12 Bar Blues
12 Bar Blues is a pattern of chords which repeats every 12 bars. There are hundreds of songs based on this chord progression, i.e., they contain basically the same chords in the same order. 12 Bar blues is commonly used in many styles of music
Some well known songs which use this 12 bar chord pattern are:
- Be-bop-a-lula - Gene Vincent/John Lennon
- Hound Dog - Elvis Presley
- Johnny B. Goode - Chuck Berry
- Boppin’ the Blues - Blackfeather
- The Wanderer - Dion
- Going up the Country - Canned Heat
- Makin’ Your Mind Up - Bucks Fizz
- Green Door - Shakin’ Stevens
- In the Summertime - Mungo Jerry
- Rock Around the Clock - Bill Haley & The Comets
- Barbara Ann - The Beach Boys
- Let’s Stick Together - Bryan Ferry
- Long Tall Glasses (I Know I Can Dance) - Leo Sayer
- Blue Suede Shoes - Elvis Presley
- The Thrill is Gone - BB King
- School Days (Ring Ring Goes the Bell) - Chuck Berry
- Roll Over Beethoven - Chuck Berry
- Spirit in the Sky - Norman Greenbaum
- Turn Up Your Radio - The Masters Apprentices
- Tutti Frutti - Little Richard
- Dizzy Miss Lizzy - Larry Williams/The Beatles
- Peggy Sue - Buddy Holly
- Jailhouse Rock - Elvis Presley
- Get Down and Get With It - Slade
- Good Golly Miss Molly - Little Richard
- Lucille - Little Richard
- In the Mood - Glen Miller
- Surfin’ Safari - The Beach Boys
- Peppermint Twist - Sweet
- Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy - The Andrew Sisters/Bett Midler
- I Hear You Knocking - Dave Edmunds
- Boy From New York City - Darts/Manhattan Transfer
- Mountain of Love - Johnny Rivers
- I Love to Boogie - T-Rex
- Shake Rattle & Roll - Bill Hayley
- Lady Rose - Mungo Jerry
- Theme to Batman
- Theme to Spiderman
- Stuck in the Middle with you - Stealers Wheel
- Hot Love - T-Rex
- The Huckle Buck - Brendan Bower
- Way Down - Elvis Presley
- I Can Help - Billy Swan
- Rockin’ Robin - Michael Jackson
- Red House - Jimi Hendrix
- Texas Flood - Stevie Ray Vaughan
- Killing Floor - Jimi Hendrix
- The Jack - ACDC
- Ice Cream Man - Van Halen
- Oh Pretty Woman - Gary Moore
In a basic 12 Bar Blues, there are usually three different chords. Each of these relates to one basic Key. In Blues, the most common chords are those built on notes 1, 4 and 5 of the major scale. So in the key of C, these chords would be C, F and G.
In the Key of E they would be E, A and B. The following example demonstrates the 12 Bar Blues progression in the key of E. In the most basic version, chords I and IV are major, while chord V can be major or a dominant 7th.
There are many variations on the 12 Bar Blues form. Most traditional Blues songs have a dominant tonality: i.e., they are played using dominant 7ths, or variations such as 9ths and 13ths. Depending on the style there may be only three different chords, or there may be many other changes throughout the 12 bars. The following progression is a typical example of how a Jazz player might play a Blues in C.
Blues can also be played in minor keys. Two great examples of this are "The Thrill is Gone" by BB King and "Stolen Moments" by Oliver Nelson. The following example demonstrates one version of a Blues in C minor.
There are also many progressions which have a "bluesy" tonality but do not use the 12 bar form. Here is an example in the key of A minor.
A common variation on the Blues form is an Eight bar Blues. Like the 12 bar form, there are many variations. Here is a simple example of an eight bar Blues in the key of E.
Here is more sophisticated version of an eight bar Blues which contains single note runs as well as chords. To learn more about this style of playing, see Complete Learn to Play Blues Guitar Manual.
For More Blues books and recordings by Peter Gelling, visit: www.petergelling.com
