12 bar blues in D

D7G7A7

I7–IV7–V7 · D major · 12-bar blues

Play it in the builder →

Bars

  1. 1D7
  2. 2D7
  3. 3D7
  4. 4D7
  5. 5G7
  6. 6G7
  7. 7D7
  8. 8D7
  9. 9A7
  10. 10G7
  11. 11D7
  12. 12A7

How it works

Four bars of I, two of IV, two of I, then V–IV–I–V. Every chord is a dominant 7th, which is why the minor pentatonic works over all of it. The last bar is the turnaround: V sends you back to the top.

The chords

D major scaleD blues scalein Ein Ain Gin C