Twelve-bar Blues

Twelve-bar Blues

The 12-bar blues (or blues changes) is one of the most popular chord progressions in popular music. The blues progression has a distinctive form in lyrics and phrase and chord structure and duration. It is, at its most basic, based on the I-IV-V chords of a key.

A 24-bar blues follows the same changes but each chord lasts for twice as many measures.

The blues can be played in any key. Mastery of the blues and rhythm changes are "critical elements for building a jazz repertoire" (Thomas 2002, p. 85).

Read more about Twelve-bar Blues:  Structure, Lyrical Patterns, "Twelve-bar" Examples, Analysis, In Jazz

Famous quotes containing the word blues:

    Holly Golightly: You know those days when you’ve got the mean reds?
    Paul: The mean reds? You mean like the blues?
    Holly Golightly: No, the blues are because you’re getting fat or maybe it’s been raining too long. You’re just sad, that’s all. The mean reds are horrible. Suddenly you’re afraid and you don’t know what you’re afraid of.
    George Axelrod (b. 1922)