Ask a Teacher: 2-5-1 Progression

Phil: I'm working my way through some ideas based on your bebop scale video at Free Guitar Videos. Why is so much attention paid in jazz to the 2m7 - 57 change? I've read that it 70% of understanding jazz. How can that be?

Peter: The 2-5-1 chord progression is pretty important in jazz. You will find this progression in many jazz standards. I think saying that understanding it covers 70 percent of jazz is an overstatement but it is quite significant. The 2-5-1 progression is the way many jazz tunes establish a key-it is also quite often the way they change keys. Jazz soloists are constantly learning to play over these chords with lines and specific licks. You will find some of these on our site. The bigger concept is tension and release. In jazz tension is created over the 5 chord and released when it gets to the 1 chord. The 2 chord is really just an extension of the 5 chord. Jazz has particular ways of creating tension with it's chords and solos that make it different than most other genres. I can't go into the theory required as it would take several books to do so. Jazz players are still writing new ideas concerning this concept. Learn some 2-5-1 chord progressions, learn some 2-5-1 licks, and study some jazz standards so you can recognize one when you see it or hear it. You will also have to learn about altered chords and altered licks. If you don't know theory-you will need to. This is is a life long direction-you never will know it entirely.

If you have a question send it to petervogl@comcast.net or leave a comment below.