The chord
progression is the backbone of
western
civilization music. The
harmony created by chords provide added expression to the melody. Jazz
harmony consists of a set of
typical
progressions directly derived from the
European classical music tradition.
"Jazz of
course is, in the end, a miniaturization
of the harmony of classical music."
[hear this mp3
interview excerpt (1:45)]
The goal of the jazz accompanist is to
compliment the soloist's ideas
while outlining the given chord progression clearly. As we know, most
jazz improvisations use and outline the
harmony as a foundation
for melodic ideas. (See
jazz
improvisation.)
This chord progressions series demonstrates the most
common progressions
found in jazz. They will help you hear and understand the recurrent
harmonic traits found in traditional jazz repertoire.
The progressions can be practiced in a myriad of ways. Please read this
other
PDF with some practice
suggestions.
Jump to a page :
Chord Progression #1 : Major Harmony [
you are here!]
Chord Progression #2 :
Basic
Modulation
Chord Progression #3 :
Minor
Harmony
[For fingerings, please see the chord charts.]
The Diatonic Cycle (starting on IV)
Every story
begins somewhere... and this one begins with (you guessed it!)
The almighty major scale
!!!! (-;
The major scale is made of seven notes from which we can harmonize
seven corresponding chords. We qualify them as
diatonic because
they belong to the same tonality (or key). The diatonic chords in the
key of C :
(triangle
= major 7th ; dashed circle = minor 7th, flat 5th AKA
half-diminished)
We
will refer to the chords with roman numerals. C is I and Dm is II and
so forth until VII. It's always relative to the key center.
Playing those chords in a cycle of ascending diatonic fourths (or
descending fifths) we get the
diatonic
cycle as follows :
in roman
numerals: IV - VII - III
- VI - II - V - I - (I)
This is the
source for many other
segments
of jazz harmony. I added the C dominant 7th in parenthesis because it's
not part of the C major scale. It simply resolves naturally to F major
(you know, artistic liberties!)
The diatonic cycle can
be developed
in many other basic jazz progressions. One example is the enclosed
Dm7-G7 which is the infamous II-V found everywhere in jazz. Study the
diatonic cycle carefully.
I - VI - II - V and friends
Another
example of a progression that is "almost" enclosed in the diatonic
cycle (above) is the
I-VI-II-V :
This
is one of the most basic cadence in jazz. It starts "home" (I), goes
further (VI-II) and further away (V) with tension and... comes right
back!
For variety, play the
VI as a dominant, it
creates a desirable tension :
The A7 (VI) creates more tension and badly wants to resolve to Dm7 (II).
While we're here... why not make the
II dominant also?
Let's see...
You now have
three effective ways to play on and around the tonic chord in
any major key.
Wait!
Other keys?!
Of course!
I-VI-II-V ... in F!
then... in Bb!
then... (
until the 12
keys are as automatic as breathing!)
Another friend
of I - VI - II - V
To conclude (and to mess with my readers a little bit more!) let's try
something else. This is like... the
siblings of the
previous topic!
Have you ever heard of the
II-V
? or the
II-V-I
? All right.
Now, what would happen if the three variations above started on the D
chord (instead of the C).
TADA!! You get the
II-V-I-VI progression
It is merely "shifting the starting point" of the previous examples.
Try it:
We can qualify this as "
the
II-V-I chord progression with an extra chord at the end that wants to
resolve back to the II" ... or simply II-V-I-VI !
Now it seems we are "stuck in C", doesn't it?
How about progressions that go through
more than just one major key?
Follow me!
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