Jazz chord progressions

The building blocks of jazz harmony: the ii–V–I, its minor form, and the turnarounds that lead a tune back to the top. They use 7th chords, so each chord has four notes.

The progressions

ii–V–I

  1. ii7Dm7
  2. V7G7
  3. Imaj7Cmaj7
  • Three chords in C major: Dm7, G7 and Cmaj7.
  • It starts away from home, on ii7 (Dm7), reaches Imaj7 on the 3rd chord, and ends on the home chord, a full stop.
  • One of its three chords is minor.

iiø7–V7–i

  1. iiø7Bm7♭5
  2. V7E7
  3. iAm
  • Three chords in A minor: Bm7♭5, E7 and Am.
  • It starts away from home, on iiø7 (Bm7♭5), reaches i on the 3rd chord, and ends on the home chord, a full stop.
  • V7 (E7) comes from A harmonic minor, which raises the 7th note so the chord leads home.

i–iv–VII–III–VI–iiø7–V7–i (the minor circle)

  1. iAm
  2. ivDm
  3. VIIG
  4. IIIC
  5. VIF
  6. iiø7Bm7♭5
  7. V7E7
  8. iAm
  • Eight chords in A minor: Am, Dm, G, C, F, Bm7♭5 and E7.
  • It starts on the home chord, i, and ends on the home chord, a full stop.
  • V7 (E7) comes from A harmonic minor, which raises the 7th note so the chord leads home.

Imaj7–vi7–ii7–V7 (the turnaround)

  1. Imaj7Cmaj7
  2. vi7Am7
  3. ii7Dm7
  4. V7G7
  • Four chords in C major: Cmaj7, Am7, Dm7 and G7.
  • It starts on the home chord, I, and ends on V7, which pulls back toward I.
  • Two of its four chords are minor.

iii7–vi7–ii7–V7

  1. iii7Em7
  2. vi7Am7
  3. ii7Dm7
  4. V7G7
  • Four chords in C major: Em7, Am7, Dm7 and G7.
  • It never lands on the home chord: it ends on V7, which pulls back toward I.
  • Three of its four chords are minor.

Imaj7–VI7–ii7–V7

  1. Imaj7Cmaj7
  2. VI7A7
  3. ii7Dm7
  4. V7G7
  • Four chords in C major: Cmaj7, A7, Dm7 and G7.
  • It starts on the home chord, I, and ends on V7, which pulls back toward I.
  • VI7 (A7) is a secondary dominant: it leads to ii7 (Dm7), a 5th below.
  • One of its four chords is minor.

i7–VImaj7–iiø7–V7

  1. i7Am7
  2. VImaj7Fmaj7
  3. iiø7Bm7♭5
  4. V7E7
  • Four chords in A minor: Am7, Fmaj7, Bm7♭5 and E7.
  • It starts on the home chord, i, and ends on V7, which pulls back toward i.
  • V7 (E7) comes from A harmonic minor, which raises the 7th note so the chord leads home.

ii–V–I in every key

Keyii7V7Imaj7
C majorDm7G7Cmaj7
G majorAm7D7Gmaj7
D majorEm7A7Dmaj7
A majorBm7E7Amaj7
E majorF♯m7B7Emaj7
B majorC♯m7F♯7Bmaj7
F♯ majorG♯m7C♯7F♯maj7
D♭ majorE♭m7A♭7D♭maj7
A♭ majorB♭m7E♭7A♭maj7
E♭ majorFm7B♭7E♭maj7
B♭ majorCm7F7B♭maj7
F majorGm7C7Fmaj7

More in the chord progression player and chart, and on the common chord progressions, minor chord progressions and sad chord progressions pages.

Questions

What makes a chord progression jazz?

Seventh chords and the ii–V–I. Each chord has four notes, and the roots often move down by 5ths, which is what gives turnarounds their pull back to the top.

Which jazz chord progressions are on this page?

ii–V–I, iiø7–V7–i, i–iv–VII–III–VI–iiø7–V7–i (the minor circle), Imaj7–vi7–ii7–V7 (the turnaround), iii7–vi7–ii7–V7, Imaj7–VI7–ii7–V7 and i7–VImaj7–iiø7–V7.

How do I play them in another key?

Keep the Roman numerals and build each chord on that note of the new key's scale. The chart on the main chord progressions page spells each progression in all twelve keys.