Chord Progression
The 12-Bar Blues
I7 – IV7 – V7 (12 bars)
The twelve-bar form that shaped a century of popular music.
Key
The chords in C Major
3 shapes to learn — tap any diagram to hear it on guitar or piano.
How it works
Twelve bars, three chords, one enormous legacy. The form takes the I, IV and V and makes all three dominant 7ths — a sound that is technically dissonant in classical terms but is the very definition of the blues.
The layout is a call and response: four bars sitting on the I establish home, two bars of IV answer, then the climb through V and IV back to I in the last four bars — the turnaround — hands the form back to the top for another verse.
From here grew rock & roll, R&B, country and jazz. Master the 12-bar blues in a few keys and you can sit in with almost any bar band in the world.
Songs built on it
A few well-known examples — every one of them the same chords, moving in the same order.
- Johnny B. Goode— Chuck Berry
- Hound Dog— Big Mama Thornton
- Sweet Home Chicago— Robert Johnson
- Rock Around the Clock— Bill Haley & His Comets
I7 – IV7 – V7 (12 bars) in every key
The same numerals, twelve different sets of letters. Tap a key to explore all its chords.
| C Major | C7C7C7C7F7F7C7C7G7F7C7G7 |
|---|---|
| D♭ Major | D♭7D♭7D♭7D♭7G♭7G♭7D♭7D♭7A♭7G♭7D♭7A♭7 |
| D Major | D7D7D7D7G7G7D7D7A7G7D7A7 |
| E♭ Major | E♭7E♭7E♭7E♭7A♭7A♭7E♭7E♭7B♭7A♭7E♭7B♭7 |
| E Major | E7E7E7E7A7A7E7E7B7A7E7B7 |
| F Major | F7F7F7F7B♭7B♭7F7F7C7B♭7F7C7 |
| F♯ Major | F♯7F♯7F♯7F♯7B7B7F♯7F♯7C♯7B7F♯7C♯7 |
| G Major | G7G7G7G7C7C7G7G7D7C7G7D7 |
| A♭ Major | A♭7A♭7A♭7A♭7D♭7D♭7A♭7A♭7E♭7D♭7A♭7E♭7 |
| A Major | A7A7A7A7D7D7A7A7E7D7A7E7 |
| B♭ Major | B♭7B♭7B♭7B♭7E♭7E♭7B♭7B♭7F7E♭7B♭7F7 |
| B Major | B7B7B7B7E7E7B7B7F♯7E7B7F♯7 |