Understanding The 12 Bar Blues On The Guitar
Maybe someone has said it to you before “this is just a straight 12 bar blues” or something like that.
What exactly are they talking about when they say 12 bar blues?
How do you choose the correct notes?
How do you know when to switch between notes or chords?
By the end of this article all three of these questions will be answered. After reading this you should be able to go grab your guitar and start picking out some 12 bar blues riffs in different keys that you’re familiar with.
Choosing the Correct Notes
While playing the 12 bar blues is simple to find the right notes to play you must first understand a technique known as I-IV-V (or one-four-five).
These numbers (or roman numerals) stand for the first, fourth and fifth notes taken from a given scale.
Example: We’ll assume we’re going to play the 12 bar blues in the key of A so we need to review the A major scale
A – B – C# – D – E - F# - G# - A
In this example we have our one = A, Four = D and Five = E.
By replacing the notes taken from the A scale with the equivalent chords (A note is A major chord) we can then play our 12 bar blues pattern.
Formula for the 12 Bar Blues
As the name says the 12 bar blues progression consists of 12 bars. For simplicity sake assume that each of the 12 bars contains 4 beats.
Here’s the 12 Bar progression : 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 4 – 4 – 1 – 1 – 5 – 4 – 1 – 5
What exactly do these numbers mean? I’m sure you figured it out, they correspond to the one-four-five from above.
For each of the bars in the 12 bar blues we play one consistent chord or note, beginning with the one chord, then the four chord, the one chord and so on (review the pattern shown).
That’s it, you now know the basics of playing a 12 bar blues progression.
Playing the 12 bar blues in another key just requires you to find the scale for that key, pick out the one, four and five and then plug them into the 12 bar progression.
So go grab your guitar and give it a shot with this A major 12 bar blues progression.
If you’re interested in learning more about the blues then I suggest you check out some blues guitar lessons. Lessons will provide you with more then just the basics of 12 bar blues but also: blues scales, chords and styles.
If this intro to the 12 bar blues seemed at little advanced for you’re skill level so far then you might consider some more basic learn to play guitar lessons on guitar chords and theory.
