Melodic Turnarounds pt. 1

In comping and solo playing the turnaround is an entity that comes up at every turn. Normally these are 2 bar progressions at the end of a section of music. In this class we’ll be looking at how to make these turnarounds more interesting by adding a melodic component to syncopated rhythms.

Chromatic melodies, intervallic melodies and blues scale sounds will be played in three basic ways: Bass and melody counterpoint, two note comping below the melody, fuller chords below the melody. These melodies are played on several common progressions such as the I VI II V and the Tadd Dameron “Ladybird” turnaround.

Putting the focus on interesting approaches to turnarounds will fill in some important gaps for guitarists.