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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
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
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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