Turnaround Progressions
A Turnaround progression is a set pattern of chords that repeats itself. There are hundreds of well known songs based upon Turnaround progressions. All these songs contain basically the same chords in the same order. A Turnaround may repeat over any number of bars; usually 2, 4 and 8 bars. However the chord sequence remains the same. Some of the biggest hit records of all time are based upon a Turnaround progression. Turnarounds always contain at least one minor chord. The following Turnaround uses a new chord E minor (Em).
The E Minor Chord
The E minor chord contains the notes E, G and B. To play the E minor chord use the first, third and fifth fingers of your left hand, as shown in the Em chord diagram.
This progression is a Turnaround in the key of G. It will probably sound familiar to you. To make the left hand part easier to play, use the first, second and fourth fingers to play the C chord in this example.
- When changing between G and Em chords, keep your first and fifth fingers in position.
- When changing between Em and C chords, keep your first and second fingers in position.
- When changing between C and D7 chords, keep your fourth finger in position.
Some songs based on a Turnaround progression are:
- Stand by Me - John Lennon
- I Will Always Love You - Whitney Houston
- Return to Sender - Elvis Presley
- All I Have to do is Dream - Everly Brothers
- Tell Me Why - The Beatles
- Let's Twist Again - Chubby Checker
- Be My Baby - The Ronettes
- Blue Moon - Various Artists
- Everlasting Love - U2
- Can’t Smile Without You - Barry Manilow
- Please Mr Postman - The Beatles
The A Minor Chord
The A minor chord contains the notes A, C and E. To play the A minor chord use the first, third and fifth fingers of your left hand, as shown in the Am chord diagram.
The melody of this song was a number one hit record and was based on a minuet by famous classical composer Bach. It introduces the note B below middle C in bars 7 and 15.
