Piano Fact

Week 5: Blues Form (Part Three: The Blues in Other Song Forms)
The beauty of the 12 bar blues form is that if you learn this one chord progression, you’ve learned (virtually) the changes to all blues songs. However, the 12 bar form is used in many other types of music as well. Boogie-Woogie for example. Almost all boogie-woogie tunes follow the 12 bar progression.

Rhythm and Blues, of course, is another example. Just listen to “What’d I Say” by Ray Charles or “Shake, Rattle, and Roll.”

Many rock n’ roll songs from then Fifties follow this form. “Blues Suede Shoes,” “Rock Around the Clock,” “The Twist,” “The Stroll,” “Kansas City.”

Many of the great jazz composers used this form. “One O’clock Jump” (Basie), “Two O’clock Jump” (Harry James), “C Jam Blues” (Ellington), “All Blues” (Miles Davis), “Straight, No Chaser” (Thelonius Monk), “Misterioso” (Monk).

There, see how many songs you already know? Just from learning this one chord progression?

For more information on the blues styles see Deluxe Blues/Boogie-Woogie.

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