Blues
Blues
For a bit of history and information on 12 bar blues see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12-bar_blues. We are going to look at how some of the standard blues progressions look in SeeChord.
Let us start with the most popular blues form; the 12 bar blues.
As you can see, this is a very simple chord pattern and that is what gives it such strength. The basic movement is from I(C in this case) to IV(F), then to V(G) and back to I(C) again. This is shown by the red line.
Blues Chord Progressions
[seeChordViewer src=”/content/Application/Blues/blues2-viewer”]
However the chords change through “substitutions” and altered progressions, this basic structure remains the same.
Here is an example of a typical jazz reworking of the 12 bar blues:
[seeChordViewer src=”/content/Application/Blues/blues5-viewer”]
We can see that the same basic structure as represented by the red line remains the same. However there are a number of small but significant changes in the harmony to provide a more dynamic and interesting sound. Of particular interest is the final half which consists simply of two lines of descending fifths. The final one of these is known as a turnaround as instead of ending on the tonic (C) it leads back to the tonic, thereby providing a satisfying loop.
Blues