Blues Progression - Notes
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The twelve-bar blues is one of the most prominent chord progressions in popular
music. In its basic form, it is predominantly based on the I, IV, and V
chords of a key. Mastery of the blues and rhythm changes are "critical elements
for building a jazz repertoire".
Structure.
The most common or standard 12-bar blues progressions variations, in C.(Benward
& Saker 2003, 186). Created by Hyacinth 05:08, 14 July 2011 (UTC) using Sibelius
5. Source: Wikipedia.
In the key of C, one basic blues progression (E from above) is as follows. (For
the most commonly used patterns see the section "Variations", below.)
C
C
C
C
F
F
C
C
G
G
C
C
or
C7
C7
C7
C7
F7
F7
C7
C7
G7
G7
C7
C 7
See also: Popular music symbols
Chords may be also represented by a few different notation systems such as sheet
music and electronic music. 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. In Roman numeral analysis the tonic is
called the I, the sub-dominant the IV, and the dominant the V. (These three
chords are the basis of thousands of pop songs, which thus often have a blues
sound even without using the classical twelve-bar form.)
Using said notations, the chord progression outlined above can be represented as
follows.
Functional Notation
T
T
T
T
S
S
T
T
D
D
T
T
Roman Numeral Notation
I
I
I
I
IV
IV
I
I
V
V
I
I
The first line takes four bars, as do the remaining two lines, for a total of
twelve bars. However, the vocal or lead phrases, though they often come in
threes, do not coincide with the above three lines or sections. This overlap
between the grouping of the accompaniment and the vocal is part of what creates
interest in the twelve bar blues.
Variations
"W.C. Handy, 'the Father of the Blues', codified this blues form to help musicians communicate chord changes." Many variations are possible. The length of sections may be varied to create eight-bar blues or sixteen-bar blues.
Seventh (Passing) Chords
Seventh chords are often used just before a change, and more changes can be
added. A more complicated example might look like this, where "7" indicates a
seventh chord:
I
I
I
I7
IV
IV7
I
I7
V
V7
I
I
“Shuffle blues” Pattern
In the original form, the dominant chord continued through the tenth bar; later
on the V–IV–I–I "shuffle blues" pattern became standard in the third set of four
bars:
I
I
I
I
IV
IV
I
I
V
IV
I
I
Play (help·info)
Quick To Four Variation
The common quick to four or quick-change (quick four) variation uses the
subdominant chord in the second bar:
I
IV
I
I
IV
IV
I
I
V
IV
I
I
Seventh chords are often used just before a change, and more changes can be
added. A more complicated example might look like this, where "7" indicates a
seventh chord:
C
C
C
C7
F
F7
C
C7
G
G7
C
C
Seventh Chords With Turnaround
I
IV
I
I7
IV
IV7
I
I7
V
IV
I
I / V7
When the last bar contains the dominant, that bar may be called a turnaround;
otherwise the last four measures is the blues turnaround.
These variations are not mutually exclusive; the rules for generating them may
be combined with one another (or with others not listed) to generate more
complex variations.
Basic Jazz Blues Progression
I7
IV7 ♯IVo7
I7
V7 I7
IV7
♯IVo7
I7
iii7 VI7
ii7
V7
iii7 VI7
II7V7
Play (help·info)
In jazz, twelve-bar blues progressions are expanded with moving substitutions
and chordal variations. The cadence (or last four measures) uniquely leads to
the root by perfect intervals of fourths.
Bop V/ii arpeggio, in second measure, upwards from third (C♯) to ninth (B♭):
A7♭9 (Spitzer 2001, 62) the dominant of D minor (ii in C major) Play (help·info).
The Bebop Blues:
I7
IV7
I7
v7 I7
IV7
♯IVo7
I7
V / ii♭9
ii7
V7
I7 V / ii♭9
ii7 V7
Play (help·info)
This progression is similar to Charlie Parker's "Now's the Time", "Billie's
Bounce", Sonny Rollins's "Tenor Madness", and many other bop tunes. "It is a bop
soloist's cliche to arpeggiate this chord [A7♭9 (V/ii = VI7♭9)] from the 3 up to
the ♭9."
