Concepts for Comping: Lesson 22
- Jay EuDaly
- Nov 11, 2025
- 4 min read
November 2025 Newsletter
Become a Site Member! Sign up HERE!
Concepts for Comping: Lesson 22 - II-V-I (4-Voice)
I'm going to make this lesson public. If you've wondered what these “Concepts for Comping” lessons are, here's one you can see without signing up to be a Site Member!
This lesson is on one of the common diatonic chord progressions we drilled in lessons 4-6, and demonstrated in nine different songs (lessons 10-19), namely, II-V-I. Unlike the previous lessons, which used 3-voice 7th chords, these are 4-voice chords.
Starting in the key of C, 6th-string root: The II chord is Dmin7, Open Voicing. The V chord is G9, Close Voicing, and the I chord is Cmaj7, Open Voicing. We'll then double-flat the 7 to get a C6:
The next key around the Circle is F (close to open):
...and so on around the Key Circle. Notice that Open to Close ascends from II to V and Close to Open descends from II to V.
Here's the video:
Video Lesson:
What's Wrong With My Hand? Death Grip!
This video is about a technique issue that I see in almost everyone I teach. Namely, over-squeezing with the fretting hand.
If you want to see a blog of this lesson that includes detailed explanation along with pictures of optimum hand position and finger placement go HERE.
There's a whole series of free technique lessons in the “Members Only” section of the website.
Not a Site Member? Click on the “free technique lessons” link above and a sign up form will pop up; sign up and you'll be rerouted to those technique lessons.
Blogs Published Since Last Newsletter:
John Elliott: Part 4: The story of my relationship with the jazz pianist, arranger and educator John Elliott is such that it has taken 3 installments to tell thus far. I studied with him for almost 7 years (mid-1979 to Feb of 1986), but because my guitar method owes so much to him, I dealt with him for years on credit, copyright and residuals questions relative to my book, Vertical Truth: Chordal Mechanisms for the Guitar. John died in 2013 at the age of 87, yet new developments keep surfacing. This blog is the latest chapter.
Comping Concepts: Lesson 21: October Newsletter: Concepts for Comping, the Aeolian/Dorian Distinction, Blog Links, Tune of the Month & more…
My opinion is, "Nope." Clapton has never surpassed what he did with Cream. I was highly influenced by Cream; and it wasn't just Clapton.
Tune of the Month:
This is a camcorder video from 1996. It features Hammond organist Everette DeVan, with whom I worked on-and-off for many years. It's an example of my favorite format; Hammond organ-based music where the organist is playing bass with his left hand. He's in total control of the tempo, the feel, the harmony - pretty much everything, and Everette was a Master! I learned a ton by working with guys like this. There's no substitute for it.
I used this video in the blog, How I Play Songs I Don't Know.
This performance is from the Saturday Afternoon Jam which has run continuously in Kansas City since 1984 and is still ongoing! You can read an account of this historical jam session from its beginning up to 2023 HERE.
Site Members:
I offer live consults to Site Members. This consult is an on-demand deal for Site Members only. It can be used for whatever you want - anything related to guitar or lessons that you've viewed, purchased &/or downloaded from Master Guitar School; it can be used as a feedback loop to make sure you understand the lesson and are drilling it correctly.
For a limited time, I'm offering a 30-minute consult to Site Members for just $20. (regular price is $45).
NOTE: This will be the last month that this discounted price is available.
If your question can be adequately dealt with by email, I will respond and there's no charge.
This is a members-only page; you must be a Site Member and logged in to view.
Not a Site Member? Sign up HERE.
How About 5 Lessons?
The 5-Lesson Foundational Series teaches the Circle of Keys as an organizational mechanism by which you ensure that whatever you learn is drilled in every key in all possible positions. It also gives you a method to find any note, anywhere, without memorizing note names on every string. That is a beautiful thing!
Almost every lesson I teach presupposes these 5 lessons.
You can download the 5-Lesson Foundational Series right here with no further obligation or commitment:
Click the pic to access the download page:
Check out Master Guitar School!
Sign up as a Master Guitar School site member and get access to over a hundred site-based lessons, a monthly newsletter that contains a brand-new lesson, and DEEP discounts on lesson series downloads - plus more!
For more information on site membership see: Why Become a Site Member?
Click the pic for Jay's Bio
Comments