The 12-bar blues is one of the most popular chord progressions in popular music. A chord progression (also chord sequence and harmonic progression or sequence) is a series of chords played in order

It has a distinctive form in both lyrics and chord structure which has been used in songs in many forms of popular music. Popular music is Music belonging to any of a number of musical styles that are accessible to the general public and are disseminated by one or more Most commonly, lyrics are in three lines, with the first two lines almost the same with slight differences in phrasing and interjections:

I hate to see the evening sun go down,

Yes, I hate to see that evening sun go down

'Cause it makes me think I'm on my last go 'round

W.C. Handy's "St. Louis Blues"

The chord progression is simple to identify after some study and attention as it rises and falls in a regular and very familiar pattern. William Christopher Handy ( November 16 1873 &ndash March 28 1958) was a Blues Composer and Musician, often " St Louis Blues " is an American popular Song composed by William Christopher Handy in the Blues style The blues can be played in any key, but guitar and bass players prefer open chords, that is, chords with several open strings: E-A-B7 or A-D-E7. The guitar is a Musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles The electric bass guitar (also called electric bass, or simply bass; ˈbeɪs as in "base" is a Stringed instrument played primarily with the Keyboardists may prefer C-F-G7 or G-C-D7. (These are termed, respectively, the tonic, subdominant, and dominant in the discussion below. )

The 12-bar blues chord progression is the basis of thousands of songs, not only formally identified blues songs such as "St. The Blues is a vocal and instrumental form of Music based on the use of the Blue notes It emerged as an accessible form of self-expression Louis Blues", "Shake, Rattle and Roll" and "Hound Dog", but also gospel songs, such as "I'm So Glad (Jesus Lifted Me)", jazz classics like "One O'Clock Jump" and "Night Train", pop and rock songs, including Glenn Miller's "In the Mood", The Beatles' "Why Don't We Do It In The Road?", and The Clash's "Should I Stay or Should I Go", Top 40 hits like Fabian's "Turn Me Loose", "At the Hop" by Danny and the Juniors, and the "Theme from Batman". " Shake Rattle and Roll " is a prototypical Twelve bar blues -form Rock and roll song written in 1954 by Jesse Stone under his assumed songwriting This article is about the canonical books of the New Testament For the 1957 album featuring Count Basie, Joe Williams and Ella Fitzgerald see One O'Clock Jump (album " One " Night Train " is a Twelve bar blues Instrumental standard first recorded by Jimmy Forrest in 1951. Alton Glenn Miller ( March 1 1904 &ndash presumably December 15 1944) was an American Jazz musician and " In the Mood " is a song popularized by the American bandleader Glenn Miller in 1939 and one of the best-known arrangements of the Big band era The Beatles were a pop and rock band from Liverpool, England formed in 1960 " Why Don't We Do It in the Road? " is a song by The Beatles released on their 1968 album The Beatles, commonly referred to as The White Album For the debut album by The Clash see The Clash (album The Clash were " Should I Stay or Should I Go " is a song by The Clash, from their album Combat Rock. The Top Forty or Top 40 is a music industry shorthand for the currently most-popular songs in a particular genre. " Turn Me Loose " is a hit song recorded by the Canadian rock band Loverboy. " At the Hop " a slightly disguised 12-bar blues celebration of popular dance styles was a hit single by Danny and the Juniors. Danny & The Juniors were a Philadelphia based Quartet comprising of Danny Rapp, Dave White, Frank Maffei and Batman is a 1960s American Television series, based on the DC Comic book character of the same name. The vast majority of boogie woogie compositions are 12-bar blues, as are many instrumentals, such as "Rumble" and "Honky Tonk". Boogie-woogie is a style of Piano -based Blues that became very popular in the late 1930s and early 1940s but originated much earlier and was extended from piano An instrumental is a Musical composition or recording without Lyrics or any other sort of Vocal music; all of the Music is produced by A honky tonk (also called a honkatonk, honkey-tonk, or tonk) is a type of bar with musical entertainment that is common in the Southwestern

Many songs written in the blues chord progression do not use the three-line form of lyrics. For instance, "I'm Movin' On" has a verse in the first four bars and a chorus in the final eight bars:

That big eight-wheeler rollin' down the track

Means your true lovin' daddy ain't comin' back. " I'm Movin' On " is a 1950 country standard written by Hank Snow.

I'm movin' on, I'll soon be gone

You were flyin' too high for my little old sky

So I'm movin' on.

"At the Hop" has a twelve-bar verse followed by a twelve-bar chorus. " At the Hop " a slightly disguised 12-bar blues celebration of popular dance styles was a hit single by Danny and the Juniors.

