How to Play 12 Bar Blues on Guitar for Beginners

Summary by Krater

Justin Sandercoe from JustinGuitar teaches three variations of the 12-bar blues progression—standard, quick change, and slow change—demonstrating each across different keys.

From the video

Answers: How do you play 12 bar blues chord progressions on the guitar?

• 12 bar blues chord progressions
• Standard 12 bar blues
• Quick change 12 bar blues
• Slow change 12 bar blues
• Guitar chord construction from scale degrees

What it concludes

• The standard 12 bar blues progression consists of 4 bars on the I chord, 2 bars on the IV chord, 2 bars on the I chord, and 1 bar each on the V, IV, I, and V chords.
• The quick change 12 bar blues progression differs from the standard progression by moving to the IV chord in bar 2 for one bar before returning to the I chord.
• The slow change 12 bar blues progression stays on the V chord for bars 9 and 10, resulting in 6 consecutive bars of the I chord towards the end of the 12-bar cycle.