This is a search-engine-friendly text mirror of the TalkBass Forums

VIEW FULL LIVE VERSION : Whats the 2-5-1 progression and how/when do i use it?


soong
11-11-2008, 08:49 PM
I often hear people talking about this in jazz...


Just wonderin for example, if i was writing a jazz song in a cycle of 5ths progression how i would include this '2-5-1'?

What other turnarounds can i use in ballads?

EADG mx
11-12-2008, 12:10 AM
ii-V-I is a very common cadence, flip though a fake book and you'll find it everywhere.

It actually follows the circle of 5ths.

numerals are the scale degrees of the diatonic chords, so in C we have:

Dm7 - G7 - Cmaj7

which goes up in 4ths/down in 5ths.

Try these variations (very common):

I-vi-ii-V-I

iii-vi-ii-V-I

iii-VI-ii-V-I

DocBop
11-12-2008, 12:56 AM
Actually more than just Jazz. If you factor in standard chord substitutions all music boils down to II-V-I.

I sub's are III and VI
II sub is IV
V sub is VII

Jim Carr
11-12-2008, 06:12 AM
Actually more than just Jazz. If you factor in standard chord substitutions all music boils down to II-V-I.

I sub's are III and VI
II sub is IV
V sub is VII

+1

Of course the trick is how to approach the sub-dominant/super-tonic, and if V-I is not the end, then what will follow and why?

And BTW how do you get from some I to some other I? :D :D :D

These are rhetorical questions...

edgewise
11-15-2008, 07:15 PM
Actually more than just Jazz. If you factor in standard chord substitutions all music boils down to II-V-I.

DocBop, you just blew my mind.