A Bassist’s Guide to Turnarounds
Take it back to the top.
A turnaround, also called a “turnback,” is a sequence of chords or notes (usually two to four bars in length) that leads back to the beginning of the main chord progression, or sometimes to a new section of the tune. Think of it as a musical way to say, “Here we go again!” Turnarounds are a key part of many styles of music, especially jazz and blues, and they’re a great way to keep your bass playing interesting and connected to the harmony.
Here are some tips for constructing effective turnarounds.
GOING TO THE FIVE
The best way to get back to the I (the root chord of a song) is by going to the fifth chord of the key —“the V” or the dominant — first. The tension and release of going from V to I is called a perfect cadence in classical music, and you’ll hear it at the end of many pieces of music, from the crashing end chords of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 to Prince’s “Starfish and Coffee,” where the third and fourth chords in the repeating four-chord progression are V-I. The perfect cadence has such a strong sense of completion that even when you tamper with it by using inversions, suspensions, substitutions or chromatic alterations, it still works.
Basic turnarounds are simply various ways to get to the V. Without a turnaround, for example, a 12-bar blues in E looks and sounds like this:
E7 (I) → E7 → E7 → E7 → A7 (iv) → A7 → E7 (I) → E7 → B7 (V) → A7 (iv) → E7 (I) → E7
This sounds fine, but we can make things interesting by replacing the last two bars of E7 with a I–vi–ii–V turnaround, with each chord lasting for two beats. Listen to how bars 11 and 12 now set us up to get back to the top of the form:
E7 (I) → C#m7 (vi) → F#m7 (ii) → B7 (V)
Another option, the iii–vi–ii–V-I turnaround replaces the I with the iii chord, G#m7:
G#m7 (iii) → C#m7 (vi) → F#m7 (ii) → B7 (V)
You can also take two bars to walk down from the vii (D) to the V (in the key of E, that’s B)…
… or walk up from the iii (G#) to the V (B):
POP TURNAROUNDS
Classic pop music uses turnarounds too. One great example is in Stevie Wonder’s “I Was Made to Love Her,” where James Jamerson doubles a guitar part for the vocal-less break in bar 4 of every verse. Some might consider Jamerson’s part a fill, but fills can function as turnarounds too, if they happen during a return to the top (or next section). Check out Verdine White’s cool line at the end of choruses in Earth Wind & Fire’s “Sing a Song” and Thundercat’s juicy turnback at the 1:00 mark in Mac Miller’s “Five Dollar Pony Rides.”
Many of today’s pop songs have the same four changes for both verse and chorus, but there’s still usually some way to discern between the two sections, even if it’s with production, like a band break, a new synth, a specific accent or a rhythmic phrase (think Bad Bunny’s “NUEVAYoL”). When bassists step up their turnaround game, as did this unidentified player on Otis Kane’s “Breathe,” the results can be spectacular.
HOW TO PRACTICE TURNAROUNDS
Start by playing the root of each chord. Keep it simple so you can lock in with the drummer and feel the pulse. Once you’re comfortable with root notes, try connecting them by walking up or down the scale to the next root or using chromatic passing tones (like E → D → Db → C when moving from E7 to Cm7). Play with rhythm; instead of just playing straight quarter notes, experiment with syncopation or different rhythms that add some personality. The best way to learn, of course, is to loop the end of a section and experiment with various approaches.
Now that you’re tuned into turnarounds, you may find yourself noticing how bass players end sections and signal the upcoming ones. Next time, we’ll talk about chord substitutions, which will add spice, variety and so many more options to your bag of turnaround tricks.
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