Rhythm Section Workshop for Jazz Directors: Guitar Book & CD

This workshop cuts through the endless cycle of rhythm section struggles by offering concrete, immediately applicable exercises. Fischer and his co-authors (all active jazz educators and performers) understand exactly what derails a section's time feel and articulation, and they address those problems without requiring expensive clinicians or extensive rehearsal time.

The workshop feels like having a patient mentor in the room who knows exactly where comping breaks down. Each exercise builds confidence by isolating one skill at a time, whether it's rhythmic accuracy, voicing consistency, or blending with the bass player's sound.

Jazz directors managing rhythm sections in high school or college ensembles, small group combos, or vocal jazz settings will find this book essential. Guitar players who know basic changes but struggle with jazz-specific comping vocabulary and time-feel integration will benefit from the structured approach. Praise and worship band leaders needing to solidify their guitar foundation will also find practical value here.

• Isolate the guitar comping patterns from the included CD before rehearsing with the full rhythm section. This lets your player internalize the voicing shapes and rhythmic placement without the pressure of locking with drums and bass.
• Have your guitarist work through the exercises in sequence rather than jumping to examples that sound most familiar. The book builds understanding of jazz harmonic language and how to voice chords for maximum clarity in the ensemble.
• Use the recorded demonstrations as a reference for tone and articulation. Your guitarist will absorb the swing feel and ghost-note density by listening repeatedly before attempting to match the sound.

Deploy this in the first two weeks of your jazz season to establish a strong rhythmic and harmonic foundation across all combos. It works equally well as a sectional resource for struggling rhythm sections mid-year or as a standalone mini-clinic for guitar players joining your program. The 16-page format means you can assign specific exercises as homework between ensemble rehearsals.

• Jazz comping vocabulary and chord voicing for guitar
• Time-feel accuracy and swing articulation
• Rhythmic notation reading in jazz contexts
• Coordination between guitar, bass, and drums
• Ghost-note placement and dynamic control