Writing the Blues
Structure
>Chords
>Chord Patterns
>Starting
>Ending
Lyrics
>Writing Lyrics
>Arranging
 
>Credits

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Writing the Blues



Chapter::Structure

Chapter Summary:
Musically, we’ll look at the 12-bar blues… 12 bars of music that repeat, giving structure to the song, both instrumentally and allowing for call and response vocals.

Article::Ending

Often, bluesmen end a song by working through a more complex version of the turnaround they were using, but ending on the I chord rather than the V chord. This creates a sense of closure to the music.

The V chord creates a sense of anticipation in the listener—they are waiting and ready for it to resolve back into another go-round of the song, so you never close on the V. The I chord is more of a punctuation mark and the listener is ready for the song to terminate at that chord.

For a longer ending, you can work back and forth, a measure or two at a time, between the V and I chords, building up to a final closure on the I chord.

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