ii - V - I and ii7 - V7 - Imaj7 progressions
The ii - V - I progression is the most common chord change in jazz. It's often used with seventh chord or other extended chord types and can be written as ii7 - V7 - I7. Extended chord types, including 6th, 9th and 13th, can be substituted for the seventh chord.
The minor second (ii), the fifth (V) create harmonic tension that is released by the first (I). The V chord is typically a dominant chord, especially in jazz. In the key of C, an example is Dm7 (iim7) - G7 (V7) - Cmaj7 (Imaj7).
The minor version would be written in Roman numerals as ii7 - V7 - i7. An example is Bm7b5 (iim7) - E7 (V7) - Am7 (i7).
The ii7 - V7 - I7 can be prolonged by modulation: the I7 is modulated into minor and being the second in the next change. An example: Dm7 (ii) - G7 (V) - Cmaj7 (I) - Cm7 (ii) - F7 (V) - Bbmaj7 (I).
ii - V - I progressions in all keys
The progression and how it's played in all musical keys:
| Key | ii | V | I |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | Dm | G | C |
| E | F#m | B | E |
| A | Bm | E | A |
| D | Em | A | D |
| G | Am | D | G |
| F | Gm | C | F |
| B | C#m | F# | B |
| Bb | Cm | F | Bb |
| Eb | Fm | Bb | Eb |
| Ab | Bbm | Eb | Ab |
| Db | Ebm | Ab | Db |
| Gb | Abm | Db | Gb |
| C# | D#m | G# | C# |
| D# | Fm | A# | D# |
| F# | G#m | C# | F# |
| G# | A#m | D# | G# |
| A# | Cm | F | A# |
ii7 - V7 - Imaj7 progressions in all keys
The progression with a dominant 7th together with minor and major seventh chords in all keys:
| Key | ii7 | V7 | I7 |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | Dm7 | G7 | Cmaj7 |
| E | F#m7 | B7 | Emaj7 |
| A | Bm7 | E7 | Amaj7 |
| D | Em7 | A7 | Dmaj7 |
| G | Am7 | D7 | Gmaj7 |
| F | Gm7 | C7 | Fmaj7 |
| B | C#m7 | F#7 | Bmaj7 |
| Bb | Cm7 | F7 | Bbmaj7 |
| Eb | Fm7 | Bb7 | Ebmaj7 |
| Ab | Bbm7 | Eb7 | Abmaj7 |
| Db | Ebm7 | Ab7 | Dbmaj7 |
| Gb | Abm7 | Db7 | Gbmaj7 |
| C# | D#m7 | G#7 | C#maj7 |
| D# | Fm7 | A#7 | D#maj7 |
| F# | G#m7 | C#7 | F#maj7 |
| G# | A#m7 | D#7 | G#maj7 |
| A# | Cm7 | F7 | A#maj7 |
ii - V - I progression with substitutions
As said, the chords can be substituted in many ways. Some examples of this:
Dm7 - G13 - Cmaj7
Cm7 - F9 - Bbmaj7
Ebm9 - Ab7 - Dbmaj9
Fm6 - Bb11 - Ebmaj7
See also this progression with Tritone substitution progressions.
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ii - V - I progression with an added chord
A common expansion is to add an extra bar with the I chord in another quality:
Dm7 - G13 - Cma7 - C6
Cm7 - F9 - Bbmaj7 - B6
ii - V - I progression with passing chord
A passing chord, often an alt chord, can be put in the sequence:
Dm7 - G9 - G7(b9) - Cmaj7
Dm7 - G13 - G7(b13) - Cmaj9
In both examples, with root notes on the 6th and 5th strings respectively, an upper voice line is created.
ii - V - I progression from the Harmonic Minor scale
If the progression instead is extracted from the Harmonic Minor scale, it could look like this:
Dm7b5 - G7 - Cm(maj7)
ii - V - I progression from the Melodic Minor scale
If the progression instead is extracted from the Melodic Minor scale, it could look like this:
Dm7b5 - G7 - Cm6
For more information about ii - V - I and other progressions, see the 500 Guitar Chord Progressions ebook. It will give you a deeper insight about how chord progressions can be constructed.
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