Auto-Comping

Guitarist Juampy Juarez teaches auto-comping — his name for a technique he has been developing in which you accompany yourself, thinking of the guitar polyphonically, like a pianist, a big band, or an orchestra. Juampy traces the idea back to the genius Lenny Breau, and points to Ed Bickert, Jim Hall, Ron Eschete, and Vic Juris as other great players who use auto-comping (or self-comping).

What's covered

• Playing simple lines, then filling in with chords — lines that keep sounding while dense chords appear
• Working with a few notes, like guide tones
• Soloing with chords and chords with voice leading
• Modern jazz harmony — clusters and quartal chords — plus more traditional applications
• Two-line ideas to develop independence between voices

These ideas are useful in trio and solo settings, and for composing and improvising alike. Includes 13 pages of written material in standard notation and TAB. Running time: 55 minutes.