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The twelve-bar blues
One more look at what you missed.
The blues is a fixed plan of twelve bars.
A bar is a short group of beats: count four in each. The blues uses only I, IV and V, always in the same order.
Four bars of I, two of IV, two of I.
Then the last line: V, IV, I, and V again to send the song round. That makes twelve.
The last line in C: G, F, C.
V, then IV, then home to I. A last bar of V would start the round again.
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One chord is one bar. Plan: I I I I, IV IV I I, V IV I V.
Thousands of songs follow this plan.
“Johnny B. Goode” and “Hound Dog” are twelve-bar blues, and rock and roll grew out of the form.
What comes after the first four bars of I?
In G, the blues uses G, C and D.
Same plan, new letters: I is G, IV is C, V is D.
Same plan in G. Count the bars: I I I I, IV IV I I, V IV I V.
You know the twelve-bar blues.
What you learned
- The twelve-bar blues uses only I, IV and V.
- Its plan: I I I I, IV IV I I, V IV I V.
- The last bar of V sends the song round again.
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