![blues chords and their notes blues chords and their notes](https://www.cyberfret.com/wp-content/uploads/cool-chord-progression-in-d-fi-700x366.jpg)
So 12 bars would be 12 x 4, before the sequence repeats. 12 Bar Blues Chord Progressionsġ2 bar blues is the most commonly used blues form.įirst, if you're not familiar with the concept of "bars", let's break it down.īars (also called measures) in blues can best be described as consisting of a count of four. Keep these variations in mind as you go through the examples below. The 5 chord stays the same as it would in its major key. In one of our blues chord progressions below, this becomes C7, F7 and G7, since blues standards often apply extensions to their chords. In other words, we only change the 1 and 4 chords to minor. However, sometimes a dominant 7th 5 chord is used to create more tension before the return "home" to the minor tonic. Simply change the chord type of each chord to minor!įor example, an A minor blues progression would typically be: Am7, Dm7, Em7 (1,4,5). Minor key blues uses exactly the same 1 4 5 root relationship from earlier, but with minor chords instead of major/dominant 7th.
Blues chords and their notes full#
Remember also, for heavier blues styles, power chords are often used in place of full blown 7th chords. Many guitarists just use open chords or barre chords in their blues progressions. Experiment with using this variation in the different forms later in this lesson. You could see this is mixing major and minor key blues. Sometimes, the 4 chord is played as a minor 4 chord.Ī typical example of this in the key of E would be: E, A, Am, E, B7, E. You will notice that the letters here are what make up the Cm natural scale. The easiest way to visualise 1 4 5 is to first identify the root/bass notes of each chord on the 6th and 5th strings. We just position it at the appropriate fret for the key we're playing in. Conveniently, the visual relationship stays the same for any key, a bit like a scale pattern.
![blues chords and their notes blues chords and their notes](https://www.jazzguitar.be/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/minor-blues-scale-chart.png)
A fixed formation of three chords.įirst, you should learn to visualise this 1 4 5 relationship in whatever key you might be playing. In G minor, the 5 chord would be D minor OR major (more on this variation later).ġ 4 5 is essentially the backbone of blues. The final chord in typical blues progressions is the 5 chord, also called the dominant. In G minor, the 4 chord would be C minor. In our key of G major, that would be C major. In blues, the 1 chord is always the same as the key name.Īnother chord used in blues progressions is known as the 4 chord, also called the subdominant. In the key of G minor, G minor would be our 1 chord. When you hear musicians say "take it home!", they're talking about resolving to the 1 chord.įor example, in the key of G major, G major would be our 1 chord. The 1 chord can be thought of as "home" in our progression journey.
![blues chords and their notes blues chords and their notes](https://wp.guitardownunder.com/_images/folsom-prison-intro.jpg)
The 1 chord, also known as the tonic, is typically the first chord in a progression and tells us the key we're playing in.