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The ii–V–I progression ("two–five–one progression") (occasionally referred to as ii–V–I turnaround, and ii–V–I) is a common cadential
chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural, or simply changes) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from ...
used in a wide variety of
music genre A music genre is a conventional category that identifies some pieces of music as belonging to a shared tradition or set of conventions. Genre is to be distinguished from musical form and musical style, although in practice these terms are sometim ...
s, including
jazz harmony Jazz harmony is the theory and practice of how chords are used in jazz music. Jazz bears certain similarities to other practices in the tradition of Western harmony, such as many chord progressions, and the incorporation of the major and minor s ...
. It is a succession of
chords Chord or chords may refer to: Art and music * Chord (music), an aggregate of musical pitches sounded simultaneously ** Guitar chord, a chord played on a guitar, which has a particular tuning * The Chords (British band), 1970s British mod ...
whose
roots A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients. Root or roots may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusin ...
descend in fifths from the second degree (
supertonic In music, the supertonic is the second degree () of a diatonic scale, one whole step above the tonic. In the movable do solfège system, the supertonic note is sung as ''re''. The triad built on the supertonic note is called the supertonic ...
) to the fifth degree ( dominant), and finally to the tonic. In a
major key In music theory, the key of a piece is the group of pitches, or scale, that forms the basis of a musical composition in Western classical music, jazz music, art music, and pop music. A particular key features a '' tonic (main) note'' and i ...
, the supertonic triad (ii) is minor, and in a
minor key In music theory, the key of a piece is the group of pitches, or scale, that forms the basis of a musical composition in Western classical music, jazz music, art music, and pop music. A particular key features a '' tonic (main) note'' and it ...
it is diminished. The dominant is, in its normal form, a major triad and commonly a
dominant seventh chord Domination or dominant may refer to: Society * World domination, structure where one dominant power governs the planet * Colonialism in which one group (usually a nation) invades another region for material gain or to eliminate competition * Ch ...
. With the addition of chord alterations, substitutions, and
extensions Extension, extend or extended may refer to: Mathematics Logic or set theory * Axiom of extensionality * Extensible cardinal * Extension (model theory) * Extension (proof theory) * Extension (predicate logic), the set of tuples of values t ...
, limitless variations exist on this simple formula. The ii–V–I progression is "a staple of virtually every type of esternpopular music", including jazz, R&B, pop, rock, and country.Workman, Josh. "Chops: II–V–I Survival Tips", ''Guitar Player'' 37:4 (April 2003), p. 90. Examples include " Honeysuckle Rose" (1928), which, "features several bars in which the harmony goes back and forth between the II and V chords before finally resolving on the I chord," "
Satin Doll "Satin Doll" is a jazz standard written by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. Written in 1953, the song has been recorded by Ella Fitzgerald, Carmen McRae, Billy Eckstine, Nancy Wilson, Bobby Short, and many other ...
" (1953), and "
If I Fell "If I Fell" is a song by English rock band the Beatles which first appeared in 1964 on the album '' A Hard Day's Night'' in the United Kingdom and United States, and on the North American album '' Something New''. It was written primarily by John ...
".Everett, Walter (2001). ''The Beatles As Musicians: The Quarry Men Through Rubber Soul'', p. 231.


