2, 5, 1's Chord Progressions

[UBERMUNSCHIST]

A friend of mine said that I should work on my "2, 5, 1's" and "Root 5th's".

I was like "Yeah, sure thing... I'll get right on it."

I have NO idea what he was talking about!

I'm too ashamed to ask... because they assume that I know more than I do.

Could anyone help me out... secretly?

[Ed Fuqua]

No. We'll help you in the bright glare of the Intra Web.

There are a couple of things that they are talking about, but they both have (generally) to do with functional harmony. Which is music theory. Which is a lot to go into. Which is a good thing to have a firm foundation in and not a bunch of random stuff from typing to folks on the Intra Web.

Root Five - well the INTERVALS of a scale in addition to having PITCH or NOTE names (C D E F G A B C for C major) also have SCALE DEGREES which are numerical. The FIRST DEGREE is also called the TONIC or (you guessed it) ROOT. So for C major the corresponding degrees are ROOT, 2nd, 3rd (major in this case), 4th (perfect in this case) 5th (perfect in this case) 6th (major in this case) and 7th (major in this case). And you end up on the OCTAVE, which is the same note name but higher pitch than the tonic. So ROOT FIVE means (in the case of C major) C to G.

2 5 1 The SCALE DEGREE numbers also refer to the CHORDS based on those scale degrees. So in the case of C major, that would be some kind of D chord (D being the 2nd degree of the C major scale) going to some kind of G chord (G being the 5th) going to the C/tonic/root which in C major will be the C major chord.

If you check the READING ROOM here, there's a couple of nice lessons/articles - here is a nice overview and here is a nice little lesson on using stuff from the first one to construct bass lines.

[UBERMUNSCHIST]

Thank You!

Let me get this straight, each number = the octave?

ABCDEFG 1

ABCDEFG 2

ABCDEFG 3

ABCDEFG 4

ABCDEFG 5

[rootshock]

Originally Posted by UBERMUNSCHIST

Thank You!

Let me get this straight, each number = the octave?

ABCDEFG 1

ABCDEFG 2

ABCDEFG 3

ABCDEFG 4

ABCDEFG 5

I don't understand what you typed there, but I do understand what you are asking about.

A 2-5-1 or (ii-V-I) in the key of C would be Dm(7) - G(7) - CMaj(7)

I always play them in ajazz context as 7ths. G would be a dominant 7, which would be Root, maj 3rd, 5th, flat 7. So G7 would be G, B, D, F. I assume you can figure the Maj and Min out yourself.

The degrees of C Maj would be:

C (1st or Root)
D
E (Maj 3rd)
F
G (5th)
A
B (Maj 7th)
C (Octave or 8th)

I didn't bother filling in the scale degrees on each note as it was done well above.

Also to consider is a tension note would usually be referred to above the 8th octave number. For instance a 9th is actually the 2nd, played higher, often above the octave of the root. So if you played C at 3rd fret A string, the octave would be at 5th fret G string, and the 9th would be the D at 7th fret G string.

ii-V-I is a very common progression in jazz. For an easy way to improve the listenability of a ii-V-I bassline, trying bumping half steps above or below the note you are going to in the ii-V-I. For instance in C Maj, if moving from Dmin7 to G7, bump the G#/Ab before you approach the root G for G7. Bump B before CMaj7, etc.


Hope this helped.

[MonetBass]

No, each scale degree has a number. Take C major:
C = 1
D = 2
E = 3
F = 4
G = 5
A = 6
B = 7
C = 8 (or 1 again)
Subsequently, those numbers also refer to the chord of the key signature, but using Roman numerals instead (Caps = major, lower-case = minor):
C = I
D = ii
E = iii
F = IV
G = V
A = vi
B = vii° (° = diminished)

I hope that helped.

[Liko]

Your friend is talking about harmonized chords and chord progressions.

You can get details at just about any self-respecting music instruction site (I myself have posted this stuff here many times).

In short, you harmonize a note of a scale by building a triad, with the note two notes higher in the scale, and the note four notes higher in the scale. So, for instance, the harmonized chord build on the second scale degree would have the second, fourth, and sixth of the scale. For example, the harmonized D chord in the key of C would have D, F and A.

These harmonized chords are referenced by their scale degree in roman numerals. In addition, the chord of a given scale degree in a major key will always have the same quality (major/minor), so most people will reference the minor chords using lowercase numerals.

So, for any major key, the harmonized chords are:
I-ii-iii-IV-V-vi-<vii>
For minor keys it's:
i-<ii>-III-iv-v-VI-VII

The vii chord of major and the ii chord of minor keys are special; because they span both of the half-step note jumps in the scale, the fifth of the chord is diminished in addition to the minor third, making those two triads diminished.

Apply this to the key of C major, and the natural chords are:
C-Dmin-Emin-F-G-Amin-Bdim
If you were in the key of C minor (same signature as Eb major), the natural chords would be:
Cmin-Ddim-Eb-Fmin-Gmin-Ab-Bb

Now, your friend is recommending you practice playing a bassline for a ii-V-I chord progression. That means the guitarists and keyboardists are generally going to start a verse or passage by playing the ii chord, so you need to play notes that are in that chord or work well with them. In the key of C, you want to construct a bassline around the notes D, F, and A. Then the chord players will change to V. In the key of C, you'll want to construct a bassline around G-B-D. Then the chord will change again to I. Again in C major, you want to build your line around C-E-G.

Now, in simplest terms, all you have to do is play the root. But if you're trying to learn a jazz or blues chart and construct a walking bassline, pumping the root is not going to sound very interesting, so you'll need to know the natural chord you're on, the notes in it, and in some cases the notes that can be added to the chord (2nd, 4th, 6th, dominant 7th or major 7th depending on the chord's quality and where you're going next) to make it sound like you're heading for the next chord (known as "resolving" to the next chord).

As far as "root-fifths", your friend may be talking about alternating root-fifth intervals as you move through the line (a common element of funk basslines), or he may be talking about double stops, where you fret your root note, then fret the fifth of that note on the next higher string and play both together. Or, he could be talking about "root-third-fifth" which is the principal walking line in 12-bar blues songs, or he might have simply been trying to further explain natural harmonization.

[Ed Fuqua]

Originally Posted by Ed Fuqua

Which is a good thing to have a firm foundation in and not a bunch of random stuff from typing to folks on the Intra Web.

Miss that, did we? Check out the links, jazzbo's article and Chris' lesson are going to be a more cogent and organized approach.

[ryco]

Here's a good book about this very subject. Cheap! A reference you'll have forever at less than the cost of one lesson!!

You may want to check out this info as well

Oh yeah, as long as your there Unca Ed has this out, too!
My fav feature: "Bass track can be turned off, if desired."
Congrats Ed!!

[Veed]

The song How High the Moon is almost all ii-V-I chord progressions, so you might want to check that one out.

[VincentPuleo]

Just practice songs from a Real Book there are several examples of 2 5 1 progressions in a lot of Jazz standards.

I am learning "Wave" right now, that is a good example. I am pretty sure the bridge is a 2 5 1 progression.

[Bruce Lindfield]

Originally Posted by Veed

The song How High the Moon is almost all ii-V-I chord progressions, so you might want to check that one out.

About 90% of all Jazz standard tunes are made up of these - there are literally thousands of tunes that are almost entirely made of ii-V(7)- Is !!

See "Blue Bossa" -where all the chord sequence is made up of ii-V(7)-Is!

That's why it's useful to study them when you are starting out in Jazz - it's a good beginning - but there's a long way to go from there!!