Twelve-bar Blues

12-bar blues · Basic blues form · C major · I7–IV7–I7–V7–IV7–I7–V7

Twelve-bar Blues is a chord pattern you can play in any key. The degrees are I7–IV7–I7–V7–IV7–I7–V7.

The basic form of the blues, twelve bars as one block. Keeping the bar count exact is the whole point; the last bar is where it turns back to the top.

Patterns are common chord moves. They are not the chart of a recorded hit.

Patterns are named by theory. Play them in any key that fits your voice.

Each song page has a chord chart, fingerings, and the same song in every key.

The pattern

I7 – IV7 – I7 – V7 – IV7 – I7 – V7

C7 · F7 · C7 · G7 · F7 · C7 · G7

Chord chart

Chord chart
1	C7	·	·	·
2	F7	·	C7	·
3	G7	F7	C7	G7

How to sing it

The basic blues way to sing: the first line over the first four bars, the same line again over the next four, and the answer over the last four. After each line, rest for about two bars and leave room for the instrument to reply.

In every key

In every key
Keys	Chord chart
C major · Written in this key	C7 · F7 · C7 · G7 · F7 · C7 · G7
Db major	Db7 · Gb7 · Db7 · Ab7 · Gb7 · Db7 · Ab7
D major	D7 · G7 · D7 · A7 · G7 · D7 · A7
Eb major	Eb7 · Ab7 · Eb7 · Bb7 · Ab7 · Eb7 · Bb7
E major	E7 · A7 · E7 · B7 · A7 · E7 · B7
F major	F7 · Bb7 · F7 · C7 · Bb7 · F7 · C7
F# major	F#7 · B7 · F#7 · C#7 · B7 · F#7 · C#7
G major	G7 · C7 · G7 · D7 · C7 · G7 · D7
Ab major	Ab7 · Db7 · Ab7 · Eb7 · Db7 · Ab7 · Eb7
A major	A7 · D7 · A7 · E7 · D7 · A7 · E7
Bb major	Bb7 · Eb7 · Bb7 · F7 · Eb7 · Bb7 · F7
B major	B7 · E7 · B7 · F#7 · E7 · B7 · F#7

Heard in

Johnny B. Goode · Chuck Berry. An almost perfect twelve-bar blues in B♭ major. The famous guitar intro sits outside the twelve-bar frame.
Hound Dog · Elvis Presley. The 1956 Elvis version is in C major. The original is the 1952 Big Mama Thornton recording, with a different tempo and a different way of filling the bars.
Rock Around the Clock · Bill Haley & His Comets. The count-off at the very start sits outside the form, and the guitar solo is one more lap of the same twelve bars.
Rock and Roll · Led Zeppelin. In A major and very fast. The drum intro and a middle section step outside the twelve-bar frame, so this pattern is only the skeleton.

These songs use this pattern. This is not their chord chart: real recordings differ in key, rhythm and the chords they add.

Public-domain songs with this pattern

All Hail the Power