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This Jazz Piano Tutorial is about Circular Songs
A Circular song is a song written in such a way that the beginning of the song is disguised and just sounds like a continuation of the end of the song. This obscures where the song begins and ends when you play it with repetition, so you can’t actually tell where it ends and where it begins.
This can happen because of the
Melody: the opening phrase of the composition sounds as a continuation of the ending phrase;
Harmony: the opening chord continues a progression begun at the end of the song; and
Form: irregular bar numbers create the illusion that the beginning of the song is part of the end of the song
Traditional Jazz song generally include a turnaround at the end of the song to make it clear that the song has ended and that you’re about to have another run through the song. A typical turnaround could just be a iii-VI-ii-V. Such a turnaround is often hear at the end of a 12 bar blues, before going back to the beginning of the form.
So Circular progressions intentionally avoid this kind of turnaround.
Another way to make a circular song is with the overall form of the song. A standard jazz song form is a 32 bar AABA form. Horace Silver’s ‘Song for My Father’ is actually a 24 bar AAB form. So the first A section of the repeat sounds like the final A section of the prior run through.
Another great circular song to listen to is Miles Davis’ ‘Nefertiti’. Have a listen to the recording and try figure out where the start is and where the end is. Good luck!
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