Thursday, April 19, 2012

Is it over? Exploring song endings with Bryan Karijanian

This blog has been written by guest blogger and guitar teacher extraordinaire at The Music Factory school of Music, Bryan Karijanian...


Most of the time we recognize and admire great song riffs and the intros, but forget to appreciate the classic endings. Its funny, we wait in suspense about how a books or movies are going to end. There are several different approaches to a great song ending. The possibilities are endless and here's a few: 

The Explosive Arena Rock Ending - Giving the listener the feeling of being at the show. The clashing of cymbals, pounding of bass drums and feverishly strumming of chords in unison. (AC/DC "For Those About To Rock") 

The Classic Studio Fade Out - That catchy sing-along chorus just continuing into eternity. (Fleetwood Mac "Don't Stop")

The Speed Up - The band kicks into overdrive and double times the songs meter into a fever pitch. (Guns and Roses "Paradise City" or Anthrax "Time")

The Abrupt Halt - Displaying the result of the bands great rehearsal ethics and tightness, syncing up a snap ending. (Rage Against the Machine " Bomb track")  

The Studio Mistake - Maybe a delay pedal still echoing catching the sound guitar player putting his guitar back in its case or a engineers incorrect timing to fade back in...or maybe completely planned "mistake". (Led Zeppelin "When the levee Breaks)

The Gospel Chorus - Taking it to church. Needs a large production budget to hire a 20 piece gospel choir, but brings the chorus to a whole other heavenly level.(Rolling Stones " Can't Always Get What You Want")

The Unsuspected Out of Key Chord - Maybe choosing a random minor seven flat five sharp nine chord to close the curtain on the listener. The Beatles "A Day In a Life" ends with what has been said to be the most famous final chords in music history. (The Beatles " A Day in the Life")

The Music Factory School of Music in Costa Mesa ( Orange County) California is the number one provider of private music lessons in the greater Southern California area.



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