Minor Blues
There are also minor twelve-bar blues, such as John Coltrane's "Equinox" and
"Mr. P.C.", and "Why Don't You Do Right?", made famous by Lil Green with Big
Bill Broonzy and then Peggy Lee with the Benny Goodman Orchestra.[citation
needed] The chord on the fifth scale degree may be major (V7) or minor (v7), in
which case it fits a dorian scale along with the minor i7 and iv7 chords,
creating a modal feeling. Major and minor can also be mixed together, a
signature characteristic of the music of Charles Brown.
Minor blues (Spitzer 2001, p. 63)
i7
i7
i7
i7
iv7
iv7
i7
i7
bVI7
V7
i7
i7
Play (help·info)
In the key of Am, the progression would look like this:
Am7
Am7
Am7
Am7
Dm7
Dm7
Am7
Am7
E7
E7
Am7
Am7
i
ii°
III
iv
v
VI
VII
Am
Bdim
C
Dm
Em
F
G
8-Bar Progressions
Eight bar blues progressions have more variations than the more rigidly defined
twelve bar format. The move to the IV chord usually happens at bar 3 (as opposed
to 5 in twelve bar); however, "the I chord moving to the V chord right away, in
the second measure, is a characteristic of the eight-bar blues."
In the following examples each box represents a 'bar' of music (the specific
time signature is not relevant). The chord in the box is played for the full
bar. If two chords are in the box they are each played for half a bar, etc. The
chords are represented as scale degrees in Roman numeral analysis. Roman
numerals are used so the musician may understand the progression of the chords
regardless of the key it is played in.
I
V7
IV7
IV7
I
V7 IV7
I
V7
Play eight bar blues in C (help·info)
"Worried Life Blues" (probably the most common eight bar blues progression):
I
I
IV
IV
I
V
I IV
I V
Play eight bar blues progression in C (help·info)
"Heartbreak Hotel" (variation with the I on the first half):
I
I
I
I
IV
IV
V
I
J. B. Lenoir's "Slow Down"[6] and "Key to the Highway" (variation with the V at
bar 2):
I7
V7
IV7
IV7
I7
V7
I7
V7
"Get a Haircut" by George Thorogood (simple progression):
I
I
I
I
IV
IV
V
V
Jimmy Rogers' "Walkin' By Myself"[6] (somewhat unorthodox example of the form):
I7
I7
I7
I7
IV7
V7
I7
V7
Howlin Wolf's version of "Sitting on Top of the World" is actually a 9 bar blues
that adds an extra "V" chord at the end of the progression. The song uses
movement between major and dominant 7th and major and minor fourth:
I
I7
IV
vi
I7
V
I7 IV
I7 V
The first four bar progression used by Wolf is also used in Nina Simone's 1965
version of "Trouble in Mind", but with a more uptempo beat than "Sitting on Top
of the World":
I
I7
IV
vi
I VI7
ii V
I IV
I V
The progression may be created by dropping the first four bars from the
twelve-bar blues, as in the solo section of Bonnie Raitt's "Love Me Like a Man"
and Buddy Guy's "Mary Had a Little Lamb":
IV7
IV7
I7
I7
V7
IV7
I7
V7
There are at least a few very successful songs using somewhat unusual chord
progressions as well. For example, the song "Ain't Nobody's Business" as
performed by Freddie Kingat least, uses a I–III–IV–iv progression in each of the
first four bars. The same four bar progression is used by the band Radiohead to
make up the bulk of the song "Creep".
I
III
IV
iv
I
vi
ii
V7
The same chord progression can also be called a sixteen-bar blues, if each
symbol above is taken to be a half note in 2/2 or 4/4 time. Examples are "Nine
Pound Hammer" and Ray Charles's original instrumental "Sweet Sixteen Bars".
16-Bar Progressions
Most sixteen bar blues are adapted from a standard twelve-bar progression. The
standard twelve-bar blues progression is
I
I
I
I
IV
IV
I
I
V
V or IV
I
I
Play in C (help·info)
where each cell in the table represents one measure (or "bar"), "I" represents
the tonic chord, "IV" the subdominant chord, and "V" the dominant chord.
