Beginnings and Endings
Intro
Intro sections can be any length - 4 or 8 bars would
be fairly typical.
Some tunes have two intros in that they might have a "pre-intro" bit
followed by the intro proper.
Some tunes have no intro at all ( check out "Yellow Submarine" by
The Beatles for example ).
A fairly common intro is to use the first four bars of the verse instrumentally.
Outro
I use outro to mean a bit at the end of a tune that is more or less the same
piece of music as the intro.
Coda
A Coda is a separate piece of music that is added on at the
end of a tune to function as an ending.
It can be any length - on the album version of "Layla" by Derek and
the Dominoes the coda is three and a half minutes long - as long as the actual
tune itself!
Rallentando
Rallentando or Rall. is a device frequently used to end a
piece.
It is a deliberate slowing down of the last few bars to telegraph to the audience
that the end is coming up.
It can be a very useful way of ending tunes that don't have an obvious cut off
point.
Big endings and full stops
You all know the Big Ending much beloved by rock bands where
the drummer flies round the kit and the guitarist either does a fast strummed
chord or some fancy lead work.
The hard part here is to get the "full stop" at the end of this flurry
synchronised.
A good drummer will have a cue in his bag of tricks to lead the other band members
to hit the full stop at the same time.
If you use this type of ending a lot it is well worth spending time practising
the exact details of your ending as there is nothing more likely to get the
crowd applauding than a well worked ending.
Fadeouts
Although these can sound good on recordings they are best
avoided in live music - generally regarded as " couldn't be bothered
to work out an ending " - on tunes that seem impossible to end try the
rallentando technique.
Exercise
Spend as much time rehearsing beginnings and endings as you would on the tune
itself