12 Bar Blues

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12 BAR BLUES

The basic form of a standard blues tune is 12 measures long. A measure is how musical meter (or pulse) is organized. This meter is divided into beats. Most blues tunes will have a 4/4 meter, which simply means that there are four beats (or counts) in each measure. In other words, "1,2,3,4" which repeats "1,2,3,4, 1,2,3,4...etc"....

These measures are also referred to as "bars." Since there are twelve bars in standard blues song, it's easy to understand why the phrase 12 bar blues is very popular.

Now, in the very basic blues form, there is a prescribed blues chord to play in each of these measures. It goes like this... (a measure is designated here as / /)

/ C7 / C7 / C7 / C7 /
/ F7/ F7 / C7 / C7 /
/G7 / F7 / C7 / C7 /

There you have your 12 bar blues in its most basic form.
Each chord in each measure would be played for 4 beats. Continue your adventure with learning more about blues piano by grabbing yourself a copy of Jazz Piano For Beginners. It will absolutely get you going.

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