PRACTICE GUIDE · LEARN & TRAIN
Jazz Blues Guitar: The 12-Bar Form, Chords and Turnarounds
A jazz blues keeps the twelve bars of the basic blues and adds a few chords that point from one section to the next. Learn it as landmarks: bar 1 on the I7 chord, bar 5 on IV7, bar 9 on a ii–V, and a turnaround in bars 11–12.
By Vincent Iannone · Updated
The form, bar by bar
A blues chorus lasts twelve bars, heard as three lines of four. In F, the basic blues uses only F7, B♭7 and C7: the I7, IV7 and V7 chords. Every chord is a dominant seventh, even the home chord, which is part of the blues sound.
The jazz version keeps those landmarks and adds chords that lead into them: a ii–V into B♭7 in bar 4, a passing diminished chord in bar 6, a secondary dominant in bar 8, a ii–V in bars 9–10 and a turnaround at the end.
| Bars | Chords | What they do |
|---|---|---|
| 1–4 | F7 | B♭7 | F7 | Cm7 F7 | Home, a quick IV, then a ii–V into B♭7 |
| 5–8 | B♭7 | B°7 | F7 | D7 | IV7, a passing diminished chord, home, then V7 of Gm7 |
| 9–12 | Gm7 | C7 | F7 D7 | Gm7 C7 | ii–V back home, then the turnaround |
Dominant shells for every chord
Because the basic blues is all dominant sevenths, one shell family covers most of it. A 7 shell holds the root, major third and minor seventh. Keep F7 and B♭7 within two frets of each other by putting one root on string 6 and the other on string 5.
| Chord | Strings 6 → 1 | Sounding notes |
|---|---|---|
| F7 | x · 8 · 7 · 8 · x · x | F3 · A3 · E♭4 |
| B♭7 | 6 · x · 6 · 7 · x · x | B♭2 · A♭3 · D4 |
| C7 | x · 3 · 2 · 3 · x · x | C3 · E3 · B♭3 |
Make the changes audible in a solo
A blues solo sounds tied to the form when it lands on the third of each new chord: A over F7 and D over B♭7. From F7 to B♭7 both guide tones fall a half step: E♭ to D and A to A♭.
The blues scale adds A♭ against F7’s A. Use that rub on purpose and slide it up into A, rather than treating every scale note as equal.
- Play the twelve bars with one shell per bar and count the bars aloud.
- Add the jazz chords: Cm7 F7 in bar 4, B°7 in bar 6, D7 in bar 8 and Gm7 C7 in bars 9–10.
- Sing A in bar 1 and D in bar 5, then play them on the guitar as the chords change.
- Move the whole form to B♭: B♭7, E♭7 and F7 take the same roles.
Related lessons and practice
- ii–V–I Jazz Guitar ProgressionsThe ii-V-I is a relationship between chords, not a fixed set of fret numbers. In a major key, ii is minor seventh, V is dominant seventh, and I is major seventh.
- Jazz Guitar Guide Tones: Thirds & SeventhsA common tone plus a half-step move can describe an entire chord change. The third and seventh are guide tones.
- Chord-Tone Soloing over ii–V–IStrong landing notes make a short phrase describe the changing harmony. A scale offers available notes; a chord tone gives a phrase a place to land.
- ii–V–I Jazz Guitar PracticePractice major ii–V–I progressions with playable Dm7–G7–Cmaj7 shells, guide-tone movement, original phrase ideas and a four-bar guitar play-along.
- Jazz Guitar Comping Rhythms: Swing, Charleston and AnticipationsLearn the rhythms of jazz guitar comping: swing eighths, the backbeat on 2 and 4, the Charleston, the reverse Charleston, anticipations and four to the bar.