Tpiz

Ive recently wrote a blues tune which follows the 12 bar blues format for pretty much the whole tune. I have wrote a verse but am pretty much stuck on what to do next. Do blues tunes have a chorus if so would it last the whole 12 bars of the next 12 bar sequence? and what is the typical structure of a blues tune as in Intro/verse/chorus etc just so i have a basic idea to go off.

Im not really a singer/lyric writer plus this is my first blues tune i have wrote so if anyone can clear this up for me id be very grateful x

z4twenny

Listen to lots of blues, learn lots of blues. Then you will have your answer.

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Lavatain

Listen to lots of blues. Not all blues is 12 bar blues, but chances are you're gonna be listening to blues or a byproduct of blues if you hear the 12 bar blues. Just listen to songs and find what is familiar. And remember that writing blues melodies, including their chords, doesn't have to be 100% diatonic, so you make some character into your writing, but don't make it abstract sounding and chromatic/dissonant.

CarsonStevens

12-bar blues arrangements don't usually have choruses. A lot of them just repeat the 12-bar pattern over and over again.

The verse is usually a three-line affair, with the first two lines containing the same lyrics, and the third line resolving the thought.

An example is Stevie Ray Vaughan's "Texas Flood"... the first verse is as follows*;

It's floodin' down in Texas, all the telephone lines are down
It's floodin' down in Texas, all the telephone lines are down
I been tryin' to call my baby, can't get a single sound.

Now granted, not all blues (even the 12-bar stuff) follows this format, but a lot of it does, and it's a good starting point. I just recorded one myself; "Drinkin' Alone Blues", and it's posted on my profile. It's also terrible. Listen at your own risk.

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