Comping, which means to accompany, is such an important aspect of guitar playing. I spend considerable time in the book dealing with various approaches to comping. One simple approach and yet vitally important is the use of double note comping. This example uses a combination of guide tones (3rds & 7ths) plus the 4th interval for a very expressive sound. The double note approach gives us a break from playing all of those big voicings plus it adds variety to our playing.

The most important thing to remember when playing the walking bass style is conscious of time. The bass line has to be a solid groove, so be aware of your time. I would suggest listening to some of the classic organ trio groups and focus in on the bass line played by the organist. The groove is unmistakable.

Any chords used in addition to the walking bass line are secondary in importance. This example uses mostly half steps to lead into the next chord. A couple of scale sequences are also used. So when you think about it, a walking bass line is not that difficult...it really is a simple thing to do!

This chord solo uses the call and response technique. Throughout this solo, the call is stated in octaves and the response is stated in chords. This example is very representative of the classic Wes Montgomery sound. The octave approach used throughout this chorus is pure Wes! Notive the triplet figure used in bar eight. Wes would regularly employ the triplet in all of his music.

Remember to keep this solo groovin'! The tempo must be relaxed.

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