Sixteen-bar blues block chords tonic in C

The sixteen-bar blues can be a variation on the standard

twelve-bar blues The 12-bar blues (or blues changes) is one of the most prominent chord progressions in popular music. The blues progression has a distinctive form in lyrics, phrase, chord structure, and duration. In its basic form, it is predominantly based on ...

or on the less common

eight-bar blues In music, an eight-bar blues is a common blues chord progression. Music writers have described it as "the second most common blues form" being "common to folk, rock, and jazz forms of the blues". It is often notated in or time with eight bars ...

. Sixteen-bar blues is also used commonly in ragtime music.

Adaptation from twelve-bar progression

Most sixteen bar blues are adapted from a standard twelve-bar progression. The standard twelve-bar blues progression is : where each cell in the table represents one measure (or "bar"), "I" represents the

tonic chord Tonic may refer to: *Tonic water, a drink traditionally containing quinine *Soft drink, a carbonated beverage *Tonic (physiology), the response of a muscle fiber or nerve ending typified by slow, continuous action * Tonic syllable, the stressed syl ...

, "IV" the subdominant chord, and "V" the

dominant chord In music, the dominant is the fifth scale degree () of the diatonic scale. It is called the ''dominant'' because it is second in importance to the first scale degree, the tonic. In the movable do solfège system, the dominant note is sung as "So ...

. Twelve-bar progressions are formed by applying one of several formulae, including the following. One adaptation extends the first section of tonic chords (bars 1–4) by doubling or repeating to become the first half (bars 1–8) of the sixteen-bar progression, : Examples include "

I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man "Hoochie Coochie Man" (originally titled "I'm Your Hoochie Cooche Man") is a blues standard written by Willie Dixon and first recorded by Muddy Waters in 1954. The song makes reference to hoodoo folk magic elements and makes novel use of a sto ...

", "Close to You", written by

Willie Dixon William James Dixon (July 1, 1915January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he ...

and first performed by

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago b ...

, and "Oh, Pretty Woman", written by A.C. Williams and first recorded by

Albert King Albert Nelson (April 25, 1923 – December 21, 1992), known by his stage name Albert King, was an American guitarist and singer who is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential blues guitarists of all time. He is perhaps b ...

(in this song, the instrumental sections are twelve bars). Instead of extending the first section, one adaptation extends the third section. Here, the twelve-bar progression's last dominant, subdominant, and tonic chords (bars 9, 10, and 11–12, respectively) are doubled in length, becoming the sixteen-bar progression's 9th–10th, 11th–12th, and 13th–16th bars, : Examples include " Trigger Happy" by "Weird" Al Yankovic (the verse has this sixteen bar structure, with additional ornamentation and " turnaround" applied to tonic chord in bars 13–16). Instead of extending the first or third section, one might repeat the second section. In this version, the twelve-bar middle section (subdominant on bars 5–6, tonic on 7–8) is repeated, often along with its lyrical-melodic material: : Examples include "rural" (as opposed to "urban") versions of "

See See Rider "See See Rider", also known as "C.C. Rider", "See See Rider Blues" or "Easy Rider", is a popular American 12-bar blues song that became a standard in several genres. Gertrude "Ma" Rainey was the first to record it on October 16, 1924, at Param ...

"a review of

Elijah Wald Elijah Wald (born 1959) is an American folk blues guitarist and music historian. He is a 2002 Grammy Award winner for his liner notes to ''The Arhoolie Records 40th Anniversary Box: The Journey of Chris Strachwitz''. Life Wald was born in 1959 ...

(2005). ''Escaping the Delta: Robert Johnson and the Invention of the Blues'', Amistad. on

Google group Google Groups is a service from Google that provides discussion groups for people sharing common interests. The Groups service also provides a gateway to Usenet newsgroups via a shared user interface. Google Groups became operational in February ...

br>''rec.music.country.old-time''
/ref> (as interpreted by, among others,

Mississippi John Hurt John Smith Hurt (March 8, 1893 – November 2, 1966), better known as Mississippi John Hurt, was an American country blues singer and guitarist. Raised in Avalon, Mississippi, Hurt taught himself to play the guitar around the age of nine. He wo ...

Lead Belly Huddie William Ledbetter (; January 20, 1888 – December 6, 1949), better known by the stage name Lead Belly, was an American folk music, folk and blues singer notable for his strong vocals, Virtuoso, virtuosity on the twelve-string guita ...

and

Big Bill Broonzy Big Bill Broonzy (born Lee Conley Bradley; June 26, 1903 – August 14, 1958) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His career began in the 1920s, when he played country music to mostly African American audiences. In the 1930s ...

); most renditions of " Going Down The Road Feelin' Bad" AKA "Lonesome Road Blues", e.g. by

Henry Whitter William Henry Whitter (April 6, 1892 – November 17, 1941) was an early old-time recording artist in the United States. He first performed as a solo singer, guitarist and harmonica player, and later in partnership with the fiddler G. B. Grayso ...

(the first recording of this tune in 1924), the Blue Ridge Duo (George Reneau and

Gene Austin Lemeul Eugene Lucas (June 24, 1900 – January 24, 1972), better known by his stage name Gene Austin, was an American singer and songwriter, one of the early "crooners". His recording of " My Blue Heaven" sold over 5 million copies and was for a ...

) and

Woody Guthrie Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter, one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American socialism and anti-fascism. He has inspired ...

; and " Sleepy Time Time" by

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

. In a further repeating variation, the transition from the ninth (dominant) to tenth (subdominant) twelve-bar chord is repeated twice, : This can be heard, for example, in " Watermelon Man" by

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...

. In a final style, the transition from ninth (dominant) to tenth (subdominant) twelve-bar chord is repeated once and the last tonic chord bars are doubled in length, : Examples include " Let's Dance," written by Jim Lee, first performed by

Chris Montez Chris Montez (born Ezekiel Christopher Montañez on January 17, 1943) is an American guitarist and vocalist, whose stylistic approach has ranged from rock & roll to pop standards and Latin music. His rock sound is exemplified in songs such as hi ...

, and covered by bands including the

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United ...

Adaptation from eight-bar progression

Alternatively, a sixteen bar blues can be adapted from a standard eight bar blues by repeating each measure of the eight-bar progression and playing the result at double speed ('' doppio movimento'').

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sixteen Bar Blues Chord progressions Sixteen bar sections

Adaptation from twelve-bar progression

Adaptation from eight-bar progression

See also

References