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I'm talking about the last notes of Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" -- the accompaniment cuts off suddenly on a i chord where its progression ought to end, and the vocals continue to riff for a second. Is there a name for when a song ends this way?

EDIT: I tried to notate how it sounded in "Crazy": end of Crazy score

EDIT 2: By "tag" I mean a repeatable way to end a song (Jazz theory, sorry 'bout that)

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    "Tag" isn't really such a bad answer on its own.
    – NReilingh
    Jan 29, 2016 at 1:15
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    I don't find your description of "continues riffing" as accurate; What I hear is melisma on the final vocal note. "Continues riffing" implies to me multiple iterations of a phrase (with/without variations).
    – Dave
    Mar 29, 2016 at 12:11

3 Answers 3

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There is no widely recognized term or short phrase for what is going on here.

Your best bet is to just describe it as you see fit, trying to convey the meaning to whoever it is you are trying to communicate with. "We should use the 'Crazy' ending; you know, the accompaniment cuts out, but the vocals keep riffing". Given the difficulty in describing music with words, musicians cite existing music, or even coin new terms in order to communicate with one another, all of the time. Sometimes these exemplars become widely known, for example, this pattern at the end of a song is (can be) referred to as "the A-Train ending". Sometimes they'll just remain in a small community.

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I would call this a brief outro solo.

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It's called either a "vamp" or a "coda"

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  • whoever is downmodding this...it IS called a "vamp" or a "coda."
    – dwoz
    Aug 10, 2015 at 2:56
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    A vamp is a section (usually an intro) that can be repeated. Coda is more plausible (but is different from a vamp), and would typically indicate some number of full measures of music.
    – NReilingh
    Jan 29, 2016 at 1:12
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    You can't have "vamp". That's got two musical meanings - a "repeat 'til ready" section or the sort of basic "um-cha" musical accompaniment pattern that might be used in such a section. I guess we can stretch "coda" to cover this sort of thing though.
    – Laurence
    Jan 29, 2016 at 11:47
  • Excuse me, but when the music is specifically marked "continues riffing" then it is, and can only be, a VAMP. A "vamp" is an ad-hoc section. It continues until "something" happens...a cue, an entrance, a fade-out.
    – dwoz
    Jan 30, 2016 at 17:49
  • The OP's note of "continues riffing" isn't really accurate in this case. Despite the comment, the vocals is just a single, highly decorated, note. If there was more extensive music, I'd agree with you.
    – Dave
    Mar 29, 2016 at 12:07

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