A 12-bar chord progression is used by many musicians who play Blues together.
Blues music is based on a chord progression shared by musicians who jam together and improvise as they play.
Blues follows a 12-bar structure in 4/4 time. That is a count 4 beats per bar for a total of 12 bars. Here is a standard blues progression:
| C7 | C7 | C7 | C7 |
| F7 | F7 | C7 | C7 |
| G7 | F7 | C7 | C7 |
That is:
I I I I
IV IV I I
V IV I I
The basic progression for 12-bar blues may be represented in several ways. It is notated here in its simplest form, without the common seventh chords.
C C C C
F F C C
G F C G
The standard 12-bar blues progression uses chords I IV V, the primary chords. The progression may be played with the tonic cord for the 12th measure or with the 5th chord. That is chord C or G in the key of C. Musicians play the same basic chords as each other, although often with different fingering.
Chords of the 12-bar blues can be played with the same finger patters used for other music. With the following method, all chords played by the right hand use pattern one, that is fingers 1,2,4 and 5, where one is the thumb. Yet chord C in bar 11 can be played as a triad for a faster tempo. Another difference is that chord F7 in bar 10 is played next to chord G in the lower octave, instead of the higher octave where it is usually played. So in the third line of the progression, G7 is played as usual, that jumps to F7, only the thumb moved to form the triad C, then the credence ends with the usual G7. The two chord F7s in the second line are played in the higher octave as usual. For speed with the third line, practise swinging from C7 to G7 by moving the 4th finger from note G down to note D.
The left hand plays the chord as usual. C is played as a triad with pattern 2. The first two Fs are played as triads, pattern 3. The third F is four notes, F7, pattern 1. The two Gs are triads, pattern 1. The last triad C is fingered differently, as shown above, as it swings off the F7.
Blues was first designed for guitars and later played on pianos. So the standard chord progression for blues is easier to play on a guitar than on a piano. Apart from the standard shown above, many other progressions are played as blues, and in many keys other than C. Each musician jamming the blues needs to know the progression they are playing in.
Blues transposed from C to G can be notated like this:
G for 4 bars,
C for two bars,
G7 for two bars,
D, C, G, G.
Here is the progression for 12-bar blues played in the key of G:
G G G G
C C G G
D7 C G G
To go from G7 to D, move the fifth finger of the left hand and the thumb of the right hand to note A and move the last finger to note F#. That is like moving from chord G7 to DM to D.
Each of the three lines of blues melody makes a phrase. Two instruments play in each phrase. One instrument calls then the other responds. One instrument is usually a voice. Other instruments may accompany them. Some measures of blues may be notated as full rests, no notes in them. Those rests are to be filled with melody improvised by another musician.
Practise playing the basic progression of C, F, G, C using the chord fingering shown in this book. Watch how you pivot on the fourth finger of the right hand when you move from Chord C to chord G and back. Finger four plays D note when you play chord G lower and finger four plays G note if you play chord G higher. Either way, pivot with finger four.
With other progressions played with the right hand, play chord G lower and chord F higher. Otherwise you may find yourself left out on a limb, far from the next chord.
Generally play each chord the same way every time you play it with this method. That way there is no confusion or hesitation. One exception is if you play the C triad after chord F7. When you play chord F7 lower, with either the left hand or right, move the thumb to note G to form a triad C.
If you are learning and not used to playing chord F7 lower or if the tempo is too fast for you, try playing triad Am instead of F7 in the last line of the 12-bar blues. Be careful to play Am here without the seventh note G. Then the last line can be G Am C G or G7 Am C G7. Still, playing the C triad as above is easier for both hands: G7 F7 triadC G7.
Some pianists change chord patterns to vary the melody. For example you can play a seventh chord with the middle finger of the right hand on the tonic note. So the middle finger plays note C in chord C7, the pointer plays B, the thumb G and the little finger plays E as the 7th note. Beginners should avoid using that pattern of chord as it is rarely used with this method of piano. Still, try it for the third bar of the 12-bar blues. Playing that pattern with the left hand is easier. When playing triad C, just stay in position two and play note Bflat with the middle finger. The middle finger is good for playing some black keys, sharps or flats. That pattern is still pattern one but with notes played in a different order.
