This is called a c major chord and you can see how straight forward it is. It is not only the basic structure for blues, but is also used extensively in rock, country, jazz and pop music. To get a quick taste of the blues buffet, a one bar example of an arpeggiated c major notes c, e, and g chord is shown below. Looking at the progression, youll see that you play the g chord for four bars, the c chord for the next two, back to the g chord for two, then one bar each of the d, c.
Regardless of what embellishments an accompanist provide, these chords will imply harmony over a standard i, iv, v 12 bar blues. Chord variations may also be added for harmonic diversity. In this lesson, you will learn about the chords used in the 12 bar blues chord progression. Blues if often played with a 12 bar structure, a socalled 12 bar blues. E major is the most common blues key on guitar, so you could think of e7 as the 1 chord, a7 as the 4 chord and b7 as the 5 chord. Recall that you would play your open c major chord. In the basic f blues, the 12 bars are only made up of 3 different chords. The standard 12bar blues progression has three chords in it the 1 chord, the 4. Remember to start with the basic pentatonic box shapes you already know. Blues piano tutorial chord progression 12 bar blues youtube. This lesson covers the traditional, quick change, and shuffle blues. Precadential progressions pdf ragtime progressions ivi7ii7v7 relative minor vamps. We will be playing it in the key of g, so our chords are g, c and d. The 12 bar blues is the most basic blues chord progression.
G g g g c c g g d c g most of that should make sense to you. There are plenty of arrangements, based on chord progressions, to use. It includes the first chords you should know and some substitutions that you can try. Take a look at the video at this point to see me play the 12bar blues progression with eighth notes using a swing rhythm and power chords in the key of e. Try playing the 12 bar blues progression in c with just the major triads. In the simple 12 bar blues we play all of these chords as dominant. Blues progressions in major and minor guitar chord. Blues music paved the way for many other genres of music we know and love. It is very common in blues music to add 7ths to the major chords giving that classic blues sound. D i one chord 4 measures g iv four chord 2 measures d i. If you want to check out more about using the types of chords that i use here in example one you should check out my lesson on how to play jazz chords. Playing the 12 bar blues chord progression in the key of c 4. As its name would suggest, it is made up of 12 bars or measures, which are laid out in a very specific order.
Understanding the 12 bar blues form rock class 101. My blogging has been rather sporadic so far this month this is a busy time of year for piano teachers, isnt it. Four dominant blues chords that you can use in the 12 bar blues. Try these out with the sample progression we provided above, and listen to the differences in using the regular major chords and the seventh chords. In the minor variation of the 12 bar blues, minor 7th chords are substituted for the i7 and iv7 chords. Instead of staying on the i chord for four measures, you play a iv chord for example, a in the key of e in the second measure for one bar, and go back to the i chord for two bars. For today, though, well focus on how youd create your chords and blues progression in the key of c major.
Likewise, the major barre chord shape that looks like the open position a major chord second row, root on string two or a can be played on the second fret for b major or on the third fret for c major. Make a feature of the chord change by adding the major 6 interval, which is on the 4th fret of the fourth string. Once you can play a closed using barre chords 12 bar blues shuffle rhythm you will be able to play it in any key when you have finished this lesson and done a little practice. What makes the chords bluesy is the use of 7th chords rather than the basic triads. This solo isnt very flashy, but its filled with a lot of great secrets to help develop your blues chops. When im playing my a and b power chords, ill usually mute the low e string with the palm of my strumming hand to make sure it doesnt ring out if i accidentally hit it. If we build up triad chords using intervals of third we get the following. The 12 bar blues is the most common blues chord progression. Minor key blues, which should also be learned, has a minor i and iv, and a dominant v7 as in major key blues. Remember, to turn this combination of notes into a blues progression, simply play the same combination in the chords of c, f, and g in the 12 bar blues pattern. Smooth jazz backing track in c major 60 bpm duration. Blues guitar chords comprehensive blues chord chart. It was a small group continue reading free printable.
The 10 best blues guitar chords chord progressions, 12 bar blues. The basic 12 bar blues progression can be played in any key and will use the i, iv, and v chords from that key. Note that, in this blues form, chord changes can occur within the same bar, as indicated in the some of the variations below. This is a fantastic note to add when playing over a iv chord. Chord extensions should predominantly follow the examples given earlier, and solo passages can be improvised over using certain scales and modes following the harmony of the embellished chord chart. The twelve bar blues or blues changes is one of the most prominent chord progressions in popular music. G, f, c, c below is an animation of the chords used in the 12 bar blues chord progression in the key of c. This 12 bar blues lesson for beginners is divided in two parts, this is part 1. Blues guitar chords can be any major chords used to play blues in any key, but some, like e and a, sound more bluesy than others. In the final bar, v7 is usually used before a repeating a chorusthis called a turnaround and i is used for the last chorus. And if you want to learn jazz piano, please do check out.