Jazz

ii–V–I progressions are extremely common in
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
. They serve two primary functions, which are often intertwined: to temporarily imply passing tonalities and to lead strongly toward a goal (the "I" chord). One potential situation where ii–V–I progressions can be put to use is in
blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
, whose generic form has no such progressions. In the example below, a simple 12-bar F blues is shown followed by a similar one with some basic ii–V–I substitutions (in bold). In bar 4, instead of the simple V–I root motion in the original blues, the ii chord of the B7 (Cm) is included so that the measure is even more directed toward the following downbeat with the B7. In bars 8–10, instead of leading back to the tonic with the standard V–IV–I ( blues cadence), a series of applied ii–V–I progressions is used to first lead to Gm, which then itself is reinterpreted as a ii and used to lead back to F7 through its own V, which is C7. In the last bar (the " turnaround"), the same type of substitution is used as that in bar 4. In practice, musicians often extend the basic chords shown here, especially to 7ths, 9ths, and 13ths, as seen in this example: :iim9 V913 Imaj9 In jazz, the ii is typically played as a minor 7th chord, and the I is typically played as a major 7th chord (though it can also be played as a major 6th chord). The ii7–V7–Imaj7 progression provides smooth
voice leading Voice leading (or part writing) is the linear progression of individual melodic lines ( voices or parts) and their interaction with one another to create harmonies, typically in accordance with the principles of common-practice harmony and cou ...
between the thirds and sevenths of these chords; the third of one chord becomes the seventh of the next chord, and the seventh of one chord moves down a half-step to become the third of the next chord. For example, in the key of C, the standard jazz ii–V–I progression is Dm7–G7–Cmaj7, and the thirds and sevenths of these chords are F–C, B–F, E–B; inverted for smoother voice leading, these become F–C, F–B, E–B. The ii is sometimes replaced by the II7, giving it a more dissonant, bluesy feel; this is especially common in turnarounds. Additionally, the ii can be treated like a temporary minor tonic, and preceded by its own "ii–V", extending the basic progression to a iii–VI–ii–V–I; again, this is quite common in turnarounds (with the iii–VI replacing the I in the second-to-last bar; in the example above, the last two bars would change from F7 , Gm–C7 to Am–D7 , Gm–C7). The ii–V7–I can be further modified by applying a
tritone substitution The tritone substitution is a common chord substitution found in both jazz and classical music. Where jazz is concerned, it was the precursor to more complex substitution patterns like Coltrane changes. Tritone substitutions are sometimes used ...
to the V7 chord, replacing it with the II7 chord. This is possible because the II7 has the same third and seventh as the V7, but inverted; for example, the third and seventh of G7 are B and F, while the third and seventh of D7 are F and C, which is
enharmonic In music, two written notes have enharmonic equivalence if they produce the same pitch but are notated differently. Similarly, written intervals, chords, or key signatures are considered enharmonic if they represent identical pitches that ar ...
to B. Performing this substitution (in this case, changing Dm7–G7–Cmaj7 to Dm7–D7–Cmaj7) creates smooth chromatic movement in the chord roots—the root of the ii (D) moves down a half-step to become the root of the II7 (D), which moves down another half-step to become the root of the I (C). The tritone substitution, the substitution of II7 for V7, and the III–VI–II–V extension can be combined in different permutations to produce many different variations on the same basic progression—e.g. iii7–III7–iim7–II7–Imaj7–III7–III7–II7–II7–I7, etc.


Classical

A ii–V–I progression is part of the vi–ii–V–I progression of root movement by descending fifths, which establishes tonality and also strengthens the key through the contrast of minor and major.Andrews, William G; Sclater, Molly (2000). ''Materials of Western Music Part 1'', p. 227.  . In minor, a seventh chord built on the supertonic yields a
half-diminished seventh chord In music theory, the half-diminished seventh chord (also known as a half-diminished chord or a minor seventh flat five chord) is a seventh chord composed of a Root (chord), root note, together with a minor third, a tritone, diminished fifth, and ...
, which is a very strong
predominant chord In music theory, a predominant chord (also pre-dominant) is any chord which normally resolves to a dominant chord.Benward & Saker (2009). ''Music in Theory and Practice: Volume II'', Glossary, p.359. Eighth Edition. . "Any chord in functional ...
. Due to what is considered the harsh nature of root position diminished chords, the ii chord most often appears in first inversion. The ii chord appears in the natural minor scale and may be considered a
minor seventh chord In music, a minor seventh chord is a seventh chord composed of a root note, a minor third, a perfect fifth, and a minor seventh (1, 3, 5, 7). In other words, one could think of it as a minor triad with a minor seventh attached to ...
with a flatted fifth and is used in the ii–V–I in minor Coker, Jerry (1984). ''Jerry Coker's Jazz Keyboard'', p. 23. .


See also

*
Approach chord Approach may refer to: Aviation *Visual approach *Instrument approach * Final approach Music * ''Approach'' (album), by Von Hertzen Brothers * ''The Approach'', an album by I:Scintilla Other uses *Approach Beach, a gazetted beach in Ting Kau, H ...
* Bird changes *
Circle progression A circle is a shape consisting of all points in a plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the centre. The distance between any point of the circle and the centre is called the radius. The length of a line segment connecting ...
*
Side-slipping In jazz musical improvisation, improvisation, outside playing describes approaches where one plays over a scale, mode or chord that is harmonically distant from the given chord (music), chord. There are several common techniques to playing outside, ...
* Tadd Dameron turnaround


Sources


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:two-five-one Turnaround Cadences Chord progressions Circle of fifths Jazz terminology