In the key of C, give the melody a blues sound by touching on note Eflat in chord C7. Slip from note Eflat to E in one beat. E is the second note of the chord, played with the pointer finger. The second note is two after the tonic in a scale; C D E. When the second note is flattened, the chord becomes minor instead of major. So C7 becomes Cm7. In key of G, tonic chord G7 becomes chord Gm7 for a beat when the pointer finger plays note Bflat. The second note of any chord can be flattened that way in blues.
To end a blues progression with a strong cadence, play the last chord with its 7th note. In key of C, the last blues chord is G7. So end with G7 or G G7 in the 12th bar. Other types of music usually end with the tonic chord. In key of C, for example, music usually ends with chord C. For a strong cadence play chord G then chord C.
Twelve-bar blues in key of F looks like this:
F7 F7 F7 F7
Bflat Bflat F7 F7
C Bflat F7 F7
Play that F7 chord in the lower octave through the piece. Try it with Gm7 in place of Bflat.
Learners can play chords with the left hand while playing only single notes with the right. Hold the right thumb over note D, the pointer over E, middle finger over F, fouth finger over G and little finger over A. From that position, play the tonic note of whatever chord is being played with the left hand. Play note C with the thumb and note B or Bflat with the little finger, or play D instead of Bflat. Keep those fingers of the right hand in that same pattern for any different chord.
Another way to play blues is with all 7th chords. Both hands playing only 7th chords using pattern 1. So the chords in the standard blues progression are still the same but are all sevenths, no triads. Lead with the right hand and follow with the left. Play C7 with pattern one, fingers T,2,4 5, with the thumb on middle C as usual. Play C7 with that same pattern with the left hand, little finger on G and thumb on note F. The thumb of the left is next to the thumb of the right. Play C7 with both hands at the same time. Change from chord C7 to G7 with the right hand by pivoting on the note G, pivoting back and forward with the thumb and fourth finger. Practise doing that with the right and left hands together. The left hand follows and copies the right without having to pivot.
Practise playing the blues progression that way. While practising any chord progression, rest for a beat or two between chord changes if need be. Concentrate on playing the chords right at first without worrying about timing. With practice, chord changes and timing become easy.
Twelve-bar blues is mainly for musicians who play and improvise together. Other blues pieces do not usually share any standard progression. All the chords, triads, rests and single notes explained above will sound in harmony with what the other musicians improvise for the 12-bar blues.
This book is about ways to play any kind of music on the piano. It is not about any one kind of music. This chapter on blues has been added to test chord changes taught in this book. Playing the chord progression for the 12-bar blues using those changes may be hard for some pianists, because the first, fourth and fifth chords are played far apart. This chapter teaches some easy shortcuts which can be used for blues or some other progressions which have only a few chords in them.
Look at this simple progression made of the first, fourth and fifth chords: C F G C in the key of C. Play the progression with each or both hands. Play F high and G low with C in between. That is the best way overall for a pianist who plays a large list of music, to play those chords. But there are shortcuts for simple progressions like this. Now play the progression with the right hand using chords triad C, F7 and G7. Play triadC one octave higher than middle C, with the thumb, second and fourth fingers. Play both F7 and G7 high with pattern one. Next play the progression with the left hand, using triadC and F7 and G7 both played low using pattern one. Then play with both hands at once. So use that triadC shortcut to play the 12-bar blues.
Playing the 12-bar blues may be easier in some other key. Here is the progression in the key of F. This progression is easier because it has triad C instead of C7, chord Bflat instead of B and Gm7 instead of Bflat. Notice that when you lift the G note, you have triad Bflat. Play both hands using the same open fingering.
F7 F7 F7 F7
GM7 Gm7 F7 F7
C Gm7 F7 F7
Listen to blues if you want to learn to play it. Here are the names of some blues songs: Baby please don’t go; Black Betty; Blues ain't nothing but a good man feeling bad; Bopping the blues; C. C. Rider; Cross roads blues; Dallas blues; Every night when the sun goes in; I just wanna make love to you; Like young; Night train; Original talking blues; Poor Rosy; Rising high water blues; Saint Louis blues; St James infirmary; Stormy monday; Swinging shepherd blues; Wandering; Worried man blues.
Here are some recordings of 12-bar blues played with methods taught in this book:
This web link is to a lot of music all played on piano with the methods taught in this book:
Free music
Copyright © Wallace William Baker; all rights reserved.