The blues is one of the most important styles of music ever. Rock, jazz and countless pop songs grew out of it. The best part: its framework is really simple – 12 bars and just three chords. Once you know this form, you can jam with musicians all over the world.
The pattern in C
Each bar has four beats. Here’s the 12-bar blues in C – each line is four bars:
- C | C | C | C
- F | F | C | C
- G7 | F | C | G7
In the last bar G7 leads back to the start, and the whole thing begins again. Blues players love to play all three chords as sevenths – C7, F7 and G7 – for an even bluesier sound. To get started, the simple chords are all you need.
The blues in other keys
The pattern works in any key. The three chords are often called I, IV and V after their place in the scale. In G they’re G, C and D7; in A they’re A, D and E7. On guitar and banjo the blues in G or A is popular, on ukulele the blues in C. More in Transposing.
Playing your own notes
- Step 1: play just the root note of each chord, once per bar.
- Step 2: alternate root and fifth – it already sounds like a bass line.
- Step 3: a little boogie riff that moves along with the chords.
- Step 4: improvise freely with the notes of the blues scale. There are no forbidden notes here – just try things out!
You’ll find exactly these four steps in the app’s blues tool. A backing band with bass, organ and drums plays the pattern, the notes light up as dots on the neck, and you can pick any key you like.
Play the blues