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6.10.3
"Heartbreak Hotel": 8 Bar Blues

“Heartbreak Hotel” (introduced earlier) is an example of 8-bar blues, a progression that has several common variations. Have a look at Figure 76 as you go over the basic “rules” for doing chord maps.

Chord progression Chase chart for the 1956 hit song Heartbreak Hotel by Mae Axton and Tommy Durden, recorded by Elvis Presley.

FIGURE 76: Chord Map of “Heartbreak Hotel”, an 8-bar Blues Tune

Chord Map Basics

  1. Start with a drawing of the circular harmonic scale with modified Nashville Roman numerals on the inside of the circle and the chords of the particular key around the outside. Remember: the Roman numerals on the inside never change but the chords around the outside do change. (You will find the circular harmonic scales for all 12 major/minor pairs of keys in Appendix 1 of this book, or at Roedy Black Music.) You can choose any key you like. In “Heartbreak Hotel,” the choice of the key of E major/C♯ minor is purely arbitrary.

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