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The Blues Turnaround

Being that this is the first blues tip of December, I thought it should cover one of the slickest things about blues guitar playing - turnarounds!

What is a turnaround?

A turnaround is basically a chord progression. It happens at the beginning and/or end of a blues verse. Most blues verse progressions are very repetitive. The turnaround counteracts the repetitiveness by adding chord movement.

Another great thing about turnarounds is their flexibility. There are hundreds of ways to play a turnaround. It shows off a player's creativity and inventiveness.

The Turnaround Chords

The chords of a turnaround are really just a simple progression. The reason it doesn't sound simple is because the chords are inverted or changed slightly. Below is the basic chord progression that is used for the blues intro or the end of the verse. This progression is the mold from which the turnaround is created.

Basic Chord Progression

Basic blues turnaround

Now that you know the progression on which the turnaround was based, let's look at an actual turnaround that was created from that progression.

The Turnaround

simple blues turnaround

 

As you see, each new chord was changed slightly to form a new one. The original chords were stripped down to only three notes. Also, the A7 and B7 became A7b9 and B7b9.

 

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