Common Jazz Chord Progressions Revealed
Jazz is one of the most popular forms of music that has roots originating from blues music. If you want to learn to play jazz, then it’s a good idea to learn basic jazz chord progressions. There are many progressions used in jazz music. This article will share with you some of the most common jazz chord progressions.
ii-V-I
One of the most widely used jazz chord progressions is the ii-V-I progression. Most chords in jazz music are seventh chords, so each chord in this progression will be a seventh. In the key of C, the chords would be Dm7, G7, and Cmaj7. If you don’t know how to play seventh chords, you need to learn them as soon as possible. The notes of Dm7 are D, F, A and C. The notes of G7 are G, B, D, and F. The notes of Cmaj7 are C, E, G and B.
V-ii-I
Another one of the common jazz chord progressions is the V-ii-I. Once again the chords will be seventh chords, but this time they will be in the key of F. The chords played that make up this progression are Cmaj7, Gm7, and Fmaj7. As stated above, the notes of Cmaj7 are C, E, G and B. The notes of Gm7 are G, Bb, D, and F. Finally, the notes of Fmaj7 are F, A, C, and E.
I-vi-ii-V
One of the more advanced jazz chord progressions is the I-vi-ii-V progression. This time let’s play the progression in the key of G. The chords for this progression will be Gmaj7, Cm7, Am7, and D7. The notes of Gmaj7 are G, B, D, and F#. The notes of Cm7 are C, Eb, G, and Bb. The notes of Am7 are A, C, E, and G. Finally, the notes of D7 are D, F#, A, and C.
Learning to play jazz is not very difficult. After you learn a variety of jazz chord progressions, you will have a solid foundation to build upon. All you have to learn next is how to harmonize the chords and you’re well on your way to playing great jazz music.
By: D Swain