Hi All, I canât find the answer to this but I thought there was a term for this. Is there a term for each of the sections of 4 bars in the 12 bar blues? ie first 4 bars are called, âphase 1â or something like that? No problem if not, just thought Iâd heard it somewhere and now canât find it.
Cheers!
I do not think there is, but:
The first 4 bars are usually the âI chord sectionâ or where the âquick changeâ is.
The middle 4 bars are the âIV chordâ section as bars 5 and 6, especially the bar 5 is almost always the IV chord, even in jazz.
The last 4 bars are where the V â IV transition, or where the âturnaroundâ is.
Not what you are looking for but this is the closest I can get.
Hi @ukbuk , no such luck there. The 12 bar structure is denoted by the chords used, represented by Roman numerals rather than chord. Usually I , IV and V for 1,4 and 5.
The most basic form is
| I. | I. | I. | I. |
| IV | IV | I | I. |
| V. | IV. | I. | I. |
If it is a blues in A, I= the A chord, IV is the D chord and V is the V chord.
Then two important varying parts are bar 2, which would become the IV chord e.d. D. This is called a quick change. The last two bars e.g. 11 and 12 also can vary, they could contain a turnaround, which is used to denote the end of the 12 bar progression, by going from the I chord to the V chord, e.g from A to E .
Apart from a few other more special forms, that is about it.
Usually the lyrics in bars 1 to 4 are repeated in 5 to 8, the last 4 bars differ as a rule.
That is about it. Hope this helps
Tjeerd
Mostly, if you want to discuss or single out a smaller part of the 12-bars, it would be by naming a bar or bars.
Shall we do a quick change in bar 2?
Can we add a maj7 chord in bar 9?
Iâve heard bars 1â4 referred to line 1, bars 5â8 as line 2, etc. But, agree with @Richard_close2u that most commonly specific bars are referred to.
Great thanks for the help all. Was aware of the general form from Justinâs videos but just wanted to make sure I wasnât missing anything.