In today’s lesson I’ll be showing you how to play the major 2-5-1 chord progression.
The 2-5-1 chord progression remains one of the most commonly used chord progressions especially in gospel and jazz music, and this is because it is a strong root progression.
It’s important to learn the 2-5-1 chord progression because most of the time, it’s used either to end songs or to connect two or more sections in a song; that’s why I considered it necessary to show you how it can be played using mutual intervals.
Attention: Don’t worry if you’re not sure what mutual intervals are, just keep reading, I’ll explain.
A Breakdown Of The Classic 2-5-1 Chord Progression
There are eight degrees in every key (whether major or minor.) In the key of C major:
C is the first
D is the second
E is the third
F is the fourth
G is the fifth
A is the sixth
B is the seventh
C is the eighth
The movement of chords from one degree of the scale to another produces a chord progression. For example, the C major triad:
…(which is the first scale degree chord in the key) can progress to any other scale degree chord, like the D minor triad (which is chord 2):
…the E minor triad (which is chord 3):
…and so on.
The Classic Major 2-5-1 Chord Progression – Explained
The 2-5-1 chord progression is a chord movement in a given key from chord 2, to chord 5, then to chord 1. In the key of C major:
…a 2-5-1 chord progression is a chord movement from chord 2 (the D minor triad):
…to chord 5 (the G dominant seventh chord):
…to chord 1 (the C major triad):
“The 2-5-1 Chord Progression Using Seventh Chords…”
The 2-5-1 chord progression can be enhanced using the following seventh chord:
The D minor seventh chord:
The G dominant seventh chord:
The C major seventh chord:
In a nutshell, the chord progression is called a major 2-5-1 chord progression because it’s played in the major key.
Chord Breakdown Into Mutual Intervals
Before we explore how the major 2-5-1 chord progression can be played using mutual intervals, it’s important for us to explore the concept of mutual intervals.
In the previous segment, we played the major 2-5-1 chord progression using seventh chords.
These seventh chords can be broken down into intervals that are complementary to each other – also known as mutual intervals.
“A Breakdown Of The ‘D Minor Seventh Chord’ Into Mutual Intervals”
The D minor seventh chord:
…can be broken down into fifth intervals:
D-A:
…a perfect fifth interval.
F-C:
…another perfect fifth interval.
A breakdown of the D minor seventh chord as mutual intervals can help in its rearrangement (aka – “voicing”.) Playing the mutual intervals in two consecutive octaves, produces a voicing of the D minor seventh chord:
“Hold On! There’s More…”
The mutual intervals can also be inverted. The interval D-A:
…can be inverted and played as A-D:
…while the interval F-C:
…can be inverted and played as C-F:
In a nutshell, there are two ways of playing the D minor seventh chord using mutual intervals – using fifth intervals:
…and using fourth intervals:
“A Breakdown Of The ‘G Dominant Seventh Chord’ Into Mutual Intervals”
The G dominant seventh chord:
…can also be broken down into fifth intervals:
G-D:
…a perfect fifth interval.
B-F:
…a diminished fifth interval.
Playing these fifth intervals in two consecutive octaves produces a voicing of the G dominant seventh chord:
“Let’s Invert The Mutual Intervals…”
It’s possible to play the G dominant seventh chord by inverting its mutual intervals. The interval G-D:
…can be inverted and played as D-G:
…while the interval B-F:
…can be inverted and played as F-B:
Altogether, you’ve just learned two ways of playing the G dominant seventh chord – using fifth intervals:
…and using fourth intervals:
“A Breakdown Of The ‘C Major Seventh Chord’ Into Mutual Intervals”
A breakdown of the C major seventh chord:
…into fifth intervals produces two mutual intervals:
C-G:
…a perfect fifth interval.
E-B:
…another perfect fifth interval.
Using the mutual intervals derived, we can rearrange the C major seventh chord by playing the mutual intervals in two consecutive octaves. C-G:
…in one octave and E-B:
…in the next octave to produce a voicing of the C major seventh chord:
“In Addition To That…”
The mutual intervals can also be inverted. The interval C-G:
…can be inverted and played as G-C:
…while the interval E-B:
…can be inverted and played as B-E:
In a nutshell, we just learned two creative voicings of the D minor seventh chord using fifth intervals:
…and fourth intervals:
Let’s go ahead and apply these voicings in a major 2-5-1 chord progression.
The Major 2-5-1 Chord Progression Using Mutual Intervals
In this segment, we’ll be putting the chord breakdown we did together in a major 2-5-1 chord progression.
In the key of C major:
…a major 2-5-1 root progression moves from D:
…to G:
…then to C:
Using the voicings we derived in the previous segment, here are two major 2-5-1 chord progressions
Excerpt #1
Chord 2:
…using fifth intervals.
Chord 5:
…using fifth intervals.
Chord 1:
…using fifth intervals.
Excerpt #2
Chord 2:
…using fifth intervals.
Chord 5:
…using fifth intervals.
Chord 1:
…using fifth intervals.
Final Words
It’s no longer a secret that with just two notes in each hand (playing mutual intervals), one can play the major 2-5-1 chord progression.
Go ahead and practice the concept learned in all twelve keys and get ready because we’ll go further in our discussion by exploring minor 2-5-1 chord progressions and cyclical chord progressions in subsequent posts.
See you then!
