What is 12 Bar Blues in Music?

The 12 bar blues is one of the most popular chord progressions in music. It’s used in countless songs in a variety of genres, and is a great way to learn the basics of blues guitar. In this blog post, we’ll take a look at what the 12 bar blues is, how it’s typically played, and some of the famous songs that use it.

What is 12 Bar Blues?

The 12-bar blues is one of the most prominent chord progressions in popular music today. It’s used in countless songs in every genre, from country to rock to R&B. Even if you’ve never heard of the 12-bar blues, you’ve probably heard it.

The 12-bar blues is a chord progression that uses the I, IV, and V chords of a key. In major keys, the I, IV, and V chords are the 1st, 4th, and 5th chords respectively. In minor keys, the I, IV, and V chords are the 1st chord (which is usually minor), the flattened 7th chord (also called the supertonic), and the 5th chord (or dominant).

The 12 bars refers to the length of the progression. Each bar is four beats long, so the entire progression is 48 beats (or two measures) long. The most common variation of the 12-bar blues uses three chords: the I chord, the IV chord, and the V chord.

Here’s an example of a 12-bar blues in C major:

I I I I
IV IV I I
V V V I
IV IV I I

And here’s an example of a 12-bar blues in A minor:

i i i i
VII VII i i
V V V i
VII VII i i

The Structure of 12 Bar Blues

The structure of 12-bar blues is simple and logical once you understand it. It’s just 12 bars (measures) of music, divided into 3 parts (or sections) of 4 bars each. And since 4 bars is the norm for most popular songs, this makes sense.

The first section (bars 1-4) is called the “A” section. This is where the main melody or “hook” is usually found. The second section (bars 5-8) is called the “B” section, and is usually a variation on the “A” section. It might have a different melody, or just a different chord progression. The third section (bars 9-12) is called the “C” section, and is usually a completely different melody or chord progression from the first two sections.

Now that you know the structure, let’s talk about the chords that are typically used in 12-bar blues.

The Chords in 12 Bar Blues

In music, 12 bar blues is a chord progression used in a wide variety of styles, especially blues and rock and roll. The 12 bar blues has a signature chord progression that is built off the tonic (or “home”) chord. This chord progression lasts for 12 bars (thus the name), and usually has a total of three different chords. These three chords are usually the I, IV, and V chords in a given key (the tonic being the I). For example, in the key of C, the I, IV, and V chords are C major, F major, and G major. In G major, these same chords would be G major, C major, and Dmajor.

The following is an example of 12 bar blues in the key of C:

I I I I
IV IV I I
V V I I
I I I I
IV IV I I
V V V V
I I

The Melody in 12 Bar Blues

In music, the 12-bar blues is a style of vamp that has become one of the most common harmonic 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 the I-IV-V chords of a key. The blues can be played in any key. Key bottlenecks are often used to play in a different key than the one originally intended for the song.

The Rhythm in 12 Bar Blues

12 bar blues is a popular chord progression used in blues and rock music. The 12 bar blues progression has a distinctive form in lyrics, phrase, chord structure, and duration. In major keys, it is built upon the I, IV and V chords (such as C-F-G). However, the 12 bar blues can be played in any key. The form originated in rural black communities in the American south around the end of the nineteenth century. The first use of “12 bar” to describe this format was by musician and composer handbill from 1898.

The musicologist Charles Keil claims that the term “12 bar” was originally used to describe how long a soloist could play without repeating the same phrase or melody. This usage later became common among jazz musicians. In modern times, “12 bar” is generally used to refer to the entirety of a blues song’s structure.

Playing 12 Bar Blues on the Piano

The 12 bar blues is one of the most popular chord progressions in music. It’s used in blues, rock, jazz, and even pop songs. If you’re a piano player, learning how to play the 12 bar blues is a great way to expand your repertoire and improvising skills.

The basic progression of the 12 bar blues is three chords: the tonic (I), subdominant (IV), and dominant (V). These chords are played for four bars each, for a total of 12 bars. The tonic chord typically starts on the first beat of the measure, while the other two chords are played on the off-beats. For example, in a 4/4 measure, you would play the tonic chord on beats 1 and 3, while playing the subdominant and dominant chords on beats 2 and 4.

In addition to these three chords, there are also two other important elements in playing the 12 bar blues: the blue note and the turnaround. The blue note is a certain note that is played slightly lower than its regular pitch. This gives the music a “bluesy” sound. The turnaround is a brief phrase that is played at the end of each 12 bar progression. It helps to create tension and release, which adds interest to the music.

Learning how to play the 12 bar blues on piano can take some practice, but it’s worth it! Once you’ve mastered this popular chord progression, you’ll be able to add your own personal touch to any number of songs.

Playing 12 Bar Blues on the Guitar

The 12-bar blues is by far the most commonly used blues form. If you learn nothing else about the blues, learning a 12-bar blues will give you a good foundation upon which to build. The 12-bar blues is usually played in the key of E, using the open E, A, and B chords. (We’ll look at Blues in E later). It can also be played in other keys–the most common being A, D, and G–but we’ll focus on playing it in E for now.

Here’s a typical 12-bar blues progression in E:

E E A A B B E E A A B B

There are three different sections to a 12-bar blues:

The first section (bars 1-4) is called the “turnaround.” This is where you set up the second section by resolving back to the tonic chord (E).

The second section (bars 5-8) is called the “main theme” or “A section.” This is where you state the main melody of the song. In a typical 12-bar blues, this melody is 8 bars long and repeats.

The third section (bars 9-12) is called the “ending” or “B section.” This is where you resolve the song by coming back to the tonic chord for one bar and then ending on the dominant chord (A).