The blues chord progression

~Standard Note Style~
CCCC  CCCC  CCCC  CCCC
FFFF  FFFF  CCCC  CCCC
GGGG  FFFF  CCCC  CCCC
          
         or

Chords can be represented with a few notation systems. A basic example of the progression would look like this, using T to indicate the tonic, S for the subdominant, and D for the dominant, and representing one chord. The tonic is the first note of a musical scale in the tonal method of Musical composition. In Music, the subdominant is the technical name for the fourth tonal degree of the Diatonic scale. In Music, the dominant is the Fifth degree of the scale. For example in the C Major scale (white keys on a piano starting with C the This article describes musical chords in traditional Western styles The tonic is also called the 1-chord ("I" in Roman numerals), the sub-dominant, the 4-chord ("IV" in Roman numerals), and the dominant, the 5-chord ("V" in Roman numerals). Roman numerals are a Numeral system originating in ancient Rome, adapted from Etruscan numerals.

These three chords are the basis of thousands more pop songs which thus often have a blue sound even without using the classical 12-bar form. Pop music as a genre features a noticeable rhythmic element catchy melodies and hooks, a mainstream style and conventional structure Using the above notations, the basic chord progression can be represented as follows.

The first line takes 16 quarter notes (4 bars × 4 beats), as do the remaining two lines (for a total of 48 beats and 12 bars). However, the vocal or lead phrases, though they often come in threes, do not coincide with the above three lines or sections. In Music a phrase ( Greek φράση, sentence expression, see also Strophe) is a section of music that is relatively This overlap between the grouping of the accompaniment and the vocal is part of what creates interest in the twelve bar blues.

Many variations are possible. The common "Quick to Four" variation uses the subdominant chord in the second bar, yielding:

In another variation, the tenth bar can stay in dominant, yielding this:

Further variations can be built up by combining these, and other, variations.

Seventh chords are often used just before a change, and more changes can be added. A seventh chord is a chord consisting of a triad plus a note forming an interval of a Seventh above the chord's root. A more complicated example might look like this, where "7" indicates a seventh chord:

When the last bar contains the dominant, that bar can be called a turnaround. In Jazz, a turnaround is a Passage at the end of a Section which leads to the next section

There are also minor 12-bar blues, such as "Why Don't You Do Right?", made famous by Lil Green with Big Bill Broonzy and then Peggy Lee with the Benny Goodman Orchestra. " Why Don't You Do Right? " is an American Blues standard and Jazz standard written in 1936 by Kansas Joe McCoy. Lil Green ( December 22 1919 — April 14 1954) was an American Blues Singer and Songwriter. Big Bill Broonzy ( 26 June 1898 &ndash 14 August 1958) was a prolific American Blues Singer, songwriter Peggy Lee ( May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002) was an American Jazz and popular music singer and Songwriter Major and minor can also be mixed together, a signature characteristic of the music of Charles Brown. Charles Brown ( September 13, 1922 &ndash January 21, 1999) born in Texas City Texas was an American Blues singer and

Finally, here is an example showing the pattern in the key of D, and how it fits with the lyrics of a given verse. One chord symbol is used per beat, with "-" representing the continuation of the previous chord:

D        -     -      -        
Woke up this morning with an 

G     -   -    -   D - - - D7 - - - 
awful aching head 

G        -     -      -        
Woke up this morning with an 

G7    -   -    -   D - - - D7 - - -
awful aching head

A     -        -     A7
My new man had left me 

G    -    -     G7 D - - - D - A A7
just a room and an empty bed.   

From Bessie Smith's "Empty Bed Blues". Bessie Smith (July 9 1892 or April 15 1894&ndash September 26 1937 was an American Blues singer

While the blues is most often considered to be in sectional strophic form with a verse-chorus pattern, it may also be considered as an extension of the variational chaconne procedure. In Music, strophic form (or chorus form) is a sectional and/or Additive way of structuring a piece of Music based on the Verse-chorus form is a Musical form common in Popular music and predominant in rock since the 1960s In Music, a chaconne (ʃaˈkɔn Italian: ciaccona) is a Musical form whose primary formal feature involves variation on a repeated Van der Merwe (1989) considers it developed in part specifically from the American Gregory Walker though the conventional account would consider hymns as the provider of the blues repeating chord progression or harmonic formulae (Middleton 1990, p. The Gregory Walker or passamezzo moderno ( modern Half step, also quadran, quadrant, quadro pavan) was "one of the 117-8).

