Theory
12-Bar Blues
The twelve-bar frame behind countless jazz heads, from riff tunes to bebop lines.
The twelve-bar blues divides into three four-bar phrases. The first establishes the tonic, the second moves to the subdominant, and the third turns back home. In F the skeleton is F7 | Bb7 | F7 | F7 for the opening, Bb7 | Bb7 | F7 | F7 for the middle, and a turnaround such as Cm7 | Bb7 | F7 | F7 to finish.
Jazz blues heads often keep that frame while changing the detail: a quick-change in bar two, a diminished passing chord, or a ii–V in the last two bars. The form stays twelve bars even when the surface harmony becomes more elaborate.
Learn the basic frame first, then listen for how each head decorates it. The blues is a shared reference point, which is why so many tunes can be learned by ear once the twelve-bar map is secure.
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