Music · ii7–V7–Imaj7
ii–V–I
The "two–five–one": the roots descend in fifths from the second degree to the fifth to the tonic. Wikipedia calls it a staple of virtually every type of Western popular music and extremely common in jazz, where the ii is typically a minor 7th and the I a major 7th. It is the shortest trip: one step away, one pull, and home.
Watch for: Each chord leads to the next by a fifth, and the last one stays home for two bars.
Songs that use it
- Honeysuckle Rose (1928) source: Wikipedia: ii–V–I progression
- Satin Doll (1953) source: Wikipedia: ii–V–I progression
- If I Fell source: Wikipedia: ii–V–I progression
The others
- The four-chord loop I–V–vi–IV
- The 50s progression I–vi–IV–V
- Twelve-bar blues I–IV–V in 12 bars
- The Andalusian cadence i–♭VII–♭VI–V
- Pachelbel's Canon I–V–vi–iii–IV–I–IV–V
- Type your own →
Sources
- Wikipedia: ii–V–I progression · Roots descending in fifths from the second degree to the tonic; its use in jazz; songs that include it