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,
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
IV
IV
I
I
V
V or IV
I
I
Examples include "I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man",[1] "Close to You", written by
Willie Dixon and first performed by Muddy Waters, and "Oh, Pretty Woman",
written by A.C. Williams and first recorded by Albert King (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,
I
I
I
I
IV
IV
I
I
V
V
V or IV
V or IV
I
I
I
I
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:
I
I
I
I
IV
IV
I
I
IV
IV
I
I
V
V or IV
I
I
Examples include "rural" (as opposed to "urban") versions of "See See Rider"[(as
interpreted by, among others, Mississippi John Hurt, Lead Belly and Big Bill
Broonzy); most renditions of "Going Down The Road Feelin' Bad" AKA "Lonesome
Road Blues", e.g. by Henry Whitter (the first recording of this tune in 1924),
the Blue Ridge Duo (George Reneau and Gene Austin) and Woody Guthrie; and
"Sleepy Time Time" by Cream.
In a further repeating variation, the transition from the ninth (dominant) to
tenth (subdominant) twelve-bar chord is repeated twice,
I
I
I
I
IV
IV
I
I
V
V or IV
V
V or IV
V
V or IV
I
I
Play in C (help·info)
This can be heard, for example, in "Watermelon Man" by Herbie Hancock.
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,
I
I
I
I
IV
IV
I
I
V
IV
V
IV
I
I
I
I
Examples include "Let's Dance," written by Jim Lee, first performed by Chris
Montez, and covered by bands including the Ramones.[citation needed]
32-Bar Progressions
Note. Wikipedia article is incomplete. It does not include a section on
structure as in the case of 8-bar, 12-bar, and 16-bar progressions.
The thirty-two-bar form, also known as the AABA song form, American popular song
form and the ballad form, is a song structure commonly found in Tin Pan Alley
songs and other American popular music, especially in the first half of the 20th
century.
At its core, the basic AABA 32-bar song form consists of four sections, each
section being 8 bars in length, totaling 32 bars. Each of these 8-bar sections
is assigned a letter name ("A" or "B"), based on its melodic and harmonic
content. The A sections all share the same melody (possibly with slight
variations), and the recurring title lyric typically falls on either the first
or last line of each A section.
The "B" section musically and lyrically contrasts the A sections, and may or may
not contain the title lyric. The "B" section may use a different harmony that
contrasts with the harmony of the A sections. For example in the song "I've Got
Rhythm", the A sections are in the key of B♭, but the B section involves a
circle of fifths series of dominant seventh chords going from D7, G7, C7 to F7.
Song form terminology is not standardized, and the B section is also referred to
as the "middle eight", "bridge", or "primary bridge".
As noted, this song form consists of four sections:
1. an eight-bar A section;
2. a second eight-bar A section (which may have slight changes from the first A
section);
3. an eight-bar B section, often with contrasting harmony or "feel"; and
4. a final eight-bar A section.
The core melody line is generally retained in each A section, although
variations may be added, particularly for the last A section.
Examples of 32-bar AABA form songs include "Over the Rainbow", "What'll I Do",
"Make You Feel My Love", "Blue Skies",[citation needed]and Willie Nelson's
"Crazy". Many show tunes that have become jazz standards are 32-bar song forms.
The song form of "What'll I Do" by Irving Berlin is as follows:
Name
Lyric from "What'll I Do" by Irving Berlin
A1
What'll I do when you are far away and I am blue? What'll I do?
A2
What'll I do when I am won'dring who is kissing you? What'll I do?
B
What'll I do with just a photograph to tell my troubles to?
A3
When I'm alone with only dreams of you that won't come true... What'll I do?
Terminology
Sectional verse
Some Tin Pan Alley songs composed as numbers for musicals precede the main tune
with what was called a "sectional verse" or "introductory verse" in the
terminology of the early 20th century. This introductory section is usually
sixteen bars long and establishes the background and mood of the number, and is
musically undistinguished in order to highlight the attractions of the main
tune. The sectional verse is often omitted from modern performances. It is not
assigned a letter in the "AABA" naming scheme.
The introductory verse from "What'll I Do" by Irving Berlin is as follows:
Gone is the romance that was so divine,
'tis broken and cannot be mended
You must go your way, and I must go mine,
but now that our love dreams have ended...
Bridge
See also: Bridge (music)
In music theory, the middle 8 or bridge is the B section of a 32-bar form. This
section has a significantly different melody from the rest of the song and
usually occurs after the second "A" section in the AABA song form. It is called
a middle 8 because it happens in the middle of the song and the length is
generally eight bars.
