Turnarounds, intros and blues effects

What sets a "pianist's" blues apart from a mere scale is the detail: turnarounds that send the form round again, recognisable intros and endings, and the effects of blues piano: crushed notes, tremolos, octaves.

The turnaround

Bars 11 and 12 prepare the return to the top. The most classic: a descending chromatic line under a held high C, arriving on G7.

M:4/4
L:1/8
Q:1/4=90
K:C
"C7" [Cc]2 [_Bc]2 [Ac]2 [_Ac]2 | "G7" [GB]4 [FB]4 |]

Crushed notes

The piano can't bend a string like a guitar. Solution: strike a note and its lower semitone neighbour almost together, then release the lower one at once. A D♯ crushed into E imitates the bent third.

M:4/4
L:1/8
Q:1/4=90
K:C
"C7" {^D}E2 G2 {^D}E C z2 | "C7" {^D}E2 G c- c4 |]

Tremolo

Rapidly alternate two notes (often a sixth or an octave) to imitate an organ or a trembling voice. Use forearm rotation, not the fingers!

M:4/4
L:1/16
Q:1/4=80
K:C
"C7" GcGcGcGc GcGcGcGc |]

Intros and endings

• Intro "from the V": play bars 9 to 12 (G7 – F7 – C7 – G7) alone, then the form starts. It's the most common blues intro.
• Ending: replace the G7 of bar 12 with a blues-scale descent and a held C9 chord (C E B♭ D).

M:4/4
L:1/8
Q:1/4=90
K:C
"C7" c _B G ^F =F _E C _E | "C9" [CE_Bd]8 |]

Step-by-step exercise

1. Start the blues backing in C. Play the turnaround in bars 11–12 of each chorus, and nothing else: learn to place it exactly.
2. Add crushed notes to your riffs, one or two per chorus.
3. Play call and response within the form: 2-bar riff, 2-bar answer, across all three lines.
4. Build a complete blues: intro (bars 9–12), two improvised choruses with a tremolo at the peak of the second, ending on C9.
5. Do it again over the boogie backing in G: transpose the turnaround (held high G, F – E – E♭ – D).