In this lesson we will demonstrate a few basic 12 bar blues turnarounds. The turn-around in blues is very important because it adds character and interest and gets the progression ready for another round of 12 bars. As you already know playing the same 12 bars over and over can get pretty boring and tiresome.
Below are 3 examples of basic blues turnarounds to get you started. Try to memorize them and then come up with your own. Let's start with the basic 12 bar blues form
A7 | D7 | A7 | A7 | D7 | D7 | A7 | A7 | E7 | D7 | A7 | E7
Example 1.
12 bar blues turn-around starting at bar 11 in the key of A
E||--------------------------------|---------------------||
B||--------------------------------|-------5-----5-------||
G||--------------------------------|-------7-----7-------||
D||--------------------------------|-------6-----6-------||
A||---------4--4--5--5--6--6-------|--7-------7------7---||
E||--5--5--------------------------|---------------------||
Example 2.
12 bar blues turn-around starting at bar 9 in the key of A
E7 A7 | D7 G7 | C7 F7 | E7
Example 2. is called a cycle or cycle of 5ths and is used in jazz music
Notice how the cycle resolve from one chord to the other.
Example 3.
12 bar blues turn-around starting at bar 9 in the key of A
F#-7 B7 | E-7 A7 | B-7 E7 | A7 Bb7
Example 3. uses ii iv ones also used in jazz music. Notice how the chords don't resolve until the end.
It's the opposite of Example 2. Remember try to incorporate these examples into your own playing.
| 
Services
