8-Bar BluesChord progression · I7 – V7 – IV7 – IV7 – I7 – V7 – I7 – V7
A shorter blues form.
In C major
Why the 8-Bar Blues progression works
The same ingredients as the 12-bar blues squeezed into half the room, so the V turns up early and again at the end. It never sits still, which is why it feels brisk.
Songs built on it, each in its own key:
- Key to the Highway
- Worried Life Blues
- How Long Blues
- Rock Me Baby
- Sitting on Top of the World
Heard in: BluesDelta bluesPiedmont bluesChicago bluesTexas bluesBlues rock
How to play 8-Bar Blues in C major
One voicing per chord, each the nearest to the chord before, so your hand stays in one spot. Open any chord in the chord library for every other way to play it.
8-Bar Blues chords in all 12 keys
The same numerals in every key. Each chord opens in the chord library, and each key plays in the progression builder.
What scale to play over 8-Bar Blues
Over the whole progression in C major: C Minor blues, C Minor pentatonic, C Major pentatonic, C Mixolydian. To follow every chord, switch to the scale the progression builder picks for it.
| Chord | Scale over it |
|---|---|
| I7 · C7 | C Mixolydian |
| V7 · G7 | G Mixolydian |
| IV7 · F7 | F Lydian dominant |
8-Bar Blues questions
What are the chords of the 8-Bar Blues?
I7 – V7 – IV7 – IV7 – I7 – V7 – I7 – V7. In C major that is C7, G7, F7, F7, C7, G7, C7, G7; in G major it is G7, D7, C7, C7, G7, D7, G7, D7.
Which songs use the 8-Bar Blues?
Key to the Highway, Worried Life Blues, How Long Blues, Rock Me Baby and Sitting on Top of the World, each in its own key.
What scale do you play over the 8-Bar Blues?
C Minor blues, C Minor pentatonic, C Major pentatonic and C Mixolydian fit the whole progression in C major. Chord by chord: C Mixolydian over C7, G Mixolydian over G7, F Lydian dominant over F7.
How do you play the 8-Bar Blues in another key?
Keep the numerals and move every chord by the same distance. The table on this page spells it in all 12 keys, and each key opens in the progression builder.