I’m talking about from a theory perspective. For example, American blues basically comes in the following form-
12 measure cycles, in the following pattern, each number representing a measure of chord X:
111122113311
Above this there is melodic improvisation using minor pentatonic scales.
Anyone want to correct me, or add their take on how a style generally “works”? I’m trying to learn the feel of various styles, and I was hoping that musical dopers would give some hints.
LC
The twelve bar blues thing goes like:
I I I I (A)
IV IV I I (A)
V IV I V (B)
Although there’s often little variations of that. Each roman numeral represents one measure. Also “I” means the chord built on the first note of the scale, “IV” is the chord built on the fourth note, etc.
Also, the letters to the side of the roman numerals represent the text pattern for blues songs (AAB)
But the most famous form for music is AABA. That is, do something, do it again, do something else, then go back to the first idea.
Everything from Tin Pan Alley songs to Mozart sonata-form pieces use this form.