Skip to main content

Beginner Acoustic Piano Lessons-Jazz 2-5-1 Chord Progression

Beginner Acoustic Piano Lessons-Jazz 2-5-1 Chord Progression

The 2-5-1 chord progression is a famous chord progression used primarily in jazz music. But what do I mean by 2-5-1 chord progression? Well, lets use the key of C as our starting example. The 2 chord is based on the second note of the scale, so in the key of C the 2 chord is a D. For the 2-5-1 progression popularized by jaxx, we are going to use a D minor 7 chord, which is made up of the notes D, F, A and C.


So, we have our 2 chord. Let's find out what our 5 chord is going to be. The fifth note of the C major scale is G. For the 2-5-1 progression we are going to use a dominant seventh chord. The G dominant seventh chord is made up of the notes G, B, D, and F.

The final chord of our 2-5-1 progression is based on the root note, which in our case is C. It is also a seventh chord, this time a major seventh. It is made up of the notes C, E, G, B. Now play all three of those chords together and notice the different sounds that the minor, dominant, and major seventh chords make. You can see that, played in that order it is a very jazzy sort of feel, which explains its popularity in jazz music.

Now lets try to build the same progression in another key. Say the key of F. We know from our knowledge of the scale that the 2 chord is the G minor seventh, the five chord would be the C dominant 7, and the root chord, of course, would be the F major seventh.

Lets do another one. This time lets try the key of A. The two chord is the B minor seventh, the five chord is the E dominant seventh, and the root chord is the A major seventh.

So there you have the 2-5-1 chords progression, one of the most popular chord progressions in jazz music. You also know how to create the piano chord progression in any key. If you have an interest in jazz music, try to incorporate what you have learned into your song writing.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Beginner Acoustic Piano Lessons-How To Write A Love Song

Beginner Acoustic Piano Lessons-How To Write A Love Song I'm going to be really honest. I've actually only written one love song, for my wife when we got married. When writing loves songs, you want to remember the theme of tenderness, and the emotions that are going through you. So, how do you translate that to the piano? I kind of like the key of E flat, I think it is a pretty sounding key that is good for this type of music. When you play the E flat chord, try adding a 9th note to it (you remember your intervals don't you?). The 9th note adds a little something to the chord. Maybe try going up an octave after a while. Whatever you do, just remember to focus on creating that tenderness.

Beginner Acoustic Piano Lessons-Learn To Play Piano

Beginner Acoustic Piano Lessons-Learn To Play Piano When you are beginning a new task or learning something new it is always best to have a starting point. In this lesson you are given a starting point on the piano. That starting point is Middle C. From there we go up the keyboard using the white keys and make a C Major Scale. From the notes in that scale we are able to build chords. The chords we build are called triads or 3-note chords.

Beginner Acoustic Piano Lessons-Proper Hand Posture

Beginner Acoustic Piano Lessons-Proper Hand Posture In the last lesson I discussed the proper posture for sitting at the piano. In this lesson I am going to go over the proper hand posture for playing the piano. If you play for any extended amount of time, having the proper hand posture not only insures that you are playing the instrument properly, but helps to reduce fatigue.