New 2026 edition

Turn your students into fearless improvisers

A fun and low-pressure way to teach blues improvisation to students of any age and ability. Ten short video lessons, now with a backing band in any key, printable handouts and workbook, and an AI coach who knows every lesson.

Get the course · $99 See what's new

No jazz knowledge needed. Teach Lesson 1 this week.

Included in TopMusicPro Studio membership. Try it free for 7 days →

Two cats in hats and sunglasses, the TopMusic blues brothers

“My student absolutely loved learning the blues scale… He was literally jumping up and down and dancing!”Elizabeth Rentas, piano teacher

10
video lessons
19 page
course handout
20 page
companion workbook
24/7
AI coach on call

Sound familiar?

Improvisation doesn't have to be scary, for you or your students

Most of us were taught to play exactly what's on the page. When a student asks, “Can I make something up?”, it's tempting to deflect or change the subject. That is, until someone shows you how blues improvisation works and gives you a clear plan to teach it.

Before

  • You avoid improvising because you never learned how yourself.
  • You freeze the moment there's no music in front of your students.
  • You'd love to try jazz, but don't know where to start or what to say.
  • Backing tracks mean fiddling with apps, downloads and settings mid-lesson.

After

  • You teach the 12-bar blues in your very first lesson, with any student.
  • Students improvise on the blues scale, and love their "mistakes".
  • You have a ten-lesson roadmap, from three chords to trio-style jazz.
  • One tap and a real band is playing, in any key, at any tempo.

What happens in the first lesson

“I began watching Tim's ‘Teaching 12 Bar Blues’ course and have taught the first lesson to four students so far. One was the boy I'd almost given up on because he just won't practice! He got a big goofy smile on his face and laughed while he started playing. I hope this is the beginning of him loving piano.”
Rachel KingPiano teacher
“I have a 17 year old lad who's been with me for approximately 10 years… I know he's been feeling the pressure from life so I asked him this week if he'd like to have a go at the 12 bar blues. Boy, you should have seen his face light up!!”
AnnePiano teacher, Ireland
“I just had a text from a mum of an 8 year old who had another blues session for 5 mins today at the end of her lesson with me… ‘They've both been on the piano all afternoon and now Esme is composing a blues song.’”
JuliePiano teacher, New Zealand

What you'll learn

A step-by-step framework you can teach tomorrow

This course gives you a clear sequence for teaching the 12-bar blues to students of any age and ability. Each lesson is short enough to watch before you teach it.

  • Play and teach the 12-bar blues structure, with fingering that works for small hands too
  • Improvise a melody with the notes of the blues scale
  • Add left-hand grooves: boogie, walking bass, blues and jazz patterns
  • Spice up improvisation with crushes, slides and triplets
  • Move the blues into any key using Roman numerals
  • Explore 7th and 9th chords, off-beat comping and the right-hand walk-up
  • Play trio style: chords in the left hand, improvising in the right

“The kids totally love this, guaranteed. This is a winning lesson.”

Tim TophamLesson 2

New in the 2026 edition

Everything you need to actually teach it

The course lesson videos show you how. These five new extras do the heavy lifting in the lesson itself and at home.

Blues Jam RoomA backing band in any key Ask BronsonYour AI blues coach Handout GeneratorEvery page, in any key Lesson handoutsFully redrawn for 2026 Companion workbookFill it in as you watch
New

Blues Jam Room

A real band in your studio, in one tap

No more fiddling with apps and downloads. Pick a key, a feel and a tempo, and a recorded piano, upright bass and drums start playing the 12 bars while the chart lights up bar by bar.

  • Shuffle, slow blues, rock & roll and jazz swing, in all 12 keys
  • Take the piano or bass out so your student fills the gap
  • The blues scale for the key, shown on a keyboard
  • Send the exact jam home with one link, for practice on any phone
The Blues Jam Room: a 12-bar chart in C with tempo and band controls
“Today I received a video of a family comping! Two on the piano, one playing the bass 12 bar blues, the other improvising with the C blues scale, and their brother playing the same chords on the guitar.”From a piano teacher with 45 students
New

Ask Bronson, your AI blues coach

Stuck mid-lesson? Ask the coach who's watched every video

Bronson has studied all ten lessons, the handouts and the workbook. Ask how to adapt a lesson for a tiny beginner, what to do when a student loses the beat, or which left-hand pattern suits a slow blues, and get an answer in Tim's approach, with the lesson and time to rewatch.

  • Answers grounded in the course, not the whole internet
  • Points you to the exact lesson and moment in the video
  • Available on your phone, laptop or iPad, any time
Ask Bronson● Your 12-bar blues coach
My 8-year-old keeps losing the beat as soon as we add the left hand. What would Tim do?
Go back a step and feel the pulse first. Tim stops a student every time they start without it. Take the left hand out, count "1 2 3 4" on each chord in the right hand, then add the bass notes back one bar at a time. In the Jam Room, drop the tempo to 80 and take the piano out so the drums keep them steady.
Lesson 1 · 05:28Handout p. 2
And if their hands are too small for triads?
Use two-note chords: C–E, F–A and G–B. Tim says they'll sound great with the band, and you can fix the technique later.
Lesson 1 · 04:17
Ask about any lesson…
New

Blues Course Handout Generator

Every page of the course, in any key

Your student has the blues in C, and now it's time for E♭. Pick the key and the pages you want, and print a handout with every chord, scale and pattern written out and correctly spelled. No more rewriting by hand.

