Chord progression · A major

The 12-bar blues (12-bar blues) in A major

Twelve bars built from the I, IV and V chords — usually as dominant 7ths for that bluesy bite. The last bar (the “turnaround”) sets up the next time through.

Heard in “Johnny B. Goode” – Chuck Berry, “Pride and Joy” – Stevie Ray Vaughan and many more.

Chords in A major: A7→D7→E7
Numerals: I7IV7V7

Play along

12 bars of 4 beats, looping · pick a key above to transpose

Tempo 90 BPM Click

1A7I7

2A7I7

3A7I7

4A7I7

5D7IV7

6D7IV7

7A7I7

8A7I7

9E7V7

10D7IV7

11A7I7

12E7V7

Strum pattern: ↓ ↓↑ ↑↓↑ (down, down-up, up-down-up) — count “1 2 & 3 & 4 &”. Learn this strum →

The chords

I7 A7

A C♯ E G

IV7 D7

D7/A

V7 E7

E7/B

Piano voicings use inversions so each chord is as close as possible to the one before — your hand barely moves. Switch to “Root position” to compare.

12-bar blues in every key

C D♭D E♭E F F♯G A♭A B♭B

More progressions in A major

I–V–vi–IV I–IV–V–IV I–vi–IV–V vi–IV–I–V ii–V–I I–vi–ii–V I–V–vi–iii–IV–I–IV–V I–♭VII–IV–I