The Blues for Alice changes, Bird changes, Bird Blues, or New York Blues changes, is a chord progression

Chord progression

A chord progression is a series of musical chords, or chord changes that "aims for a definite goal" of establishing a tonality founded on a key, root or tonic chord. In other words, the succession of root relationships...

, often named after Charlie Parker

Charlie Parker

Charles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....

 ("Bird"), which is a variation of the twelve-bar blues.

The progression uses a series of sequential II-V or secondary

Secondary dominant

Secondary dominant is an analytical label for a specific harmonic device, prevalent in the tonal idiom of Western music beginning in the common practice period...

 II-V progressions, and has been used in pieces such as Parker's "Blues for Alice

Blues for Alice

"Blues for Alice" is a 1956 jazz standard, composed by Charlie Parker. The standard is noted for its rapid bebop blues-style chord voicings and complex harmonic scheme which is a fine example of what is known as "Bird Blues"...

" and Toots Thielemans

Toots Thielemans

Jean-Baptiste Frédéric Isidor, Baron Thielemans , known as Toots Thielemans, is a Belgian jazz musician well known for his guitar and harmonica playing as well as his whistling. Thielemans is credited as one of the greatest harmonica players of the 20th century...

's "Bluesette".

Structure

The blues progression, in B, is as follows:

Popular music symbols

Lead sheet

A lead sheet is a form of music notation that specifies the essential elements of a popular song: the melody, lyrics and harmony. The melody is written in modern Western music notation, the lyric is written as text below the staff and the harmony is specified with chord symbols above the...

| Bb | Bb | Bb | Bb |
| Eb | Eb | Bb | Bb |
| F | Eb | Bb | Bb ||

Different notations

Chord	Function Diatonic function In tonal music theory, a diatonic function is the specific, recognized role of each of the 7 notes and their chords in relation to the diatonic key...	Numerical	Roman Numeral Root (chord) In music theory, the root of a chord is the note or pitch upon which a triadic chord is built. For example, the root of the major triad C-E-G is C....
Tonic	T	1	I
Sub-dominant	S	4	IV
Dominant	D	5	V

The Bird Blues progression, in B, is as follows:

Popular music symbols

Lead sheet

A lead sheet is a form of music notation that specifies the essential elements of a popular song: the melody, lyrics and harmony. The melody is written in modern Western music notation, the lyric is written as text below the staff and the harmony is specified with chord symbols above the...

| BbMaj7 | Amin7b5 / D7 | Gmin7 / C7 | Fmin7 / Bb7 |
| Eb7 | Ebmin7 / Ab7 | Dmin7 / G7 | C#min7 / F#7 |
| Cmin7 | F7 | BbMaj7 / G7 | Cmin7 / F7 ||

Roman numerals

Roman numeral analysis

In music, roman numeral analysis is the use of roman numeral symbols in the musical analysis of chords. In music theory related to or derived from the common practice period, arabic numerals with carets are used to designate scale degrees themselves , whereas in theory related to or derived from...

Bb: Gmin: F(min): Eb:
| I | ii / V | ii / V | ii / V |
Eb: G: F#(min): F(min):
| I7 | subii / subV | subii / subV | subii / subV |
Bb:
| ii | V | I7 / VI7 | ii / V ||

Note the cycle of ii-V progressions leading to the IV chord (E7), and the tritone substitution

Tritone substitution

In classical music, a substitute dominant is "a chord sufficiently akin to the dominant to be reasonably set against the tonic, and yet remote enough to give a chromatically expressive, large-scale dissonance to the structure"...

 of the dominant chords leading by half-step

Semitone

A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant when sounded harmonically....

to the V chord (F7).