Blues Turnaround

I7–VI7–II7–V7 · C major · I7–VI7–II7–V7

Blues Turnaround is a chord pattern you can play in any key. The degrees are I7–VI7–II7–V7.

The short loop in the last two bars of a blues that sends it back to the top. All dominant sevenths, so it keeps rolling.

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 – VI7 – II7 – V7

C7 · A7 · D7 · G7

Chord chart

Chord chart
1	C7	A7	D7	G7

How to sing it

This is where the singing rests. Rather than filling the last two bars with words, stop a beat early and come back in on the first chord of the next lap; that is the most blues-like way through.

In every key

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

Heard in

Sweet Georgia Brown · Ben Bernie · Maceo Pinkard · Kenneth Casey. The song starts one slot earlier, on III7. Familiar in Korea as the Harlem Globetrotters theme.
Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue · Ray Henderson. A longer form with a III7 in front of this pattern (C–E7–A7–D7–G7–C). A 1925 song with the strong colour of early jazz.
Salty Dog Blues · Papa Charlie Jackson. The same chain of dominants, but starting on VI7 and ending on I, so the starting point differs. Ragtime rather than twelve-bar blues.

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

No Songbook entry uses this pattern as a run of chords.