Classic Lines to Bring the Song to a Convincing Close
Country;tunes;can;be;brought;to;a;close;in;a;number;of;ways:;vamping;on;the;song’s;last;chord,;tossing;in;an;inter-esting;harmonic;twist,;interjecting;one;of;several;classic;bluegrass;clichés;(as;commonly;employed;on;fiddle,;banjo,;
mandolin, etc.), or unleashing a barn-burning, country-fried double-stop lick.
Whether;you’re;playing;an;electric;or;acoustic;instrument,;you;have;a;host;of;unique;options;when;it;comes;to;putting;
the cap on a country cut. Keep in mind that all of these endings, many of which are based on open-position chords, can
easily be transposed to other keys with a capo.
This;first;country;ending,;written;in;the;key;of;D,;is;a;simple;vamp;on;the;song’s;closing;chord;(D).;This;chord;is;
surrounded;by;an;infectious;D;major;pentatonic;(D-E-F#-A-B);single-note;riff;ending;on;the;G;note;(third;fret,;sixth;
string).;This;briefly;implies;the;key;center’s;“IV”;chord;(G).;After;three;repetitions;of;this;one-bar;figure,;an;A7;chord;sets;
up;a;“V-I”;cadence;to;D,;bringing;the;song;to;a;convincing;end.
Fig. 1
The;next;ending,;designed;for;a;country;tune;in;A,;inserts;a;dramatic;harmonic;shift;by;using;chords;outside;the;
key—specifically;C;and;F;chords—prior;to;the;requisite;“V-I”;change;(e.g.,;E;to;A).;Notice;that;the;closing;A;chord;
gets;an;interesting;treatment:;the;triad;shape;on;the;second;fret;is;slid;up;to;the;14th;fret;(one;octave;higher).;This;
approach can be used with virtually any country tag that ends with an open-position chord.
Fig. 2
Here’s;a;pair;of;classic;country;endings,;each;of;which;borrows;a;familiar;“fiddle”;line;from;the;bluegrass;vocabulary,;
performed in the key of G on acoustic guitar.
Fig. 3
