Chord progression · E major

The 12-bar blues (12-bar blues) in E 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 E major: E7→A7→B7
Numerals: I7IV7V7

Play along

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

Tempo 90 BPM Click

1E7I7

2E7I7

3E7I7

4E7I7

5A7IV7

6A7IV7

7E7I7

8E7I7

9B7V7

10A7IV7

11E7I7

12B7V7

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

The chords

I7 E7

E G♯ B D

IV7 A7

A7/E

V7 B7

B7/F♯

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 E 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