The 12-bar blues (or blues changes) is one of the most prominent chord progressions in popular music. The

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

progression has a distinctive form in lyrics, phrase,

chord Chord may refer to: * Chord (music), an aggregate of musical pitches sounded simultaneously ** Guitar chord a chord played on a guitar, which has a particular tuning * Chord (geometry), a line segment joining two points on a curve * Chord ( ...

structure, and

duration Duration may refer to: * The amount of time elapsed between two events * Duration (music) – an amount of time or a particular time interval, often cited as one of the fundamental aspects of music * Duration (philosophy) – a theory of time and ...

. In its basic form, it is predominantly based on the I, IV, and V chords of a key. Mastery of the blues and

rhythm changes Rhythm changes are a common 32-bar chord progression in jazz, originating as the chord progression for George Gershwin's "I Got Rhythm". The progression is in AABA form, with each A section based on repetitions of the ubiquitous I–vi–ii–V s ...

are "critical elements for building a jazz repertoire".

Background

The blues originated from a combination of work songs, spirituals, and early southern country music. The music was passed down through oral tradition. It was first written down by

W. C. Handy William Christopher Handy (November 16, 1873 – March 28, 1958) was an American composer and musician who referred to himself as the Father of the Blues. Handy was one of the most influential songwriters in the United States. One of many musici ...

, an African American composer and band leader. Its popularity led to the creation of " race records" and the popularity of blues singers like Bessie Smith and

Ma Rainy Gertrude "Ma" Rainey ( Pridgett; April 26, 1886 – December 22, 1939) was an American blues singer and influential early blues recording artist. Dubbed the "Mother of the Blues", she bridged earlier vaudeville and the authentic expression of ...

. The style of music heard on race records was later called " rhythm and blues" (R & B). As the music became more popular, more people wanted to perform it. General patterns that existed in the blues were formalized, one of these being the 12-bar blues.

Basic progression

The basic progression for a 12-bar blues may be represented in several ways. It is shown in its simplest form, without the common "quick change", turnarounds, or seventh chords. For variations, see the following section. *Chord notation in the

key of C C major (or the key of C) is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and i ...

: : *Functional notationchords are represented by T to indicate the tonic, S for the

subdominant In music, the subdominant is the fourth tonal degree () of the diatonic scale. It is so called because it is the same distance ''below'' the tonic as the dominant is ''above'' the tonicin other words, the tonic is the dominant of the subdomina ...

, and D for the dominant: : *

Roman numeral notation In music theory, Roman numeral analysis is a type of musical analysis in which chords are represented by Roman numerals (I, II, III, IV, …). In some cases, Roman numerals denote scale degrees themselves. More commonly, however, they represent ...

I represents the tonic, IV the sub-dominant, and V the dominant: :

Variations

Shuffle blues

In the original form, the dominant chord continued through the tenth bar; later on the V–IV–I–I "shuffle blues" pattern became standard in the third set of four bars: :

Quick to four

The common quick-change, quick to four, or quick four variation uses the subdominant or IV chord in the second bar. :

Seventh chords

Seventh chords are a type of chord that includes the 7th scale degree (that is, the 7th note of the scale). There are different types of 7th chords such as major 7ths, dominant 7ths, minor 7ths, half diminished 7ths, and fully diminished 7ths. These chords are similar with slight changes, but are all centered around the same key center. Dominant 7th chords are generally used throughout a blues progression. The addition of dominant 7th chords as well as the inclusion of other types of 7th chords (i.e. minor and diminished 7ths) are often used just before a change, and more changes can be added. A more complicated example might look like this, where "7" indicates a seventh chord: :

Bebop blues

This progression is similar to Charlie Parker's " Now's the Time", "

Billie's Bounce "Billie's Bounce" (also known as "Bill's Bounce") is a jazz composition written in 1945 by Charlie Parker in the form of a 12 bar F blues. Some sources claim that the song was dedicated to Dizzy Gillespie's agent, Billy Shaw, although according ...

Sonny Rollins Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. In a seven-decade career, he has recorded over sixty albums as a ...

's "

Tenor Madness ''Tenor Madness'' is an album by jazz musician Sonny Rollins released in October 1956 by Prestige Records. It is most notable for its title track, the only known recording featuring both Rollins and John Coltrane. History Rollins, who had recorde ...

", and many other bop tunes. Peter Spitzer describes it as "a bop soloist's cliche to arpeggiate this chord V/ii = VI⁷⁹)">secondary_dominant.html" ;"title="⁷⁹ ( V/ii = VI⁷⁹)from the third (chord)">3 up to the ninth">9." :

Minor blues

There are also minor twelve-bar blues, such as John Coltrane's "Equinox (standard), Equinox" and "Giant Steps, Mr. P.C.". The chord on the fifth degree (music), scale degree may be major (V⁷) or minor (v⁷). Major and minor can also be mixed together, a signature characteristic of the music of Charles Brown. :

Other variations

W.C. Handy William Christopher Handy (November 16, 1873 – March 28, 1958) was an American composer and musician who referred to himself as the Father of the Blues. Handy was one of the most influential songwriters in the United States. One of many musici ...

codified this blues form to help musicians communicate chord changes." Many variations are possible. The length of sections may be varied to create eight-bar blues or

sixteen-bar blues The sixteen-bar blues can be a variation on the standard twelve-bar blues or on the less common eight-bar blues. Sixteen-bar blues is also used commonly in ragtime music. Adaptation from twelve-bar progression Most sixteen bar blues are adapte ...

Melodic line

As the chords of a 12 bar blues follow a form, so does the melodic line. The melodic line might just be the melody of the piece or it might also include lyrics. The melody and lyrics frequently follow an AA'B form, meaning one phrase is played then repeated (perhaps with a slight alteration), then something new is played. This pattern is frequently used in the blues and in musical genres that have their roots in the blues.

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Twelve-Bar Blues Chord progressions Song forms Jazz genres Blues music genres * Jazz terminology 12 (number) de:Blues#Das Blues-Schema