Jazz Guitar 2-5-1 Chord Progression

[Demonstration]

Hey! I'm Nate Savage and in this lesson we’re going to learn all about the 2-5-1 Chord Progression.

Now if you have listened to much jazz, I would guarantee you have heard a lot of 2-5-1 chord progressions because jazz is just chock-full of them. So let’s start off with new example and then we’ll learn how to play it. Let’s take the key of A major and, learn a 2-5-1 in that key and that’s going to be a Bm and E dominant 7 Chord and then an AM 7th chord and if you wouldn’t think about it starting on a A, a B, B would be two A, B, C, D, E, I’m sorry C# but E is five so Bm, E dominant 7th and then one of course is an AM 7th.

So let’s take some of the 7th chords we learned in the previous and apply it to this chord progression in the key of A. Okay, so we have Bm 7th chord to start off with that is our two:

[Demonstration]

Then we’re going to go to E dominant 7th chord based on our kind of an A shape right here just a regular dominant 7th chord and then we’re going to go down to AM7th chord:

[Demonstration]

And if you look at charts you will see little progressions that have a minor chord like a B minor chord and then a dominant chord right after it and then you’ll see a major some kind of a major 7th chord and that will give you kind of a tell tale if you see that progression minor, dominant and major 7th that that’s what key you would be, whatever it ends up on, that AM7th that’s the key you would be in.

So another thing is common with 2-5-1 chord progressions. You have this one, right. If we would go one step down and play a 2-5-1 in that key so if we just played a 2-5-1 in the key of A we would go to the key of G and play a 2-5-1 in that key. So if G is one, A is going to be the two, so we’re going to play Am7th and we’re going to find the five of the key of G which is G, A, B, C, D so we’re going to play D dominant 7th chord and then finally we are going to play the one of that key which of course a G of Major 7th.

So a good exercise for you to do is just pick any random key. Let’s say, I wanted to pick D. Find the 2-5-1 in the key of D and then go to the key F. find the 2-5-1 in the key of F. and just find them all on the fret boards, the more for more familiar you are with the 2-5-1 Progression. But easier, it’s going to for you to learn Jazz charts and stuff in the future with jazz.


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