# AI Wiki - Music - Blues Music ## Overview The blues is an African-American genre from the Deep South of the United States. Its roots go back to the decades after the Civil War (usually dated between the 1860s and about 1890), growing out of work songs, field hollers, spirituals and early southern country music. The first blues [[AI Wiki - Music - Reading Standard Notation|sheet music]] was published in 1908; Hart Wand's "Dallas Blues" and W. C. Handy's "The Memphis Blues" both appeared in 1912. Mamie Smith's "Crazy Blues" (1920) was the first blues recording by an African-American singer. Regional styles followed: acoustic Delta blues (Charley Patton, Son House, Robert Johnson), electric Chicago blues after the Second World War (Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf), and Texas blues (Blind Lemon Jefferson, T-Bone Walker, later Stevie Ray Vaughan). The blues is the direct ancestor of rock and roll, and a constant presence in jazz, country, funk and soul. For a player, the blues is a small toolkit used over and over: three chords (I, IV, V), all played as dominant sevenths, a fixed 12-bar (or 8-bar) form, the minor pentatonic and blues scales, and a swung shuffle rhythm. ## The 12-Bar Blues The 12-bar blues is three 4-bar lines. In Roman numerals (see [[AI Wiki - Music - Diatonic Chords and Roman Numerals]]): | Line | Bars 1–4 / 5–8 / 9–12 | |---|---| | 1 | I · I · I · I | | 2 | IV · IV · I · I | | 3 | V · IV · I · V | The last bar (V) is the **turnaround**: it pulls back to bar 1 for the next chorus. On the very last chorus, bar 12 resolves to I instead. The **quick change** (or "quick four") moves to the IV in bar 2 and back to I in bar 3. It is very common; listen for it before you play along. The lyrics usually follow an **AAB** pattern, one line per 4-bar phrase: line A is sung, line A is repeated (sometimes slightly altered) over the IV chord, and line B answers it. The singer usually fills only the first half of each phrase; the guitar or piano answers in the second half (see call and response below). In A, the friendliest guitar key for blues, the chords are A7, D7 and E7. In 12/8 (a shuffle), each `/` is one beat: ```chords {title: 12-bar blues in A (quick change)} {key: A} {time: 12/8} {start_of_verse: Line 1} | [A7] / / / | [D7] / / / | [A7] / / / | [A7] / / / | {end_of_verse} {start_of_verse: Line 2} | [D7] / / / | [D7] / / / | [A7] / / / | [A7] / / / | {end_of_verse} {start_of_verse: Line 3} | [E7] / / / | [D7] / / / | [A7] / / / | [E7] / / / | {end_of_verse} {comment: Without the quick change, bar 2 stays on A7.} ``` To play it in E (the other classic guitar blues key), use E7, A7 and B7. To [[AI Wiki - Music - Capo and Transposition|transpose]] to any key, use the Roman numerals; the [[AI Wiki - Music - Circle of Fifths]] gives you the IV and V of every key at a glance. ## Dominant Seventh Chords In classical harmony only the V chord is a dominant seventh (see [[AI Wiki - Music - Seventh Chords]]). In the blues **every chord** is usually a dominant seventh: I7, IV7 and V7. A dominant seventh is a major [[AI Wiki - Music - Triads|triad]] plus a minor seventh (1, 3, 5, ♭7). Those ♭7s are what give the blues its sound: they are not in the [[AI Wiki - Music - Major Scale|major scale]] of the key, and they clash pleasantly with the minor-pentatonic melody on top. Open dominant 7th shapes for the keys of A and E: ```chord A7 x02020 x02030 --- D7 xx0212 xx0213 --- E7 020100 020100 --- B7 x21202 x21304 ``` On piano, the same chord, with its [[AI Wiki - Music - Intervals|intervals]]: ```keyboard chord: A7 labels: intervals range: C3-B4 ``` ## 8-Bar and 16-Bar Blues The **8-bar blues** compresses the form. A common layout, used in Big Bill Broonzy's "Key to the Highway", is: | I | V | IV | IV | I | V | I | V | "How Long, How Long Blues" and "Trouble in Mind" are other standard 8-bar blues, with different chords. The **16-bar blues** extends the form, usually by repeating or stretching the first line; Muddy Waters' "Hoochie Coochie Man" (written by Willie Dixon) is the usual example. ```chords {title: 8-bar blues in E (Key to the Highway layout)} {key: E} {time: 4/4} | [E7] | [B7] | [A7] | [A7] | | [E7] | [B7] | [E7] | [B7] | ``` **Minor blues** keeps the 12-bar form with minor chords: i, iv, and a V7 or v. In A minor: Am7, Dm7, E7. B.B. King's "The Thrill Is Gone" (1969) is the usual first study piece. ## Scales and Blue Notes Most blues melodies and solos come from the **minor pentatonic** (1, ♭3, 4, 5, ♭7; see [[AI Wiki - Music - Pentatonic Scale]]) played over major or dominant chords. Adding the ♭5 gives the six-note **blues scale**: 1, ♭3, 4, ♭5, 5, ♭7. In A: A, C, D, E♭, E, G (see [[AI Wiki - Music - Blues Scale]]). ```fretboard labels: intervals --- title: A blues scale, 5th position scale: A blues frets: 5-8 --- title: E blues scale, open position scale: E blues frets: 0-3 ``` **Blue notes** are pitches bent away from the major scale: the third, fifth and seventh, lowered. Singers and guitarists often bend the ♭3 slightly upward toward the major 3 without reaching it (a "curl" or quarter-tone bend), which is something the piano cannot do; pianists imitate it by sliding or crushing the ♭3 into the 3 (E♭ to E over a C chord, for example). The **major blues scale** (1, 2, ♭3, 3, 5, 6) is the major pentatonic plus the ♭3. Mixing it with the minor blues scale is the sound of B.B. King and of most country-blues licks. In A, the major sound sits three frets lower than the minor box, starting at the 2nd fret: ```fretboard title: A major blues scale: A major blues frets: 2-5 labels: intervals ``` ## Rhythm: The Shuffle The shuffle divides each beat into three (a triplet) and plays the first and third parts: long-short, long-short. That is why many blues charts are written in 12/8 rather than 4/4. The swing ratio is not exactly 2:1; it is wider at slow tempos and tighter at fast ones. The backbeat (snare on beats 2 and 4) is strong. See [[AI Wiki - Music - Rhythm and Time Signatures]]. The basic guitar shuffle is the boogie pattern: two strings at once, alternating the root-and-fifth (a power chord, see [[AI Wiki - Music - Power Chords]]) with root-and-sixth. In A, the open A string stays on, and the D string alternates between fret 2 (E, the 5th) and fret 4 (F♯, the 6th): ``` A7 (A + D strings) D7 (D + G strings) E7 (low E + A strings) G|------------------| G|-2-2-4-4-2-2-4-4-| G|------------------| D|-2-2-4-4-2-2-4-4--| D|-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-| D|------------------| A|-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0--| A|-----------------| A|-2-2-4-4-2-2-4-4--| E|------------------| E|-----------------| E|-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0--| ``` Play every pair long-short, with downstrokes, and palm-mute lightly. Keep the first finger planted on fret 2 and reach fret 4 with the third or fourth finger. ## Call and Response Call and response comes from African and African-American song traditions. In the blues the voice sings a phrase and an instrument answers it, or one instrument plays a short lick and another answers. In a 12-bar chorus, each 4-bar line usually has about two bars of vocal and two bars of fill. Practising this on your own means: play a two-bar phrase, then leave two bars of space or answer yourself with a different phrase. ## Turnarounds A turnaround is the figure in bars 11 and 12 that leads back to the top. The simplest is harmonic: I in bar 11, V7 in bar 12. Common elaborations: - **I – IV – I – V** in bars 11–12 (two beats each). - **Chromatic bass walk-down to the V**: in A, hold A7 in bar 11, then walk G – F♯ – F – E on the low E string (frets 3, 2, 1, 0) and land on E7 in bar 12. - **Chromatic inner line**: hold the root on top and move a line down by half steps underneath (the Robert Johnson style of turnaround), ending on the V7. ## On Piano - **Left hand**: the same boogie figure as the guitar, root and fifth alternating with root and sixth (A–E, A–F♯), or a walking bass line in octaves. - **Right hand**: dominant 7th chords in [[AI Wiki - Music - Piano Chord Inversions|inversions]], short stabs on the offbeats, and minor-pentatonic or blues-scale licks with grace notes from ♭3 to 3. - Barrelhouse and boogie-woogie piano (Pinetop Smith, Albert Ammons, Meade Lux Lewis) and Chicago blues piano (Otis Spann) are the reference styles. See [[AI Wiki - Music - Left-Hand Accompaniment Patterns]] and [[AI Wiki - Music - Hand Independence]]. ## Guitar Lead Techniques Bends (especially the 4 bent up a whole step to the 5, and the ♭3 bent a quarter tone), vibrato, slides, hammer-ons and pull-offs, double stops, and slide guitar (Elmore James, Muddy Waters) are the core. See [[AI Wiki - Music - Guitar Lead Techniques]]. ## Songs and Artists to Study - **Robert Johnson – "Sweet Home Chicago"** (1936): 12-bar shuffle, the standard jam tune. - **Big Bill Broonzy – "Key to the Highway"**: 8-bar blues. - **Muddy Waters – "Hoochie Coochie Man"** (1954): 16-bar form with a stop-time riff. - **Freddie King – "Hide Away"** (1961): 12-bar instrumental in E, with shuffle and lead lines. - **B.B. King – "The Thrill Is Gone"** (1969): minor blues in B minor, phrasing and vibrato. - **Stevie Ray Vaughan – "Pride and Joy"** (1983): Texas shuffle in E (guitar tuned down a half step). - **Elmore James – "Dust My Broom"**: slide guitar, triplet riff. - **Albert Ammons / Meade Lux Lewis**: boogie-woogie piano. ## How to Practise 1. Learn A7, D7, E7 and play the 12-bar form with four downstrokes per bar, counting bars out loud. 2. Replace the strums with the boogie shuffle, long-short. 