Terminological confusion
In early 20th century terminology, the main 32-bar AABA section, in its
entirety, was called the "refrain" or "chorus". This is in contrast to the
modern usage of the term "chorus", which refers to a repeating musical and
lyrical section in verse–chorus form. Additionally, "verse," "chorus" and
"refrain" all have different meanings in modern musical terminology. See the
below chart for clarification:
Early terminology
Modern terminology
What it refers to in 32-bar form
Introductory verse or
sectional verse
Introductory verse or
sectional verse
The opening section, often 16 bars in length, which resembles recitative from
opera.
Refrain or
chorus
Verse-refrain form or
AABA form
The 32-bar section, composed of four separate 8-bar sections, taking the form
[A] [A] [B] [A]
None
Verse
Any of the three individual 8 bar "A" sections.
Bridge
Bridge or
middle 8 or
release or
primary bridge
8-bar "B" section.
None
Refrain line
This recurring lyric line is often the title of the song
("Yesterday", "Let's Face the Music and Dance", "Luck Be a Lady Tonight".)
History
Though the 32-bar form resembles the ternary form of the operatic da capo aria,
it did not become common until the late 1910s. It became "the principal form" of
American popular song around 1925–1926, with the AABA form consisting of the
chorus or the entirety of many songs in the early 20th century.
The 32-bar form was often used in rock in the 1950s and '60s, after which
verse–chorus form became more prevalent. Examples include:
• George Gershwin "I Got Rhythm" (1930)[9]
• Jerry Lee Lewis' "Great Balls of Fire" (1957)[9]
• The Everly Brothers' "All I Have to Do Is Dream" (1958)[9]
• The Shirelles' "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" (1960)[9]
• The Beach Boys' "Surfer Girl" (1963)[9]
Though more prevalent in the first half of the 20th century, many contemporary
songs show similarity to the form, such as "Memory", from Cats, which features
expanded form through the B and A sections repeated in new keys.[10] Songwriters
such as Lennon–McCartney and those working in the Brill Building also used
modified or extended 32-bar forms, often modifying the number of measures in
individual or all sections. The Beatles ("From Me to You" (1963) and "I Want to
Hold Your Hand" (1963)), like many others, would extend the form with an
instrumental section, second bridge, break or reprise of the introduction, etc.,
and another return to the main theme. Introductions and codas also extended the
form. In "Down Mexico Way" "the A sections … are doubled in length, to sixteen
bars—but this affects the overall scheme only marginally".
12-Bar Blues Progression
In the key of C, one basic blues progression is as follows.
C
C
C
C
F
F
C
C
G
G
C
C
16-Bar Progressions
One of the most basic:
I
I
I
I
IV
IV
I
I
V
V
V or IV
V or IV
I
I
I
I
Adapted, with passing Dominant 7th chords:
I
I
I
I7
IV
IV7
I
I7
V
V7
IV
IV7
I
I7
IV V7
I
The 12 Bar Blues in Beatles Music, Part 2 - Analyses
Aaron Krerowicz – 1/14/2013
https://www.aaronkrerowicz.com/beatles-blog/the-12-bar-blues-in-beatles-music-part-2-analyses
The basic formula of a 12 bar blues progression, as written in Roman numerals
with each character representing one measure, is as follows:
I I I I
IV IV I I
V IV I I
This pattern can, of course, be used in any key. Below are 5 examples
in C major: in D major: in E major: in G major: in A major:
C C C C D D D D E E E E G G G G A A A A
F F C C G G D D A A E E C C G G D D A A
G F C C A G D D B A E E D C G G E D A A
27 songs recorded and released by the Beatles use a 12 bar blues progression or
something comparable. Of those 27, 15 were original compositions and 12 were
covers. Below are all 28 tracks, listing their year of release, tonality, a
concise harmonic analysis, and brief commentary.
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50+ Legendary 12 Bar Blues Songs – The Essential List
https://musiciantuts.com/12-bar-blues-songs/
Sorce: Musician Tuts – Tutorials, Tips, and Guides for Musicians
Blues music paved the way for many other genres of music we know and love.
Although blues music has evolved over time, a fundamental chord progression
called the 12 bar blues still lives on. 12 bar blues songs are comprised of 3
chords: the I, the IV, and the V and are played using a pattern that ultimately
ends up being 12 bars long.
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