2. 3 x 4 bars The only song structure that does not follow the standard 8/16 bar patterns of popular music. It can be divided into three lyrical sections: Statement “I’m a king bee can buzz all night long” 4 bars Repeat “Yeah I ‘m a king bee baby can buzz all night long” 4 bars Punchline“Well I can buzz better baby, when you man is gone” 4 bars
4. Basics The structure relies on: Repetition of the Tonic in 1st line Harmonic shift up to the Sub-dominant in 2nd Resolution via aDominant > Tonic cadence
5. Alternative /C / C / C / C/ /F / F /C /C / /G7 / G7 /C /C / Perhaps to avoid breaking up a riff/ostinato as in ‘In the Mood’
6. Stop Time Intro /Cpause/Cpause/Cpause /pause / /F /F /C /C / /G7 /F /C /G7 / As in ‘Blue Suede Shoes’
7. Jazzy alternative /C / F / C /C9 / /F / F#dim /C /A7 / /Dm /G7 /C F /Ab7 G7/ As in ‘Blue Train’ John Coltrane
8. Rock n Roll The 12 bar blues is the basic structure of many classic rock n roll songs: ‘Hound Dog’ Elvis ‘Lucille’ Little Richard ‘Johnny Be Goode’ Chuck Berry ‘Great Balls of Fire’ Jerry Lee Lewis ‘Peggy Sue’ Buddy Holly
9. Instrumentals The 12 bar blues is the basic structure of many classic instrumentals: ‘Green Onions’ Booker T & MGs ‘Wipe Out’ The Safaris ‘Last Night’ The Mar Keys ‘Moby Dick’ Led Zeppelin
10. Pop music The 12 bar structure is even used in pop music: ‘It Feels Like I’m in Love’ Kelly Marie ‘Making Your Mind Up’ Bucks Fizz ‘I Want to Break Free’ Queen ‘Kiss’ Prince ‘Let’s Stick Together’ Bryan Ferry ‘Still haven’t Found....’ U2 ‘Pencil Full of Lead’ Paulo Nutini
