
• Thinking in shapes instead of notes. Know the names: “In G7, B is the 3rd and F is the 7th.” If you only remember shapes, you will be lost in a new key.
• Never leaving C. Most real tunes are in F, B♭ and E♭. Use the All 12 keys buttons above.
• Holding the chords. Keep the left hand short and rhythmic.

Questions students ask

What if I play alone, without a bass player?

The two notes still work, and the ear fills in the rest. When you want a fuller sound, add the root underneath. That is a later step; get the two notes moving smoothly first.

Which hand plays the guide tones?

The left hand, so the right hand is free for the melody or a solo.

Can I add more notes?

Yes, later. The 9th, the 13th and the other colours sit on top of the guide tones. Colour notes only sound good on a solid skeleton.

Do guide tones work on every tune?

On almost every standard. The same two notes work on a ballad, a bossa nova or a fast bebop tune; only the rhythm changes.

What comes next

Once the two notes feel easy in all 12 keys, try five comping rhythms for the left hand, and play a whole tune: “Autumn Leaves” is built almost entirely from ii–V–Is. Later come the ii–V–I voicing drill and the rootless left-hand voicings that give the modern jazz piano sound.

Recommended listening

Listen to the pianist’s left hand behind the soloists: short, simple chords that let the music breathe.

1. “Tenor Madness”, Sonny Rollins · Tenor Madness (1956): Red Garland, piano
2. “St. Thomas”, Sonny Rollins · Saxophone Colossus (1956): Tommy Flanagan, piano
3. “If I Were a Bell”, Miles Davis Quintet · Relaxin’ (1956): Red Garland, piano
4. “Blue Train”, John Coltrane · Blue Train (1957): Kenny Drew, piano
5. “All Blues”, Miles Davis · Kind of Blue (1959): Bill Evans, piano
6. “Walkin’”, Miles Davis · Walkin’ (1954): Horace Silver, piano
7. “Mr. P.C.”, John Coltrane · Giant Steps (1959): Tommy Flanagan, piano
8. “Cool Struttin’”, Sonny Clark · Cool Struttin’ (1958): Sonny Clark, piano
9. “Tune Up”, Miles Davis Quintet · Cookin’ (1956): Red Garland, piano
10. “Soul Station”, Hank Mobley · Soul Station (1960): Wynton Kelly, piano