ii–V–I
Recognise and play the ii–V–I progression in major and minor.
If you learn one chord progression with sevenths, learn this one. It is the backbone of jazz and appears everywhere else too.
The progression
ii–V–I (“two-five-one”, ii7–V7–Imaj7) is the most important progression in jazz, and common in soul, pop and bossa nova. In C: Dm7 – G7 – Cmaj7. It is the cycle subdominant → dominant → tonic (lesson 8.4), with roots descending in perfect 5ths: D → G → C, counter-clockwise on the circle of fifths.
The minor ii–V–i is iiø7 – V7 – i. In Cm: Dø7 – G7 – Cm7. The tonic may also be Cm6 or Cm(maj7). The V is major, from the harmonic minor (lesson 8.3).
| Key | ii–V–I (major) | iiø–V–i (minor) |
|---|---|---|
| C | Dm7 – G7 – Cmaj7 | Dø7 – G7 – Cm7 |
| D♭ | E♭m7 – A♭7 – D♭maj7 | E♭ø7 – A♭7 – D♭m7 |
| D | Em7 – A7 – Dmaj7 | Eø7 – A7 – Dm7 |
| E♭ | Fm7 – B♭7 – E♭maj7 | Fø7 – B♭7 – E♭m7 |
| E | F♯m7 – B7 – Emaj7 | F♯ø7 – B7 – Em7 |
| F | Gm7 – C7 – Fmaj7 | Gø7 – C7 – Fm7 |
| F♯ | G♯m7 – C♯7 – F♯maj7 | G♯ø7 – C♯7 – F♯m7 |
| G | Am7 – D7 – Gmaj7 | Aø7 – D7 – Gm7 |
| A♭ | B♭m7 – E♭7 – A♭maj7 | B♭ø7 – E♭7 – A♭m7 |
| A | Bm7 – E7 – Amaj7 | Bø7 – E7 – Am7 |
| B♭ | Cm7 – F7 – B♭maj7 | Cø7 – F7 – B♭m7 |
| B | C♯m7 – F♯7 – Bmaj7 | C♯ø7 – F♯7 – Bm7 |
The shape on the bass
The roots of ii–V–I follow one shape: from the ii root, the V is on the next string up at the same fret, and the I is on the first string again, two frets back.
Four ways to play it, in order of difficulty
- roots on beat 1 of each chord;
- root–5th: D A, G D, C G;
- arpeggios 1–3–5–7;
- chord tones with approach notes into each root (lesson 9.4).
A long tune can contain many ii–V–Is in different keys. Spotting them is a large part of reading jazz changes.
Play the roots of ii–V–I in C, one bar each, then 1–3–5–7 arpeggios. Move it to F and B♭ with the same shapes.