Part 12: Blues, with the foundations still clear · Lesson 108 / 117
Learn the twelve-bar form before the notes
Follow a complete blues chorus without soloing yet.
A common twelve-bar blues form uses I, IV and V over twelve bars. In our A-centred example, the chords are A7, D7 and E7. First learn where they arrive; the harmony's special note relationships come in the next lesson.
Our ending version is A7 for four bars, D7 for two, A7 for two, E7 for one, D7 for one, then A7 for two. Count twelve bars, each with four beats. A chorus here means one complete pass through this form, not necessarily a song's repeated lyrical chorus.
Listen and point to the chord chart before playing. Then strum once per bar. Say the bar number on beat 1 so you can distinguish the first A7 region from the later returns.
Other twelve-bar variants change particular bars. A common repeat-oriented turnaround puts E7 in the last bar. Our first study ends on A7 instead so the stopping point is clear; the supplied chart always states the exact version.
Hear it
Blues Form
Audio fileFour-beat count-in · 60 BPM · Warm sampled electric guitar. Listen once before playing along.
A concrete example
Bars 1–4 A7; 5–6 D7; 7–8 A7; 9 E7; 10 D7; 11–12 A7. Twelve bars, forty-eight quarter-note beats.
Try it, slowly
- Listen while pointing to each bar.
- Count the bar numbers without playing.
- Strum one attack per bar and keep the count through repeated chords.
Check one idea
Do four consecutive A7 bars count as one long bar?
Show the explanation
No. They are four separate four-beat bars. Keeping that count tells you when D7 arrives.
A good place to stop
You can follow the complete form and identify bars 5, 9 and 11 reliably.
Return to the example after a short break. A clear explanation matters more than speed.