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Turnarounds: Using Shifting Melodies Elsewhere
We are not restricted to only using a shifting melody as part of a turnaround at the end of a progression. This type of phrase can also be used to change between chords anywhere in the chord progression. The same rules apply in that you need to establish the first chord with one or two notes from…
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Turnarounds As Intros And Endings
Turnarounds can be used as cool attention-grabbing intros to a song. Just start the intro from the shifting melody line in bar 11 and the rest of the band can kick in wherever feels good in bar 12 or at the start of bar 1. Just the same as intros, a good turnaround is an…
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Turnarounds Over Complicated Progressions
To play a turnaround over a more complicated progression that uses a variety of different chords in the last two bars, the most important thing to remember is to ensure that the tonality of each chord is preserved by hitting notes from the chord as they are played in the progression. To illustrate this, turnaround…
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Contracting Turnaround
Make the bend up to the 10 at the start nice and smooth. The bend should start at 8 on beat 1 and arrive at 10 on the next beat of the triplet.
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Ascending Turnaround
An ascending turnaround has a shifting melody that travels to higher notes. The ascending turnaround in our example below is great for a slow blues where you can really emphasize the slides. Let the notes of the closing E+ arpeggio ring out until the end of the bar. Examine the notes used for the shifting melody and how the…
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Contrary Motion Turnaround
Contrary motion is motion in opposite directions. That is, when one of the lines moves up, the other line moves down.
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The Descending Turnaround
A descending turnaround has a shifting melody that travels down in pitch.
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The Expanding Turnaround
The expanding turnaround has a moving melody line that moves away from a static note. This one is shades of ZZ Top’s ‘Jesus Just Left Chicago’.
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Double-Stop Turnaround
A double stop is a fancy term used to describe the act of playing two notes simultaneously. Imagine it as playing a harmony along with a melody. We can change the feel of the basic turnaround by playing the descending phrase with double stops in a shuffle rhythm.
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Anatomy Of The Blues Turnaround
Most turnarounds can also be used as intros or endings. This is because the turnaround in bars 11 and 12 takes us back (turns around) to the start of the next 12 bars of music or pulls us toward the I chord for a big finish. The intro does the same thing by kick-starting the song to begin at the first cycle…