Jazz Theory and Practice

Module 4 a, b, c
The Turnaround, Circles of 5ths, Basic Blues

A. The Turnaround

The word really provides its own definition. The goal of a turnaround
progression is to lead back to the beginning of a section, or the piece
(most often to the tonic chord), so the harmonic progression usually
leads to I, and there are many ways to get there. A first ending
almost always ends in a turnaround, setting up the return to the
beginning of the piece or section. In this example, the turnaround
begins in the first ending, and is completed with the return to the
tonic: our familiar II7
V7
I from Module 2.

4a1

Copyright2014 Peter J. Clements

1
A more typical version of this turnaround is extended backwards to
include the chord that most often leads to II: the VI chord:

4a2

Often the VI7 chord is changed chromatically to a dominant-7th (A7 in

the example), or a chord that is almost identical to that dominant-7th,
is a diminished seventh chord a semitone below II:

4a3

Notice that the A7 chord and the C#dim7 chord are only different by
one note. The diminished-7th chord (sometimes called an incomplete
dominant-9th) is common in various kinds of music, and will be
discussed in detail in module 5. The bass movement of a semitone, or
half-step, is an important feature of many jazz chord progressions. It
works well both as an ascending half-step and a descending half-step.
Here is the same turnaround with the II approached from the half-step
above:

2
4a4

The approach from the half-step above works for another reason. A
very useful technique in jazz harmony is the tritone substitution. If
you remember from our study of hexachords, a tritone is three whole
steps in succession: forming an augmented fourth or a diminished
fifth. In this example, the tritone substitution is bIII for VI:

4a5

As you can see, it doesnt matter if you count up three whole steps or
down three whole steps; the tritone divides the octave into two equal
halves. If the turnaround is modified further with a second tritone
substitution: bII for V, the result is a downward chromatic bass
progression towards the goal (I). This is a very familiar version of the
standard turnaround:

4a6

3
There are dozens of different turnarounds. Often more chords are
used: either they extend for a longer time (6 bars or 8 bars), or, in a
slow tempo there could be three or four chords in each bar. For now,
here is one more example that uses a tritone substititution: bVI7 for II7
in this case. This turnaround also makes use of the descending minor
scale to get to V7:

4a7

Its only logical that a turnaround could also serve as an introduction,

leading to the opening tonic chord. The turnaround in the previous
example (or any other one) provides a perfect introduction to our
short piece:

4a8

If you havent already noticed, the chord sequence used for the
turnaround in the first ending (I6
VI7
II7
V7) actually appears at
the beginning of the melody, and is repeated every two bars. Our 8-
bar melody really only has two bars of harmony, recycled three times.
A whole section of the piece has been constructed from a simple,
repeated turnaround.

This formula is well-known to most musicians because it appears

frequently in popular songs and jazz standards. The pattern is often

4
referred to as the I Got Rhythm Changes or simply Rhythm
Changes

4a9

In Gershwins original version the pattern occurs three times, then it is

modified to end on I in the 8th bar. There have been countless
harmonic variations applied to the Rhythm Changes; here are two
such variations:

4a10

Compare this example with the one above. In the first two bars, both
the VI7 and II7 have been changed to dominant-7th chords, a
technique we used with the turnaround earlier. In the 4th bar there is
a tritone substitution: bVI7 for II7. There is a similar chord in the third
bar, although not technically a tritone substitution, it works the same
way, descending by half-step to the VI7 chord. The chord symbols
show that the bass will descend chromatically. This example is also in
the PLAY/SING section to follow, and you will discover that two of the
melody notes clash with the harmony: in the third bar the Bb is heard
against the G7 chord, and in the fourth bar the G is heard against the
Gb7 chord. These notes that clash really can be part of the chord;
they are both extensions: something that comes up in a later module!

The goal of the turnaround is not always the tonic chord,

especially when a piece begins on a chord other than the tonic. It
doesnt happen often, but there are some familiar examples. Two
jazz standards that begin on the II7 chord are Ellingtons Satin Doll,
and Neil Heftis Cute. The following example shows four different

5
versions of the turnaround in Satin Doll. Example (a) uses the basic
II7
V7 (Em7
A7) of the D minor chord; example (b) inserts a
Dm7 chord before the Em7, which helps the shift from C to D minor.
Example (c) sets up the D minor another way; the Em7(b5) and the

A7(b9) are both from the D minor mode. The final example(d) uses
descending chromatic dominant-7th chords. The four examples are
taken from four different fake books, clearly showing that harmonic
practice varies freely among performers and arrangers.

4a11

There is a simple piano duet that has been a part of popular culture for
many years. The upper part is the melody in octaves, and the lower
part has a repeated two bar accompaniment pattern that is the
rhythm changes in its simplest form. Most pairs of duet players
probably dont even know the name of the piece: Heart and Soul.

You will find a number of versions of the Heart and Soul duet on
YouTube Music, some more sophisticated than others. For other
pieces using the Rhythm Changes look for the following:

I Got Rhythm. There is actually a video performance from the 1930s

with Gershwin performing.

6
I Got Rhythm Variations for Piano and Orchestra. This is a longer
piece, somewhere between jazz and classical music. There are a
number of performances to choose from, including one by Gershwin
himself, recorded in 1934, with commentary by the composer.

Blue Moon. In the version by Nat King Cole the Rhythm Changes are
easily heard. For a classic pop version, listen to the performance by
the Marcels from 1961. In the 50s and 60s the Rhythm Changes
were the foundation for several pop songs.

The Flintstones Theme Song. There is a wonderful virtuoso

performance by guitarists Barney Kessel and Herb Ellis. The harmonic
changes for this whole piece are identical to the changes in I Got
Rhythm.

Try to Remember from the musical The Fantasticks. You will find very
expressive performances both from the Brothers Four and Harry
Belafonte.

Return to the menu, and try the PLAY/SING and WRITE exercises for
Module 4a.