Want to learn to play the Blues? you will need to understand and learn to play the 12-bar blues (Blues changes). This is among the most important chord progressions that you will encounter in music and a steeping stone in order to learn rock, jazz, metal or country (these genres have born from the blues).
First Step Towards Learning the Blues
Besides learning the blues scale, this is the pattern that you will need to learn initially when you start learning Blues Piano. Once you are comfortable with the 12-Bars, you may want to try out some chord substitutions, just to make it a bit more exciting and to prevent it from sounding monotonous.
12 bar blues is nothing but three chords played in a fixed order for 12 bars. The three chords need to belong to the same key and are based on the first, fourth and fifth notes of the key. As a beginner you have to play these three chords but as you become a seasoned player you will soon realize that there is nothing rigid about music.
You can definitely go around doing plenty of chord substitutions. But for the time being these three chords is what you need to remember to be able to play blues piano.
12 Bar Blues in the C Scale
So if you consider the scale of C, you will need to use the C, F and G chords, which are the first, fourth and fifth chords respectively. What about the sequence and the number of bars to be played? Here it is!
12 Bar blues in the C scale
- C chord 4 bars
- F chord 2 bars
- C chord 2 bars
- G chord 1 bar
- F chord 1 bar
- C chord 1 bar
- G chord 1 bar
Total 12 bars
Videos Showing how to Play 12 Bar Blues
Variations in the 12-Bar Blues
Here are some commonly allowed varaitions in the 12-bar blues.
- Instead of V V I I, use V IV I I
- Use I IV I I instead of I I I I, Use V IV I I instead of V V I I
- Checkout more variations here.
Final Thoughts
The 12 bar blues is definitely one of the most popular (and important) chord progressions used in blues songs, and also widely used in other genres of music. Get a grip on the 12 bar blues progression and you’ll be able to play many other rock and pop progressions as well.
KeytarHQ editorial team includes musicians who write and review products for pianists, keyboardists, guitarists & other musicians. KeytarHQ is the best online resource for information on keyboards, pianos, synths, keytars, guitars and music gear for musicians of all abilities, ages and interests.
Leave a Reply