Bird Blues Chord Progression
The Bird blues is the chord progression Imaj7 viim7b5 III7 / vi7 II7 / v7 I7 / IV7 iv7 bVII7 / iii7 VI7 / biii7 bVI7 / ii7 V7 / I VI7 ii7 V7. In the key of C major it is Cmaj7 Bm7b5 E7 / Am7 D7 / Gm7 C7 / F7 Fm7 Bb7 / Em7 A7 / Ebm7 Ab7 / Dm7 G7 / C A7 Dm7 G7, and in the Nashville Number System it is written 1(maj7) 7(m7b5) 3(7) / 6m(7) 2(7) / 5m(7) 1(7) / 4(7) 4m(7) b7(7) / 3m(7) 6(7) / b3m(7) b6(7) / 2m(7) 5(7) / 1 6(7) 2m(7) 5(7).
It is also known as Bird changes, Blues for Alice changes, New York blues changes.
Chords from outside the key of C major: E7, D7, Gm7, C7, F7, Fm7, Bb7, A7, Ebm7, Ab7.
Jump to the chords and audio in C, G, D, A and E
Why it works
This is a 12-bar blues rebuilt from chains of ii-V pairs. The first bars fall by step toward IV in bar 5, then ii-V pairs descend by half step to ii, using tritone substitution on the way. It keeps the blues landmarks but sounds like a bebop obstacle course, with a new key colour in almost every bar.
Songs that use it
These are the chords as played in each song, in the song's own key.
| Song | Artist | Section | Chords | Key |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blues for Alice | Charlie Parker | head and solos | Fmaj7 | Em7b5 A7b9 | Dm7 G7 | Cm7 F7 | Bb7 | Bbm7 Eb7 | Am7 D7 | Abm7 Db7 | Gm7 | C7 | F Dm7 | Gm7 C7 | F major |
| Bluesette | Toots Thielemans | head and solos | Bbmaj7 | Bbmaj7 | Am7b5 | D7b9 | Gm7 | C7 | Fm7 | Bb7 | Ebmaj7 | ... | Bb major |
Bird Blues Chord Progression: Chords and Audio in C, G, D, A and E
Press play to hear each key. The diagrams show the shapes used in the audio, and every chord links to its full page.
Key of C major
Key of G major
Key of D major
Key of A major
More progressions like this one
- 8-bar blues: C G F F / C G C G
- 16-bar blues: C C C C / C C C C / F F C C / G F C C
- 8-bar blues, Worried Life form: C / C / F / F / C / G / C F / C G
- 16-bar blues, Watermelon Man form: C C C C / F F C C / G F G F / G F C C
All guitar chord progressions →
Created by
Giancarlo is a musician (teaching guitar since 2000), software engineer, AI consultant and published researcher
FAQ
What are the chords of the Bird blues in each key?
In C major: Cmaj7 Bm7b5 E7 Am7 D7 Gm7 C7 F7 Fm7 Bb7 Em7 A7 Ebm7 Ab7 Dm7 G7 C A7 Dm7 G7. In G major: Gmaj7 F#m7b5 B7 Em7 A7 Dm7 G7 C7 Cm7 F7 Bm7 E7 Bbm7 Eb7 Am7 D7 G E7 Am7 D7. In D major: Dmaj7 C#m7b5 F#7 Bm7 E7 Am7 D7 G7 Gm7 C7 F#m7 B7 Fm7 Bb7 Em7 A7 D B7 Em7 A7. In A major: Amaj7 G#m7b5 C#7 F#m7 B7 Em7 A7 D7 Dm7 G7 C#m7 F#7 Cm7 F7 Bm7 E7 A F#7 Bm7 E7. In E major: Emaj7 D#m7b5 G#7 C#m7 F#7 Bm7 E7 A7 Am7 D7 G#m7 C#7 Gm7 C7 F#m7 B7 E C#7 F#m7 B7.
Which songs use the Bird blues?
Songs that use it include Blues for Alice by Charlie Parker, Bluesette by Toots Thielemans.
