A turnaround for the books from Nev.

THE BLUES TURNAROUND is the part of the solo that inevitably separates the men from the boys. Even in a simple threechord trick a good soloist will outline the changes and bring colour to those final couple of bars. And when things become a little more complicated - let’s say a jazzy I-VI-II-V-I - or E-C#-F#-B-E in the key of E - the need to ‘play the changes’ becomes ever more vital. Yes, you can blast through the chords with a nicely played Pentatonic lick or two - and sometimes that’s just what the doctor ordered - but do it every time and things soon begin to sound stale.

And that’s what this month’s cover feature is all about. We look at how 10 blues greats have approached this short but pivotal segment so that you can take inspiration from their talents. It will amaze you how differently the likes of BB King, Clapton, Gary Moore, Stevie Ray, Robben Ford or Santana deal with those pesky changes, and how it affects the way these bars sound. Think how SRV would target the 7th of the I chord (a D in the key of E, for instance) so that it becomes the #9 of the V chord (B). Or how Clapton would more likely add a quick flourish that landed on the V chord’s root - the B itself. Hendrix or BB might take another stance - to play through and make their final note land as the turnaround resolves back to the home chord (E in this case), landing either on the E itself (BB) or perhaps the Major 3rd - the G# (Jimi). Even with so few chords and a relatively limited palette of notes, the permutations are all but endless. Another great thing about turnarounds is that, with a tweaked note here and there, they become intros or endings. So think of this feature as three for the price of one. I guarantee that learning even some of these licks will have you sounding more accomplished in no time. See you next time.