"Twelve-bar" oddities

• "St. Louis Blues" is unusual in having a bridge, the famous habanera that gives it a Spanish tinge. The habanera is a musical style or genre from Cuba with a characteristic "Habanera rhythm" it is one of the oldest mainstays of Cuban music and the first The phrase Spanish Tinge is a reference to the belief that a Latin American touch offers a reliable method of spicing the more conventional 4/4 rhythms commonly used
• Eccentric boogie woogie pianist, Cripple Clarence Lofton frequently truncated the chord continuation, ending up with some verses at nine, ten, or eleven bars. Boogie-woogie is a style of Piano -based Blues that became very popular in the late 1930s and early 1940s but originated much earlier and was extended from piano Cripple Clarence Lofton ( March 28 1887 - January 9 1957) born Albert Clemens in Kingsport, Tennessee, was a
• The blue yodels of Jimmie Rodgers, the singing brakeman, are usually of twelve bars, including the repeated first line, but the three lines of lyrics are delivered across the first eight bars, with Rodgers' trademark yodeling obbligato filling the last four. The Blue Yodel songs are a series of thirteen songs written and recorded by Jimmie Rodgers during the period from 1927 to his death in May 1933 Yodeling (or yodelling, jodeling) is a form of Singing that involves singing an extended note which rapidly and repeatedly changes in pitch from the In classical music obbligato usually describes a musical line that is in some way indispensable in performance
• Chuck Berry's "Oh Carol" is a 24-bar blues, with each line doubled in length by the addition of a guitar lick after the vocal part. Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry (born October 18 1926 in St
• The melodies of The Beatles's "Day Tripper", Glenn Miller's "Moonlight Serenade", and "Boddisatva" by Steely Dan start with the first eight bars of the 12-bar progression. The Beatles were a pop and rock band from Liverpool, England formed in 1960 " Day Tripper " is a Riff-driven rock song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and released by The Beatles as a " " Moonlight Serenade " is an American Popular song with original music by Glenn Miller and subsequent lyrics by Mitchell Parish. Steely Dan is a American rock band centered on core members Walter Becker and Donald Fagen.
• Blues Traveler’s song “Warmer Days”, from their debut album, is a thirteen-bar blues. Blues Traveler is an American rock band formed in Princeton New Jersey in 1987 Blues Traveler 's first album was released on A&M Records in 1990 The tenth bar is repeated in each verse.
• Led Zeppelin’s song “Rock and Roll”, from their runically-titled fourth album, alternates the progression length within the song. Led Zeppelin were " Rock and Roll " is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, which was first released as the second track of their untitled fourth album Each instrumental verse (including the introduction and the guitar solo) is a twelve-bar blues, while each sung verse is a 24-bar blues, with each bar of the progression being held for two bars instead of one.
• David Lindley’s version of “Mercury Blues”, from the El Rayo-X album, uses a variation on the progression. David Lindley may refer to David Lindley (badminton David Lindley (musician David Lindley (physicist, UK El Rayo-X is David Lindley's first album released in 1981 (see 1981 in music) The ninth bar uses a minor chord on the submediant rather than the dominant, and the tenth bar uses a dominant rather than a subdominant. In Music, the submediant is the sixth tonal degree of the Diatonic scale. (In Roman-numeral notation, the third line would be written VIm-V-I-I. ) The other bars are as in the basic progression. (As originally written by K. C. Douglas, the song uses a standard progression. )
• Queen's song "I Want To Break Free" uses the twelve-bar pattern for its verses, with a different chord progression only for the middle eight. Queen were an English rock band formed in 1970 in London by guitarist " I Want to Break Free " ( is a Song performed by Queen, which was written exclusively by bassist John Deacon. However, its arrangement (particularly the use of synthesizers) is different from a typical twelve-bar song.
• Steely Dan’s song “Chain Lightning”, from the album Katy Lied, has a twelve-bar structure and rhythm, but only uses some of the basic progression. Steely Dan is a American rock band centered on core members Walter Becker and Donald Fagen. Katy Lied is the fourth album by Steely Dan, released in 1975 The fifth and sixth bars use the mediant, while the seventh and eighth bars use the subtonic. In Music, the mediant is the third degree of the Diatonic scale, being the "middle" note of the tonic In Music, the subtonic is the lowered seventh degree of the scale, as opposed to the leading tone (vii The ninth and tenth bars use the subdominant and the dominant, but in that order (rather than reversed, as in the standard progression). In Roman-numeral notation, the progression runs as follows:

• The song “Mother”, written by Andy Summers and included on The Police’s Synchronicity album, uses a twelve-bar minor-chord blues structure in 7/8 as its musical accompaniment. Andy Summers (born Andrew James Somers 31 December 1942) is an English guitarist and composer best known for his work in The Police The Police were a three-piece rock band consisting of Sting ( vocals, Bass guitar) Andy Summers ( Guitar, Synchronicity is the fifth and final Studio album by The Police, released in 1983

See also

• Eight bar blues
• Sixteen bar blues
• Thirty-two-bar form
• Blues ballad
• Talking blues
• 50s progression, another popular chord progression in Western popular music. An eight bar blues is a typical Blues chord progression taking eight 4/4 bars to the verse The sixteen bar blues can be a variation on an Eight bar blues or the more standard Twelve bar blues. The thirty-two-bar form, often shortened to AABA, is a Musical form common in Tin Pan Alley songs later popular music including rock and The blues ballad creates the sound of the Blues using a Blues scale and blues style chord progressions with a bridge using a different bluesy chord progression in Talking blues is a sub genre of the Blues Music genre. It is characterised by rhythmic speech or near-speech where the Melody is free but the The 50s progression is a Chord progression (ie sequence of chords) used in Western Popular music.

Sources

• Covach, John. "Form in Rock Music: A Primer", in Stein, Deborah (2005). Engaging Music: Essays in Music Analysis. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-517010-5.
• Middleton, Richard (1990/2002). Studying Popular Music. Philadelphia: Open University Press. ISBN 0-335-15275-9.
• Van der Merwe, P. (1989). Origins of the Popular Style. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-316121-4. Cited in Middleton (1990).

External links

• Marc Sabatella's Jazz Improvisation Primer.