BLUES
b Y DAlE TURNER
blUES ENDINGS
Common Tags to Bring the Song to an Effective Conclusion
From Intros, Endings & Turnarounds
for Guitar (00695575)
A blues ending, often referred to as a blues tag, is a phrase usually executed by the person playing the final solo in a blues number, signifying
the end of the song.
As you play through the following E minor pentatonic (E-G-A-B-D) blues tag, which is ready-made for a blues in E, gradually slow down the
tempo as you work your way toward the closing chord (E9). Remember: All eyes will be on you at this point—it’s your job to cue the band. And
the crowd goes wild!
This next pair of tags can also be used to put the cap on a blues in E. Notice the different applications for double-stops in these two endings.
The first inflects each note pair with a quarter-step bend, and like the previous example, ends dramatically with a tremolo-picked E7(˜ 9) chord.
The latter uses hammer-ons in a double-stop context, closing with a common cliché played with pick-and-fingers technique.
