Instrumental and Turnaround

An instrumental is a part of a song in which instrumentalists play without vocal accompaniment. It is sometimes known as a break.

The instrumental section of a song may contain the same music as the verses or as the chorus, often with embellishments, or it may contain entirely new music.

A song can have an instrumental section in place of a bridge, or it can have an instrumental section as well as a bridge.

If the music in the instrumental  is different from the music in the rest of the song, including the bridge, the instrumental can act as a second bridge.

Often, only one instrument, such as a guitar or a saxophone, plays during the instrumental section, in which case it is known as an instrumental solo.

However, the instrumental can be written for more than one instrument. For example, it can feature a duet between two guitarists.

An instrumental is optional. Before writing an instrumental section for your song, consider who will be available to play it. The instrumental section is meant to showcase the talents of the musician or musicians who are playing it. While a well played instrumental section can add excitement to your song, a poorly played instrumental can ruin it.

Turnaround

Many songs contain an instrumental section that is known as a turnaround.

It is a short section - usually four bars long. It usually comes after the first or the second chorus, or after both the first and second choruses. The turnaround leads the listener to the next verse or into the bridge.

The music in the turnaround can copy music from the intro, the verses or the chorus, or it can be completely new.

If a turnaround appears in a song more than once, it will usually have the same music each time.