Twelve-bar blues facts for kids

Typical boogie woogie bassline on twelve-bar blues progression in C, chord roots in red.

The 12-bar blues is a very common chord progression in popular music. It's like a musical recipe that many songs follow. This special blues pattern has a clear structure for its lyrics, musical phrases, chords, and how long each part lasts.

At its simplest, it uses three main chords: the I, IV, and V chords of a musical key. Learning the blues and other patterns like rhythm changes is super important for anyone wanting to play jazz music.

How the Blues Began

The blues started from a mix of different types of music. These included work songs, spiritual songs, and early country music from the southern United States. This music was often taught by listening and playing, not by reading notes.

A famous African American composer named W. C. Handy was one of the first to write down blues music. As the blues became popular, record companies started making "race records." These records featured popular blues singers like Bessie Smith and Ma Rainie. Later, the music on these records was called "rhythm and blues" (R&B). As more people wanted to play the blues, the common patterns, like the 12-bar blues, became a standard way to play.

Understanding the Basic Pattern

The basic 12-bar blues pattern can be shown in a few ways. This is the simplest form. It doesn't include common changes like "quick change" or "turnarounds." It also doesn't use seventh chords yet. You'll see those in the next section!

• Chord names in the key of C:

This shows the actual chord names if you're playing in the key of C major.

• Functional names:

Here, the chords are shown by their job in the music. * T means Tonic (the "home" chord). * S means subdominant (the chord that often leads to the tonic). * D means Dominant (the chord that creates tension and wants to go back to the tonic).

• Roman numeral names:

This is a common way musicians talk about chords. * I is the Tonic chord. * IV is the Subdominant chord. * V is the Dominant chord.

Different Ways to Play the Blues

Musicians often change the basic 12-bar blues pattern. Here are some common variations.

Shuffle Blues

In older blues music, the V chord (Dominant) would stay for a longer time. But later, a "shuffle blues" pattern became popular. This pattern uses V–IV–I–I in the last four bars.

Quick to Four

A very common change is called the "quick to four" or "quick change." In this version, the second bar uses the IV chord (Subdominant) instead of staying on the I chord.

Seventh Chords

Seventh chords are special chords that add an extra note. This note is the 7th note of the musical scale. There are different kinds of 7th chords, like major 7ths or dominant 7ths. In blues music, dominant 7th chords are used a lot. Adding these chords can make the music sound more interesting and complex.

Here's an example of how seventh chords might be used:

Bebop Blues

This is a more advanced blues pattern often heard in bop jazz music. Famous jazz songs like Charlie Parker's "Now's the Time" use similar patterns. It adds more complex chords and changes.

Minor Blues

Not all blues is in a major key! There are also minor 12-bar blues. Songs like John Coltrane's "Equinox" are examples. In minor blues, the V chord can be major (V⁷) or minor (v⁷). Sometimes, major and minor sounds are mixed together, which was a special part of Charles Brown's music.

Other Changes

W.C. Handy helped make the blues form standard so musicians could easily play together. Many other changes are possible! The length of the sections can also be changed. This can create eight-bar blues or sixteen-bar blues patterns instead of 12 bars.

The Melody and Lyrics

Just like the chords follow a pattern, the melody (the tune) and lyrics (the words) in a 12-bar blues often follow a form too. A common pattern is called AA'B. This means:

• You hear a musical phrase or line of lyrics (A).
• Then, that same phrase or line is repeated, maybe with a small change (A').
• Finally, something new is played or sung (B).

This AA'B pattern is used a lot in blues music. It's also found in many other types of music that grew from the blues.

Images for kids

• 

  Standard twelve-bar blues progressions variations, in key of C.

See also

In Spanish: Blues de doce compases para niños

• Eight-bar blues
• Sixteen-bar blues
• Bird changes

Sources

de:Blues#Das Blues-Schema