It is fairly common for guitar players to memorize chord fingerings (or grips) and
then play songs using muscle memory. Speaking as a guitar player, I admit that at
times I will grab a fingering without thinking about the notes that I am playing.
Today’s lesson takes a look at thinking melodically when comping. It is an advanced
lesson, dealing with melodic direction as part of the accompaniment process. Not
only is this technique very musical for comping, but as the guitarist begins to master
the performance practice, this technique can also be used as a solo performance
technique.
About Tom Wolfe
Tom has been performing for over 30 years – playing in ‘garage bands,’ school bands, and in church. He first began performing professionally at the age of 17. Shortly after, Wolfe was accepted into the Jazz Studies Program at Capital University. There he studied guitar with Stan Smith and Tom Carroll. Soon after his enrollment in the program, his teachers began to recommend him for gigs when they were unavailable to play. In a very short time, Wolfe had begun to perform with artists such as Bob Hope, Englebert Humperdink, Chita Rivera, Jerry Van Dyke, Rosemary Clooney and touring shows such as Grease, Annie, etc.
