Songwriting & Composition
Common Chord Progressions: Loops, Numerals and Why They Work
The chord loops that songwriters reuse most, in Roman numerals and in the keys of C and G, with the reasons they work and how to vary them.
Turnaround
A short chord progression at the end of a form that leads back to the top, such as I vi ii V in a jazz standard.
Also called: turn-around, turnarounds, turnaround progression
A turnaround is a short chord progression at the end of a section or form that leads back to the start. The most common jazz turnaround is I vi ii V, as in C, A minor, D minor, G7, which resolves to the tonic. Its roots move in fifths after the first step, which gives the progression its drive. A turnaround fills the last bar or two of a chorus, so the soloist or singer knows the form is ending and the next chorus begins. In twelve-bar blues, the final bars often carry a turnaround that prepares the return to the I chord. Musicians learn turnarounds as patterns to be transposed, since the same shape works in any key.
Related terms
- Lead sheetA notation of a song with its melody, chord symbols and lyrics, leaving the accompaniment and voicings to the performer.
- ReharmonizationReplacing the original chords under an existing melody with different ones, while the tune itself stays the same.
- Tritone substitutionReplacing a dominant chord with the dominant a tritone away, whose notes share the same tritone and resolve the same way.