That means, the c minor chord as well as the diminished and augmented chord do not belong to this scale. For the purist, most blues chords add 7ths, but 9ths and ths can be used as well. Most jazz standards are 32 bars long and so the blues form is less that a third of the length of a typical jazz standard. Chord progressions the best free chord progression lessons on the web the recipe for music is part melody, lyric, rhythm, and harmony chord progressions. Less common than 12 bar blues, the 8 bar blues form condenses the 1 4 5 sequence into. Based on the i, iv and v chords of any key, the 12 bar blues is one of the most prominent chord progressions in modern music. In example 1 below, a 12 bar blues progression is shown in the key of g, using open position dominant 7th chords, the type of chord typically associated with a bluesy sound. Here is the blues in c backing track for you to practice with. Lets take a look at the chord progression for the 12 bar blues chord progression in the key of c. Learning these basic ideas first can make a world of difference to even super shreddy licks. They provide us with full, vibrant chord voicings and, in the context of blues, were most interested in the dominant 7th variations of these open chords.
The basic structure of the 12 bar blues is 3 lines of 4 bars each. The first step is to play the 12 bar jazz blues with some basic chords. Were going to keep things simple by using only power chords to focus on. In the key of c the chords would be c major f major and g major.
Take your time with it though, there are lots of technical elements involved, and mind the. You will see above that on a c scale the first note is of course c, and the 4th and 5th is f and g. This first thing i go over is playing a minor pentatonic over a. With only 3 chords in a 12 bar blues, it has the power to move you. The quick four is a variation on the 12 bar blues with a different second bar. Im so glad my spring recital is over, but this month is still somehow very booked.
The peak v chord the v chord is the point at which the 12 bar blues is at its most tense, so why not make the most of the tension. If we want to build up a collection of chords for the c major scale we should include only those chords using notes from this scale. Start with the first box shape and put the 1 the root note of the scale on the right note for the backing track. And with that, youve learned the chords for a 12 bar blues in the key of c major. Blues chord progressions 12, 8 and 16 bar examples. Chords, patterns and fills for major and minor blues.
This next example is the most basic form of the 12 bar blues in the key of c using the chords c7, f7, and g7. Easy guitar tutorial 12 bar blues in ethe 12 bar blues is a very common pattern and an important one for guitar players to learn. For the blues in any other key, wed do the exact same thing. Here you will learn many 12 bar blues progressions, from the most basic ones to more complex. In todays lesson, we are going to take an indepth look at how the form, or structure, of a blues chord progression is made. A really important skill in playing blues is being able to play your 12 bar blues rhythm shuffle in any key. The chord shape and guitar tuning plays a big part too. Blues guitar curriculum chords, strumming, scales, 12.
The 12 bar is an extremely common structure when playing blues. These are constructed of a major triad as in the table below and then adding a minor 7th on the top 10 semitones above the root forming dominant 7th chords. Its called the 12 bar blues because its only 12 bars long. Blues is undoubtedly one of the most popular forms of music to come out of america. The i chord is f, the iv chord is bb and the v chord is c. The simplicity of blues is what draws people to it. Once you can play a closed using barre chords 12 bar blues shuffle rhythm you will be.
On saturday, i had another piano party with my students. Heres a quick guide on how to play 12 bar piano blues chords, and. The progression uses the i, iv and v chords of the major scale. In the above example, the last 2 measures use a cadence referred to as a turnaround. The 12 bar blues is a 12 bar long chord progression that solo blues musicians. The other major benefit of the method i show you here is that if you are trying to work. Since this one is in d, put the 1 on the 10th fret of the bottom e string and you are on your way. Walkthatbass and if you want to learn jazz piano, please do check out. Click or tap on the transcription below to open a pdf for the 12 bar blues in a. Minor blues also has a different turnaroundbvi7v7im7v7 in the key of gm, that would be eb7d7gm7d7which can be heard in b. I kept it simple by showing whole notes, but i would.
If youve never understood twelve bar blues than chances are your at a disadvantage to other guitarists. F jazz blues comping jazz chords and concepts guitar. Mastery of the blues and rhythm changes are critical elements for building a jazz repertoire. In its basic form, it is predominantly based on the i, iv, and v chords of a key. Below is the sheet music for a 12 bar blues rhythm. The only 3 chords you need to master the blues on piano. Blues in c would plug in the chords c, f, and g into the 12bar blues structure.
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