twelve bar blues
Classic chord cycle
Twelve bar blues is a chord progression that forms the backbone of blues music and much of rock and roll.
The pattern spans twelve measures, cycling through the first, fourth, and fifth chords of a key in a predictable sequence.
Musicians use it as a framework for improvisation: Let's jam on a twelve bar blues in E.
The structure is so fundamental that saying it's just a twelve bar tells any competent player exactly what to do.
Shift in opposite direction
- progressionSequential forward movement
- tonicInvigorating medicinal drink
- subdominantFourth scale degree
- chord changesHarmonic transitions in music
harmonic · cadence · verse form · standard · convention · comping · walking bass · pentatonic
Randomize by mixing
- swingSuspended recreational seat
- grooveNarrow cut or routine
- backbeatAccent on weak beats
- syncopationStressed unexpected beats
boogie-woogie · tempo · stomp · pulse · beat · polyrhythm · ostinato · drumming
Performance by one
- jammingBlocking or wedging forcefully
- licksTongue strokes
- phrasingManner of expressing something
- expressionConveyed thought or feeling
spontaneity · variation · interpretation · feel · dynamics · motif · call and response · bending
Subdued, lasting sadness
- heartacheDeep emotional distress
- lonelinessState of lacking companions
- sorrowDeep emotional distress
- anguishIntense mental suffering
lament · yearning · nostalgia · woe · mournfulness · plaintive · catharsis · raw
Alluvial formation at mouth
- ChicagoMajor Illinois metropolis
- TexasSecond-largest American state
- PiedmontMountain-base territory
- bluesmenMusicians of a mournful genre
juke joint · roots · acoustic · electric · crossroads · Mississippi · Memphis · work song
turnaround
Shift in opposite direction
- progressionSequential forward movement
- tonicInvigorating medicinal drink
- subdominantFourth scale degree
chord changes · harmonic · cadence · verse form · standard · convention · comping · walking bass · pentatonic · call and response
shuffle
Randomize by mixing
syncopation · boogie-woogie · tempo · stomp · pulse · beat · polyrhythm · ostinato · drumming · riffing
solo
Performance by one
expression · spontaneity · variation · interpretation · feel · dynamics · motif · call and response · bending · vibrato
melancholy
Subdued, lasting sadness
- heartacheDeep emotional distress
- lonelinessState of lacking companions
- sorrowDeep emotional distress
anguish · lament · yearning · nostalgia · woe · mournfulness · plaintive · catharsis · raw · gritty
Delta
Alluvial formation at mouth
bluesmen · juke joint · roots · acoustic · electric · crossroads · Mississippi · Memphis · work song · spirituals
- BluesB.B. King, Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, Buddy Guy, Howlin Wolf
- blues music
- chord progressionsprogression, chord change, turnaround, vamp
- dozen things
twelve bar bluesopera
Theatrical art combining song
Gregorian chant · electronic music · orchestral music · art song · chamber music
twelve bar bluesserialism
Fixed-sequence composition technique
jazz fusion · bebop · progressive rock · atonality · post-bop
twelve, blues, twelfth, bars, barred, blue, bluer, bluest, bluish