Playing Lines and Chords at the Same Time

Juampy Juarez shows how to combine single-note lines and chords into one integrated approach — the skill behind solo guitar, duo, and trio playing, where you have to comp behind yourself, finish phrases with a chord, and improvise chord melodies on the spot. The lesson draws on Juampy's own experience in those settings and on the techniques of master players like Lenny Breau, Ed Bickert, Jim Hall, and John Stowell, all of whom excel at the art of solo guitar and auto-comping.

What's covered

• Auto-comping: comping behind your own lines and finalizing phrases with chords
• Joe Diorio's innovative II-V-I approach
• Seeing the guitar like an orchestra or big band — no more single lines versus chords
• Guide tones, guide chords, and comping with a single line
• Counterpoint and two-line playing
• Clusters and quartal and quintal harmony
• Harmonic ideas from Bill Evans and McCoy Tyner, fathers of modern jazz harmony

If you play in trio, duo, or solo settings — or want to — this polyphonic concept opens up a wide range of new things to do on the instrument.