Eight bar blues

An eight bar blues is a typical blues chord progression, taking eight 4/4 bars to the verse.

Related Topics:
Blues - Chord - 4/4 bars

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A basic example of the progression would look like this, using T to indicate the tonic, S for the subdominant, and D for the dominant, and representing one chord per beat:

Related Topics:
Tonic - Subdominant - Dominant

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T T S S

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T T T T

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S S S S

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T T T T

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T T T T

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S S S S

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T T D D

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T T T T

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(The same chord progression can also be called a sixteen-bar blues, if each symbol above is taken to be a half note in 2/2 or 4/4 time -- blues has not traditionally been associated with notation, so its form becomes a bit slippery when written down.)

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Many variations are possible. For instance, seventh chords are often used just before a change, and more changes can be added. A more complicated example might look like this, where "7" indicates a seventh chord:

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T T S7 S7

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T T T7 T7

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S S S7 S7

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T T T T

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T T T7 T7

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S S S7 S7

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T T D7 D7

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T T T D7

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When the last bar contains the dominant, that bar can be called a turnaround.

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Finally, here is an example showing the pattern in the key of D, and how it fits with the lyrics of a given verse. One chord symbol is used per beat, with "-" representing the continuation of the previous chord:

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D -

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Woke up this morning with the

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G - D - D7 -

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blues down in my soul

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G -

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Woke up this morning with the

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G7 - D - - -

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blues down in my soul

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D - D7 -

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Woke up this morning with the blues in my soul

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G -

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Saying "My baby gone and left me, got a

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G7 -

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heart black as coal"

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D -

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Woke up this morning with the

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A A7 D - A7 -

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blues down in my soul

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Some well known eight bar blues are "Ain't Nobody's Business," "Cherry Red," and "(Romancing) In The Dark."

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See also: twelve bar blues, chord progression.

Related Topics:
Twelve bar blues - Chord progression

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