Comping Masterclass
Harmonic Rhythm
“I added Phil Robson’s Harmonic Rhythm to my playlist because I was looking for other approaches for improvising and comping to complement what I am already doing. Harmonic Rhy…”
About this masterclass
Phil Robson tackles harmonic rhythm — where the chords change within the form of a tune — opening with a musical introduction over the changes of Autumn Leaves. He works from simple turnarounds and a standard ii-V-I framework, though the concepts translate to more contemporary material. The central theme is the manipulation of cadences, making this in some ways a continuation of his earlier class The Diatonic Equation, with very different approaches and information.
What's covered
- Dividing and breaking up two-bar and four-bar phrases, with fine detail on creating effects of anticipation and delay — over both major-key and minor-key turnarounds
- Displacing basic and more complex phrases rhythmically within the bar — the effect of moving a phrase by a quarter note or an 8th note, especially with repetition
- Motivic development: transposing phrases so melodic and rhythmic ideas are expanded rather than simply duplicated
- Playing 3/4 dotted rhythms and motivic phrases in a 4/4 context — hearing syncopated patterns that play through the barlines, with references to ragtime, second line, Wes Montgomery, and John Coltrane
Rather than teaching licks, Phil explains the concepts in depth so you can apply and explore them on your own; the accompanying written material gives clear examples to learn first. The class closes with a brief up-tempo blues example. 6 pages of written material in TAB and standard notation. Running time: 89 minutes.
"Phil Robson is one of New York's most brilliant Jazz Guitarists! You will learn a lot by checking out this class" - Vic Juris
Lessons in this masterclass
Lessons
- 1Harmonic Rhythm1m 28s
Reviews & Ratings
"Excellent Concepts!"
Nicely laid out and demonstrated! Phil (I have never heard of him) is an excellent player! Wow what control! I really like his ideas. This video deserves multiple viewings because there is so much info imparted. This class is a must have! Thx Phil!
"top"
this is it !!!! thank you very much,
"Creating Motion in My Solo Lines and Comping"
I added Phil Robson’s Harmonic Rhythm to my playlist because I was looking for other approaches for improvising and comping to complement what I am already doing. Harmonic Rhythm details the techniques of playing chord changes (ii-V-I-VI) in advance (anticipation) or behind (delay) of where they are written. Also, important is Phil’s discussion on phrase placement in relation to the beat and bar-line as a way of making some phrases standout from the rest in your improvisation and/or connect your melodic fragments to one another. Phil talks about how to change the feel of any phrase by setting it to different parts of bar. I am also using his methods (note placement and note duration) to embellish the written melody of a tune. There may be some instructional material out there that mentions this approach, but Phil’s workshop goes into a detailed step-by-step approach to retraining your hearing to hear an idea in motion towards future rhythmic and harmonic resolution targets. But at the end of the day, what Phil offers in this lesson is another process/method of creating single-note and chord motion across the bar-line (to create tension and release within a phrases). The ultimate goal for me is to be able to play anything anywhere; and create rhythmic and melodic freedom during my solos and comping. Phil’s lesson gets me one step closer to this destination. Thanks Phil, Guy
Great video the handout alone to see his voice leading changes from the video. So many ideas to work on in the video from begging to end. I hope he does more videos for Mike's Master Classes.
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