Blues Progressions

I was wondering two things;

1) Is there any other progression in the blues apart from the 1 4 5 one and what kind of chord would it be, a dom7 still? For instance, if i were playing strictly in the major scale i could add the VI before going back to I ( I IV VI V), well something of that nature. I cant do this when playing blues cuz the VI just sounds like crap. BTW this is for piano but the music theory still applies.

2) What other kinds of chords apart from the dom7ths have a bluesy sound to them?

I) You can try a progression with a Turnaround.
When including the chord built on the sixth degree of the scale, it usualy is an Alt chod (VI7alt). And it is played after the I7.
C7.....F7....G7.....C7....A7alt....Dm7....G7
I7.....IV7....V7.....I7....VI7alt....iim7....V7
....................................Turnaround.
And that Theory applies for other instruments.

II) You can add extensions to the Dominant 7 chord, and even...alterationes.

Ok thanks so much for answering my first question and partially answering my second. What is an "alt" chord? What other extensions are there for blues chords?

I also noticed that i dont need to striclty use the minor pentatonics when playing basic blues (its harder to fit patterns on piano). I usually grab notes from the major scale. E.g whenever i play E7, i can safley play the G# and it'll sound good. So does this mean that blues isnt striclty stuck to the minor blues scale?

The term “Altered” or “Alt” refers to a Dominant chord, whose 5th and 9th; have been raised or lowered by a half step. Those alterations can result in any combination of:
(1,3,#5,b7,#9)
(1,3,#5,b7,b9)
(1,3,b5,b7,b9)
(1,3,b5,b7,#9)

Applying those formulas to the key of “A”. You will obtain:
(A,C#,E#,G,B#)
(A,C#,E#,G,Bb)
*(A,C#,Eb,G,Bb)*…….to my ears this chord sounds more consonant as the backing for the C blues scale.
(A,C#,Eb,G,B#)

The other extensions for the Dominant 7 chord would be: 9th, 13th. When the dominant chord is functioning as V7, cannot take the 11th, but you can get away using the #11.

You are absolutely right. You do not need to strictly use the minor pentatonics or the blues scale to play
Blues. You can experiment with the Mixo-blues scale, or Modes to obtain a more fresh and original melody.

And the reason that the G# sounds good over the E7 chord, is because the G#, is the major 3rd in the E7...E7=[E,G#,B,D].

OMGness thanks so much, you really cleared up a lot of questions i had. Fortunately/unfortunately i now know that you are a ready source of music knowledge :D so i have a few more.

Why is the add9 chord different from just the 9? Example, Cadd9 is C E G D but the C9 is C E G D Bb? why is the flat there?

BTW i am using a nifty program called scale tools.

The Cadd9 is the major triad(C,E,G) plus the 9th degree of the scale(D).

The C9 is an extension of the dominant 7.
C7(C,E,G,Bb) plus the 9th degree of the scale(D)

………A7alt…or…A7(b5,b9)
e-------------6-----------------------------------------------------------
B-------------4-----------------------------------------------------------
G-------------6-----------------------------------------------------------
D-------------5-----------------------------------------------8----10----
A-------------0------------------------------8----9---10----------------
E-------------x------------------8----11--------------------------------
………………………………....................C blues scale……………………