  • All 12 keys, with or without a key signature
  • Versions for B♭, E♭ and F instruments, so siblings can jam too
  • Add the student's name and print, or save as a PDF
The Handout Generator showing the 12-bar blues in E flat
Refreshed

Lesson handouts + companion workbook

Print them, keep them by the piano

The lesson handouts have been completely redrawn: every chord, pattern and voicing in clean notation, with a QR code on every page that opens the Jam Room already set up for that lesson.

The new companion workbook is where you make the course your own. Answer questions as you watch (with time stamps), try each idea at the piano, and plan exactly which of your students will get what.

  • 19 pages of handouts, as one PDF or one per lesson
  • A 20-page write-in workbook with a studio tracker
Lesson 1 handout page Workbook page for Lesson 2 Lesson 7 handout page

The course

10 Lessons: Starting with Just 3 Chords, Through to Playing in Trio-Jazz Style

Each video is 8 to 13 minutes. Lessons 1 and 2 fit into a single 30-minute lesson, and your student is playing the blues with a band before they leave.

1
Playing the chordsThree chords, the 12-bar pattern and a walking bass
2
ImprovisingThe blues scale, and why "mistakes" are the next step
3
Left-hand patternsFive grooves, from 5ths and 6ths to a rolling boogie
4
Spice up your improvCrushes, triplets and riffs that sound harder than they are
5
Playing in other keysNumbers, Roman numerals and transposing the scale
6
New chord shapes7ths and 9ths that make the blues sound like jazz
7
Off-beat compingSyncopated right-hand chords, felt before they're played
8
The right-hand walk-upTim's go-to blues pattern, in three easy steps
9
Chords in the left handTrio style: be the pianist in the band
10
Exploring stylesBacking-track grooves, and where to go next
BONUS
Bags' GrooveYour student's first jazz standard, from the Real Book
Tim Topham

Learn from Tim Topham

A teacher who's taught this in his own studio for years

Tim Topham is the founder of TopMusic, the world's biggest online community of independent music teachers. He has more than 20 years in education, teaching in the UK and Australia. His writing and training have been featured in American Music Teacher, EPTA Piano Professional and The Piano Teacher, and he speaks at music teaching conferences internationally.

This is the course he wishes someone had given him: a way to get every student improvising, without needing to be a jazz pianist yourself.

From teachers who've taken it

Join the thousands of teachers who are more confident thanks to TopMusic courses

“I've used some of your 12 bar blues lessons and the kids love it. They are already using these skills in their jazz band, and there is now lots of ‘jamming’ taking place in the practice rooms too… Needless to say, the parents are impressed and spreading the word.”
Owen ChimukaMusic teacher, TopMusicPro member
“All of the information about chords, improv, blues and many other little things… has revolutionised my confidence as being a piano and (now!) music teacher… My home teaching business is booming and my waiting list is growing almost daily.”
Giselle RogersPiano and specialist music teacher, Gold Coast
“I had a ‘Piano Play Party’ today for my students… After they all played & critiqued I started them on your session 1 for 12 bar blues. It was a HIT! Even my 5 yr. old great grand played all of the chords!”
Helen JahnPiano teacher, Texas

Get the course

Everything in the 2026 edition

What you get

  • 10 video lessons plus the Bags' Groove bonus, watch at your own pace
  • Blues Jam Room, a backing band in any key NEW
  • Ask Bronson, your AI blues coach NEW
  • Blues Course Handout Generator, every page in any key NEW
  • Companion workbook, 20 pages to fill in as you watch NEW
  • Lesson handouts, redrawn for 2026, one per lesson
  • Lifetime access, including future updates

Teaching the 12 Bar Blues

$99 USD

One-off payment

Add to cart
or

Get it in TopMusicPro StudioThis course and every new extra, plus 50+ more courses, live coaching and monthly sheet music. $49/month or $499/year.Start a 7-day free trial →

Already a Studio member? Log in. It's in your library.

Questions teachers ask

Do I need to know jazz to teach this?

No. The course "requires no knowledge of jazz", in Tim's words. If you can play three chords, you can teach Lesson 1. Each lesson shows you exactly what to play and say.

What age and level is it for?

Any age and level. Beginners can start with two-note chords, and accomplished students who've never improvised love it too. The later lessons (7th chords and trio style) suit intermediate to advanced students.

Do I need iReal Pro or any other app?

No. The Blues Jam Room runs in your browser on any phone, tablet or laptop. If you already use iReal Pro, the course shows you how to use it as well.

Is it only for piano teachers?

The lessons are taught at the piano, but the Handout Generator prints the chord chart and blues scale for B♭, E♭ and F instruments, so your students can jam with siblings and friends who play other instruments.

What is Ask Bronson, and what does it know?

Bronson is an AI coach trained only on this course: the videos, handouts and workbook. It answers questions about teaching the blues and points you to the lesson and moment to rewatch. It doesn't replace the lessons; it helps you apply them.

Is it included in TopMusicPro membership?

Yes. It's part of the Studio and Studio Plus memberships, including all the 2026 extras, along with 50+ other courses. Compare memberships or start a 7-day free trial. (Courses aren't included in the Lite membership.)

How long do I have access?

Buying the course on its own gives you 12 months’ access, including updates like the ones in this edition, and you can renew any time at the same price. If you’d like ongoing access to this course and 50+ others, TopMusicPro Studio membership includes them all.

Teach your first blues lesson this week

Ten lessons, a band in any key, printable handouts and workbook, and a coach on call.

Get the course · $99

Or get it free in TopMusicPro Studio membership.