Members tools3rdI Posted October 11, 2003 Members Share Posted October 11, 2003 I know how to play the 12 bar blues in G, but i have to do a presentation on it, and i dont really know how to explain it. Im not very big on theory, so i dont really know what im playing and why im playing it. Can someone help me please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members qwerty Posted October 11, 2003 Members Share Posted October 11, 2003 What chords do you play when you play 12 bar blues? How many bars do you play each chord? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Terje Posted October 11, 2003 Members Share Posted October 11, 2003 The basic structure would be: |G7|G7|G7|G7|C7|C7|G7|G7|D7|D7|G7|G7| Or it could also be |G7|G7|G7|G7|C7|C7|G7|G7|D7|C7|G7|G7| The last bar could be D7. The second bar could be C7, especially if it's a slow blues. Now, all the chords are dominant 7th chords, so we call them by numbers more than function. The G7 is the I chord, the C7 is the IV chord and the D7 is the V chord. They still do have functions and the D7 is the dominant chord in relation to G7. It leads you back to the G7 so to speak and this is why it can also be used in the last bar, it leads nicely to the next chorus. The G7 is actually the V chord, or dominant chord, to C7 and you will feel a certain release once you've played G7 for four bars in a row and finally get to play C7 for two bars. If you play with jazz players you'd prabably hear a progression closer to this one: |G7|C7|G7|Dm7 G7|C7|C#dim|G7|Bm7b5 E7|Am7|D7|Bm7 E7|Am7 D7| It is essentially the same as the first progression, but with a D7 for the last bar. All those other chords are just substitutes that have more or less the same function and sound as the poriginal chord. You can play both progressions at the same time and it will sound OK. Might actually sound good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tools3rdI Posted October 11, 2003 Author Members Share Posted October 11, 2003 Originally posted by Terje The basic structure would be: |G7|G7|G7|G7|C7|C7|G7|G7|D7|D7|G7|G7|Or it could also be |G7|G7|G7|G7|C7|C7|G7|G7|D7|C7|G7|G7|The last bar could be D7. The second bar could be C7, especially if it's a slow blues.Now, all the chords are dominant 7th chords, so we call them by numbers more than function. The G7 is the I chord, the C7 is the IV chord and the D7 is the V chord. They still do have functions and the D7 is the dominant chord in relation to G7. It leads you back to the G7 so to speak and this is why it can also be used in the last bar, it leads nicely to the next chorus. The G7 is actually the V chord, or dominant chord, to C7 and you will feel a certain release once you've played G7 for four bars in a row and finally get to play C7 for two bars. If you play with jazz players you'd prabably hear a progression closer to this one:|G7|C7|G7|Dm7 G7|C7|C#dim|G7|Bm7b5 E7|Am7|D7|Bm7 E7|Am7 D7|It is essentially the same as the first progression, but with a D7 for the last bar. All those other chords are just substitutes that have more or less the same function and sound as the poriginal chord. You can play both progressions at the same time and it will sound OK. Might actually sound good. they dont have to be 7th chords though do they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members motherlode Posted October 11, 2003 Members Share Posted October 11, 2003 NO!, they don't have to be 7th chords at all..submit the the 'song form' AND the 'changes'. you wish to use, then ask the question to get a precise response. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poparad Posted October 11, 2003 Share Posted October 11, 2003 Originally posted by tools3rdI they dont have to be 7th chords though do they? No, but traditionally they are dominant seventh chords. Jazz blues progressions get a little more diverse with some m7, dim7, and maj7 chords as well. The most identifiable aspect of the blues is the root movement of I in essentially the first four bars, IV and I for half each of the second four bars, and V IV I in the last four bars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Terje Posted October 12, 2003 Members Share Posted October 12, 2003 Originally posted by tools3rdI they dont have to be 7th chords though do they? Well, basically they do. It follows the scale and the more common melodies used. The b7th of the blues scale is indicated by the b7th of the I chord (G7 in this case). The b3 of the blues scale is indicated by the b7 of the IV chord (C7 in our example). V chords are most often dominant 7th chords, even in other styles of music. It goes well with the 4th of the scale though. But you will see other versions of the progression where they're not all 7th chords. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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