Blues Form Variation 2

This is one of the most common blues form variations and will probably sound the most familiar to you. It only differs from the first blues form variation by a single chord in bar 10.

This is an important variation to master and memorize. You should never get lost in it.

12-Bar Blues Form Variation 2

Applying the I, IV, and V chord numbers to this blues form looks like this:

The first four bars are all the I chord.

The next four bars are two bars of the IV chord followed by two bars of the I chord.

The final four bars go V, IV, I, and I.

Don’t Lose Your Place in the Form

Again, any time a piece of music ends on the same chord as it begins, students have a tendency to lose their place. Usually what happens is they will skip a bar or two. If you hear yourself getting to the IV chord early, you probably skipped the I chord somewhere on the repeat. Really try to hear and feel the “top” of the form.

I’ll be adding some examples using this variation in upcoming lessons in this section.