# ii–V–I

*Module 10 · Lesson 5: Seventh chords · BazzLow*

> Recognise and play the ii–V–I progression in major and minor.

Before this lesson: [10.4 The dominant seventh](https://bazzlow.com/en/seventh-chords/dominant-seventh/)

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).

*ii–V–I in the 12 major keys, and the minor version on the same tonic.*

| 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.

> **Diagram:** The roots of ii–V–I in C: D at fret 5 on the A string, G at fret 5 on the D string, C at fret 3 on the A string.

> **Diagram:** The same shape in F: G at fret 10 on the A string, C at fret 10 on the D string, F at fret 8 on the A string.

> **Diagram:** The same shape in B♭: C at fret 3 on the A string, F at fret 3 on the D string, B♭ at fret 1 on the A string.

## Four ways to play it, in order of difficulty

1. **roots** on beat 1 of each chord;
2. **root–5th**: D A, G D, C G;
3. **arpeggios** 1–3–5–7;
4. **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.

## Try it

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.

## New terms

- ii–V–I
- two-five-one

Page: https://bazzlow.com/en/seventh-chords/ii-v-i/