3. Add the quick change and the I–V turnaround; then the walk-down turnaround. 4. Learn the A minor pentatonic box at fret 5, then add the ♭5 (blues scale). 5. Record a backing loop and solo with call and response: two bars playing, two bars resting. 6. Repeat in E with E7, A7, B7. ## Key Points - Form: 12 bars, I–I–I–I / IV–IV–I–I / V–IV–I–V; 8-bar and 16-bar variants exist. - All three chords are usually dominant sevenths (I7, IV7, V7). - Melody: minor pentatonic or blues scale (1 ♭3 4 ♭5 5 ♭7) over major/dominant chords; bend ♭3 toward 3. - Feel: shuffle (triplet long-short), backbeat on 2 and 4. - Vocal form AAB, with instrumental answers (call and response). - Turnaround in bars 11–12 leads back to the top. ## Open Questions - **Answered** ([[AI Wiki - Music - Blues Licks and Turnarounds|Blues Licks and Turnarounds]]): Which turnaround licks should be learned first, in A and in E, with exact tab? The I–IV | I–V chord turnaround first, then the bass walk-down (A) and the falling line under the open high E (E), then the pedal-note line with F7–E7 in A and the walking D7 shape in E; all written out as tab there. - **Answered** ([[AI Wiki - Music - Minor Blues and Jazz Blues|Minor Blues and Jazz Blues]]): How do jazz blues changes (ii–V substitutions) extend the basic 12-bar? They add a ii–V into the IV in bar 4, a ♯IV°7 in bar 6, a VI7 in bar 8, replace V7–IV7 in bars 9–10 with ii7–V7, and end on a iii–VI–ii–V turnaround; the Bird blues goes further with chains of descending ii–Vs. - **Answered** ([[AI Wiki - Music - Minor Blues and Jazz Blues|Minor Blues and Jazz Blues]]): When does a blues use V7 vs a minor v in minor blues, and how does it change the soloing note choice? V7 is the traditional and jazz norm (its 3rd is the leading tone, so aim for G♯ over E7 in A minor or play A harmonic minor), while v7 is the softer modal choice of rock and soul grooves, over which the minor pentatonic fits unchanged. ## References - Wikipedia, "Blues": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blues - Wikipedia, "Twelve-bar blues": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve-bar_blues - Wikipedia, "Blues scale": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blues_scale - Wikipedia, "Swing (jazz performance style)": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swing_(jazz_performance_style) - Guitar.com, "Essential blues lessons part two: the shuffle": https://guitar.com/lessons/blues-lesson-pt2-shuffle/ - Justin Sandercoe, JustinGuitar, "12 Bar Blues Style" (BC-183), Beginner Course stage 8 ## Related - [[AI Wiki - Music - Blues Scale]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Pentatonic Scale]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Seventh Chords]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Common Chord Progressions]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Diatonic Chords and Roman Numerals]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Circle of Fifths]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Rhythm and Time Signatures]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Power Chords]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Guitar Lead Techniques]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Left-Hand Accompaniment Patterns]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Hand Independence]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Rock Music]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Jazz Music]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Country Music]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Funk Music]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Alternate Tunings]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Cadences]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Chord Progression Recognition]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Fingerpicking]]